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The Digital Divide: A Problem for Thrid World Problems Essay

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The Digital Divide

In 1966, the world was introduced to a television series titled “Star Trek”, created by Gene Roddenberry, portraying fantasy technology that all members of planet Earth had knowledge of. The characters on the TV show used innovative tools such as Telepresense, Communicators, Phasers, and Universal Translators. In modern society these tools are used worldwide but they are called video conferencing, cell phones, taser guns, and voice recognition software, respectively. Another thing that was implanted in the show was that the people of planet Earth all shared the knowledge of this technology. Today, however, this is not the case. The technology of computer and Internet usage today is only taught in some parts of the …show more content…

Therefore if a student is absent or misses a certain lesson, he/she can be able to know what was taught through the teacher’s blog on today’s assignments/lessons and if they have a question or problem they can ask through the same forum” (“Resources for Students”). The Internet and computer technology should be available worldwide to help with education as it is important to a country’s future success.
Another detrimental factor to owning a personal computer at home is the cost. The cost of computer technology and Internet access is far too great for the average household of third world countries to afford. When a population is worried about nutrition, health care, and sanitary water to drink, computer technology starts to seem less important. Kimberley Heitman addressed this in her article titled “Internet Freedom: Controversy” by saying “At present, access to the Internet requires a stable telecommunications system and an expensive set of hardware.” By having to buy a computer system and sustain a monthly payment of Internet access it is hard for populations who live in poverty to obtain both things. “Telecommunication facilities are more readily available for wealthier communities and are more attractive for developing companies to establish themselves. As a result, poverty in less fortunate neighborhoods make it less appealing for investments by outside companies, further aggravating the divide” (Roberts). If

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