The Digital Divide Theory

4 Pages 893 Words

Digital Divide: Why is it an Issue?

Digital divide is the perceived gap between those who have access to the latest information technologies and those who do not (Compaine 1). The idea of Digital Divide does not only consist of computers and the internet, but also regular technologies, many of which we may take for granted. One prime example would be the telephone. More than 80% of people in the world have never even heard a dial tone, let alone surfed the Web (Black, par. 2). Many in the world advocate the theory of Digital Divide, and we cannot deny that those who are not aware of today’s technology are truly in some ways disenfranchised. On the other hand those people who do not have access to these technologies do manage to continue living life, and do not require technology to do so. The fact that they do not have access to telephones, computers etc., does somewhat disable them to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that could be accessed. Many question as to why there is a divide; is it cost, inability, ignorance, or rather just a lack of interest?
Today’s economically advanced countries are provided with access to the internet by means of personal home computers, libraries, schools, cafés, and
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many others. These nations can provide their economies with the internet by providing them in public spaces. The LSTA (The Library Services and Technology Act) is a model federal program for funding libraries to increase the visibility and credibility of the public library as the “information place in their community (Bertot, McClure, and Ryan 3).” Because of such services anyone can access the internet for free. If there are free opportunities for the general public to utilize technological equipment, then why are there still many who don’t use it? According to Henry Louis Gates, black communities don’t find the content on the net of interest to them (Gates 500). He asserts tha...