Transcript Powerpoint Presentation

Digital Divide
Jonathan Chen
Clare Bozso
Neil Abcouwer
Laura Scharff
Clyde Shaffer
Digital divide is defined as the gap between individuals and
communities that have and don’t have access to
information technologies of postmodern society.
54% of the U.S. population, or 143 million people, are
actively using the Internet.
Gap has been expanding, due to relevant factors such as
racial, ethnic, social, and economic divides.
In the Information Age, lack of access to information means
disconnection from the economy and the democratic
debate.
“In the twenty-first century, the capacity to
communicate will almost certainly be a key human
right. Eliminating the distinction between the
information-rich and information-poor is also
critical to eliminating economic and other
inequalities between North and South, and to
improve the life of all humanity.” -Nelson Mandela,
TELECOM 95, October 3, 1995 (Wilson, 2004, 1)
While digital divide refers to the difference
between social classes, global digital divide
refers to a geographical division in terms of
technological access.
Background Information
- The term “digital divide” originally represented the gap in computer
ownership between different groups of people
- Was being used regularly by mid-1990s
- Between 1997-2005, middle- and higher-income groups
showed growing equality
- Lowest income groups continue to decrease level of equality
to higher income groups
Bridging the Global Digital Divide
• Distribution of inexpensive computers and internet
technology to developing nations
– One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), 50x15 (AMD), Geekcore,
Inveneo
• Programs teach technology skills to underprivileged innercity families.
– Boston Digital Bridge Foundation
• Mobile phones used to connect to internet
– Nearly half of African-Americans and Hispanics have used
mobile phones to connect to internet, compared to 28
percent of white Americans
• Social networking sites encourage use among all groups.
WokFi
Challenges and Criticisms
•Obtaining resources vs. learning a skill
•Who will help? How can they help?
•Politics and cultural differences
•Necessary?
•The Global Digital Divide is a
stumbling block inhibiting man’s
technological progress.
•The internet allows for knowledge
to be shared widely.
•A wide variety of talents are
available for collaboration.
•Internet users currently only
constitute fifteen to twenty percent
of the worlds population.
•There is still a great deal of potential
to be had by connecting the other
eighty percent of the world.
•Programs such as the OLPC initiative
and Inveneo will help to solve this, to
some degree.