Transcript HERE

The Digital
Divide
Presented by :
Sid Soundararajan
Laura West
Lena Tesone
Tamar BenShachar
Emily Feenstra
Introduction
• The digital divide is a term that refers to
the gap between the people who have
access to computers and the internet.
• This gap has evolved to become a gap in
many cultural, political, and academic
areas.
• There are many projects currently on the
way to reduce this gap, slowly bridge the
differences it has created in society.
Background Information
• The term digital divide emerged in the mid
1990s the describe the chasm between those
who have used computer based technology
and those who have not.
• This is mainly due to socioeconomic
inequalities, those with more money
automatically have more access to
technology.
• This is a worldwide problem, mainly because
of the lack of economic development or even
in some cases, censorship.
Steps in the Right Direction
• Now addressing issue
– http://www.digitaldivide.net/
• One laptop per child
• Free WIFI projects
• Charity in the Community (CITC)
• Technology for Humanity
Associated Problems
• Relative expense of solutions
– Funding issues
• Continuing innovation
– Innovations build on one another
• Overcoming cultural barriers
– Comparison with basic needs
• Basic logistical shortage of resources
– Most personnel, distribution centers and
infrastructure
Opinion
• being bridged by rapid globalization and
increased awareness of the issue
• As a designer I see new tools and strategies
being developed ( ex:“One Laptop per Child”)
• May be bridged by cell phones, rather than
computers
• Improved user interface facilitates usage for
previously excluded groups such as the elderly,
• Digital divide in gender and race has basically
disappeared
the end