Internet – Society
Crossing the Digital Divides
The gap between technological haves and have-nots is a complex and persistent problem. Solving it holds great promise for the future.
An Internet connection in every home? Not quite. But more and more people in the Third World have access
It is the age-old story of the haves and the have-nots. Those fortunate enough to be on the have side of the tracks seemingly have it all. Food, shelter, clothing, and many of life's amenities, such as automobiles, televisions, telephones, and, most recently, computers and Internet access. But for the have-nots, the recent advent of information technology (IT) just adds to the list of things they do not have. The chasm between the digital haves and have-nots has come to be known as the digital divide. First coined in the mid-1990s, the term originally described the gap between men in the U.S., who were the predominant users of the Internet, and their spouses, many of whom felt like Internet widows thanks to the amount of time their husbands spent online.
Since then, the online gender gap has been closed in the U.S., but the situation is quite different in other parts of the world. Urban planner Lisa Servon, author of a recent book on the digital divide, notes that women account for just 25 % of Internet users in Brazil, 17 % in Japan and South Africa, and 16 % in Russia. Yet the gender divide is only one part of a complex picture, which is why Servon says, "I like to talk about digital divides, plural, because they are multiple."
On a global basis there is the digital divide between developed and developing nations. "90 % of Internet host computers reside in the highest income nations. These same nations are home to only 16 % of the world's population," notes Servon, whose book, Bridging the Digital Divide: Technology, Community and Public Policy, was released in August 2002.
Representing one end of the spectrum in the global community are the Scandinavian countries, particularly Finland. But in poorer countries the picture is not so bright. "The average Internet user in South Africa has an income seven times the national average," notes Servon, while the average Bangladeshi would have to spend more than eight years' income to buy a computer, compared with just one month's salary for the average American. In addition to the divide between nations, digital divides exist between the educated and uneducated, the wealthy and poor, the old and the young, between Blacks and Latinos, and Caucasians; and between people in rural areas and inner cities, and those in urban and suburban areas. Of all of the divides, the greatest is between Blacks and Latinos, and Caucasians and Asians. Though that gap is closing, "There are still about 18 percentage points between Whites and either Blacks or Latinos in the U.S.," says Servon, who is Associate Professor at the Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University, Manhattan.
Efforts to address the digital divide in the U.S. began in 1995, when the first of a series of U.S. Department of Commerce reports called "Falling Through the Net," pointed out the disparity between the digitally active and those who had no access to IT. The immediate result was the creation of a federal program that successfully subsidized the connection of most of the nation's schools and libraries to the Internet. Then came an array of follow-up programs intended to provide support for other organizations, such as community technology centers to help address the digital divide. Similar organizations sprouted up in other countries.
Digital Divides in Gender, Income, Education and Race
Internet Connections: Comparison USA – Other Countries
Sources: Computer data from US Department of Commerce (2000), Internet data from Pew Internet and American Life Project (unpublished)
Access Isn't Enough. The success of these programs is evidenced by the fact that "we have seen a huge increase in the number of people who have Internet access," notes Servon. Yet despite these successes, the digital divide continues to grow on a worldwide basis. Compounding the problem is the fact that gaining access to the Internet is just the first step in closing the gap. Obtaining appropriate training, and being able to locate relevant information are equally important. Yet "policy makers have not really recognized that a problem exists beyond access," says Servon. Hence, it is in these areas that she sees the greatest challenges for the future.
Substantiating this point are studies of how school children use the Web. "We're finding that kids in low-income districts do more things like rote math and spelling drills, which don't use technology's potential all that much, while kids in wealthier districts are doing much more creative thinking and problem solving and communicating with kids in other countries," says Servon.
Regarding content, Servon points out "English is used in almost 80 % of Web sites, yet less than one in ten people in the world speaks the language. When I think about the ramifications for the future, I think about people who are part of the persistent poor not being able to get out," says Servon.
One way technology can help is by imparting power. Access and training enables people to create their own content, and with content they can organize. Internet access also enables participation in e-commerce, both as customers and entrepreneurs. Servon, who works with low-income, small business owners, tells of "many who are in remote rural areas or inner cities, yet can market their goods over the Internet."
Established businesses can help bring their upcoming counterparts into the fold by funding and promoting programs that narrow the digital divide. "The business community really needs to embrace this as an issue in terms of contributing to efforts, whether it be in school systems or through their own training programs," says Servon. For instance, working with a number of African counties, Siemens Belgium has developed "Euclides," a project to train technicians and engineers via the Internet.
With the help of government and industry, recent innovations may well allow poorer nations to leapfrog into 21st century technology. "Because of wireless technology it is not necessary for these countries to go through the progression of first getting wired telephone service, and then moving on to digital and wireless technology," says Servon. Instead, they may go straight to wireless Internet connections.
Servon sees the Internet as having great potential for increasing prosperity, for those in less-developed countries, by giving them access to the global marketplace. "In order to benefit from globalization, however, people need to be able to control the tools that enabled global markets to develop in the first place," she says. When it comes to world peace, the future is less clear. "It certainly creates a lot more opportunity for communication, which is one of the prerequisites for understanding and, therefore, peace. But," says Servon, "we've also seen lots of destructive uses of technology and communication that hinder peace efforts." Which way the Internet will take us remains to be seen, but if only part of the world moves in that direction, we will never get there.
Victor Chase