The world’s peoples are digitally divided and poverty comes in different forms, as people do not gain access to communication technology and information on an equal footing. Some are digitally advantaged, while others are disadvantaged; but what is digital divide?
Digital divide is the gap between those who can get access to communication technologies and information and those who cannot. Simply put, digital divide is the gulf between haves and have-nots of the Internet and associated technology to get education, information, and entertainment.
To ask a question, can you afford to have a computer, a television set, or a viable Smartphone wired up or connected to the Internet? Can you smoothly and abundantly use the Internet for your goals? If you answer in the affirmative, then you are digitally empowered; if you answer in the negative, you are certainly digitally impoverished. That is ‘what digital divide’ means.
While some people take the use of the Internet and its resources for granted, others consider them to be a luxury. Communication technology and the Internet divide the world into two sections: rich and poor. Some are rich, others are poor. Rich in what? Rich in the use of the Internet and its abundant supplies.
Today, the inequalities between connected and unconnected peoples are quite stark indeed. While some people know how to use computers and Smartphones, others are neither computer literate nor connected to the Internet. And this fact makes them poor pertaining to technological resources.
Don’t you feel empowered when you easily connect to the Internet and surf it as you like without interruption? Some persons don’t have that opportunity. They are digitally disadvantaged. That is the real meaning of the digital divide. And the difference between countries that are technologically connected and those who are not is called “global digital divide”.