Week 9/10 - Q2

What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make? a) To socioeconomically related access issues within a society? b) To global access issues across countries and regions?

The digital divide is the gap between people who benefit from the development of the media and technology, compared to those being left in the dark and lost in this digital age. Digital divide researchers have stated that it is the fact that middle - upper class have access to digital technology, whereas the poor are ignored because they cannot afford the luxuries, like broadband, or an ipod. Even if the poor do get access, it is normally very low in standards, compared to what others have, therefore they do not get the full experience and the maximum amount of knowledge needed. This just shows that socioeconomically, society suffers, because the divide just increases, less priviledged families get left behind, without the knowledge and experiences that digital technology provides. We are in the digital age, so if people cannot cope or afford to change and develop with the progressing technological world then society will just spread further apart and the economy slowly colloapse.

On a global scale it has been suggested that the digital divide has caused terrorism. This is due to the fact that religions have felt left out, because they did not take part in the digital progression, so they felt undermined and alienated. Nevertheless continents like Asia, have actually caught up with Britain and the USA over the last ten years because of the dotcom bust in the late 1900's. This means that Asia have become one of the leading continents in the digital age, having created many wireless networks throughout, growing as a digital continent quickly and cheaply.

http://www.digitaldivide.org/dd/digitaldivide.html