The Reality Of The Digital Divide Essay

Since the launch of the Internet as a global communication network and the boom in communication technologies, our world has been overwhelmed by a new phenomenon – digital divide. It has gradually turned into a major, constantly growing world issue, threatening to further increase the gap between advanced and developing countries. Yet, is digital divide really an unprecedented occurrence or a natural and unavoidable trend? “Divide” is certainly a word whose meaning could be traced back to the mere dawn of human history. It goes even deeper – to human nature itself: to sex and racial differentiation, to unequal physical and mental powers, to different

To introduce the arguement, not everyone has the opportunity to have internet access where they live. For example, www.techtimes.com states,"Today, 2.7 billion people, or around one-third of the Earth's population, have access to the Internet.”

The digital divide that is prominent in today’s society is sky rocketing daily, especially in Canada. Unfortunately, Internet will never be a free service and we never expect it to be; but, Coalition member ACORN Canada, a national organization of low- and moderate-income families, is calling on the CRTC to mandate that $10 per month high-speed internet packages be made available to families and individuals living below Statistics Canada's low-income measure (Goodyear, 2016). Some solutions consist of higher-earning Canadians paying a little extra on their own internet bills - about a dollar a month - to subsidize access for those who can't afford it. (Goodyear, 2016). I personally believe that this solution is risky because it would unfair if other Canadians have to pay

Income inequality is the unspoken truth of American life. Millions of Americans live in poverty while the minority holds the majority of the wealth. This problem has become more severe in recent years, with the wealth gap increasing exponentially. While innovation drives economics in the free market, recent innovations have caused the wealth gap to become skewed. Broadband Internet is one particular innovation that has spurred economic growth but has hurt the lower class. Broadband Internet can be defined as “768 Kbps download and 200 Kbps upload” (Dunbar). Although there are many varying classification of broadband Internet, this definition will be utilized for the purposes of this paper. The non-adoption of broadband Internet by those living

Today’s society has an affinity for even fledgling technological advances. If you take a look around, almost everyone has the new iPhone or Galaxy cell phone. Each new, updated device supplants the last. The incessant use of internet is brought on by the fact that it changes how we complete almost every task.

The Internet makes everything nearly effortless now. Schwartz writes, “Endless access to new information also easily overloads our working memory.” Now, instead of going to a Library to do research you can access the same information in just a fraction of the time. Another article tells a short story of a 15-year-old girl said that “when she went out to dinner with her father and he took out his phone to add ‘facts’ to their conversation” (Turkle). The lifestyle of being able to go out to dinner with your family and not checking handheld devices cease to

As a college student, and as an American, everything revolves around the internet, computers, and smart phones. It’s crazy to think only 12% have a computer, and only 8% have an internet connection. It made me think about what’s really important in life, the bigger picture. Yes, there are certain things that we need to learn and use in order to fit into our society, but so many people in the

People must find balance when using technology. Learning when it’s appropriate to use the internet, and when it's more productive to use paper and books. The world is always evolving. The human population tends to worry when a new abnormal tool is introduced. We must learn how to use technology as an advantage. I feel that older generations are more hesitant about the internet because they see younger generations using technology in “negative” ways. Teenagers these days struggle to go through an entire meal without a glance at their phones. Carr talks about how the obsession with texting, video games, and social media is currently so common. In my opinion, there is a simple solution. Little by little, people should try to “disconnect” from the world. It’s amazing what a difference it makes to just turn a phone on silent during an outing can

As one of the 90’s kids, it was quite hard for me to believe that the existing circumstance of our civilization was all developed in less than 3 decades. We are exposed to the Internet in such a young age and grow up with it that we are automatically accustomed to it and deem the Internet as an essential of life. “How do people even live without the Internet?”, most of us wonder. The older generations, such as our parents and instructors, were born in a simpler era, completing their tasks manually and enjoying their lives in a more simplistic way. The civilization was aggrandized greatly in their 20’s and 30’s, the Internet suddenly came into their lives without any caution. The older generations encountered these enormous changes in their

To begin with, one important thing I have learned through this experience is that there is a digital divide that exists within our society. There is a group of people who are the technology ‘haves’, and these people have laptops, iPhone and access to technology. On the other hand,

Imagine not having the option to depend on the internet. According to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), “the internet became an ever-increasing part of the American economy, offering new and innovative changes in how we work, learn, and play, receive health care, create and enjoy entertainment, and communicate with one another” (Restoring Internet Freedom). The American people depend on the internet and its integration into our everyday lives. Businesses, because of internet dependency are employing and marketing products globally, hospitals are finding and sharing new innovations; helping patients live longer, and people are now connected with family, and friends around the world. The internet and its various rationales for dependency

"Growing up, the internet wasn't much of an influence on me as it is now. Homework was done all in paper, every video assignment was done in class, and to call or play with friends, well that was done during recess face to face. Today the internet is the safe haven for millions as a way to find new people, spend free time, complete assignments, or just shop. But thanks to the vote done by the FCC chairman Ajit Pai, everybody will be expected to pay for what were already used to do.

Since its introduction on a public scale in the 1990s, the internet has been associated with many changes in social experience. Many aspects of social life such as education, work, commerce and even personal relationships have changed through the internet. However, researchers have found that, at least in the early years, access to the internet is shaped according to gender, class, ethnicity and education. During the 1990s the typical information technology user was a white, male, professional with a background in IT. This bias in internet access was named the ‘digital divide’ to point out the implied social inequalities. It was said that the internet was

Imagine a world where geographic separation does not inhibit the social or economic mobility of people. A place where cement roads are obsolete and unnecessary and the information super highway is the only road you need to know how to navigate. Information technology becomes the glue and nails that binds our (global) society together. Development becomes a matter of installing fiber-optic wiring, cellular towers and satellite launching. World Bank projects change from road building to wire laying. Now imagine a world where there is no electricity, telephones, computers, roads or other mediums of transportation other than legs and feet. Communication exists on a face-to-face level and nothing more. An individuals’

I would like to share with you what I have recently learned about obtaining information through the Internet. The Internet is a tremendous potential source of information about virtually any imaginable topic of interest. However, because there is no regulation or quality control over what people choose to publish online, it is crucial to learn ways of distinguishing credible, reliable, factually accurate information sources from those that are not credible, unreliable, factually inaccurate sources. For example, websites that are maintained by government agencies, accredited university research programs, and licensed professionals are good candidates to be considered reliable sources of information online.