Issues in Digitization : Digital Divide.
Written by Zharif Iskandar.
Written by Zharif Iskandar.
One of the
biggest issues in digitalization is the fact that it talks about imbalance of
communication from nations to nations and on global scale. This statement leads
us to digital divide in which it is define as policy discourse that refers to
access to information and communication technologies (ICT) (Ball-Rokeach, Jung,
2008)
With the
definition explained, how do we measure “digital divide”? How do we come to a
conclusion on whether “digital divide” has an impact on society, countries and
others?
It is often
discussed that the measurement of “digital divide” is in relation to a certain
country or a community, to a certain income group, race, ethnicity, age, gender
and language. (Warschauer, 2011)
To understand
more about its inception of the term, it originated in the United States of
America and at that point it was called the “U.S divide”, whereby in the early
1990’s the term was regularly used by the Clinton administration officials. It
studied the technological inequality through the analysis of U.S census data on
computer ownership, Internet access, race/ethnicity, income, gender, employment
status, and disability status and urban/rural locations. (Warschauer, 2011)
However, as time
goes by, researchers measured an even bigger picture then the “U.S Divide”. The
“International Divide” assessments made at the level of countries or groups of
countries, rather than individuals. Below
are statistics of World Internet Usage and Population Statistics. It tells you
the world regions, the population, Internet Users, Internet Penetration, Growth
and Users.
The interesting
point here to take home is the point that the more develop the countries are,
the more advance the ICT of a particular country has to be. Accroding to
Ball-Rokeach, Jung, (2008), they pointed in between nation-states (macro level
reseach), the developed world has bigger internet penetration then the
developing nations.
If we were to
judge in that context, based on the statistics of the World Internet Usage and
Population Statistics, The United States of America has the biggest percentage
of Internet penetration at 78.6% of its population. The smallest percentage of
Internet penetration is Africa, with 15.6%.
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Source : Internet World Stats, Usage and Population Statistics.
The reason for
this lies in the infrastructures, resources and skills to be able to access the
Internet. (Wenhong, Wellman, 2005) It is here where we see if a country is developed
enough to escape the digital divide.
To conclude
then, if we were to view digital divide as a problem in this world, we would
have to judge it by the accessibility of the Internet worldwide. And to add to
that point, it is a problem, one that can be dealt with if nations and states
were to concentrate on tackling the issue by concentrating on their ICT and
policies in relation to all things technology and the Internet. If they do so,
the global digital divide would be a thing of the past.
References.
Ball-Rokeach, Sandra
J. and Joo-Young Jung. "Digital Divide." The International
Encyclopedia of Communication. Donsbach, Wolfgang (ed). Blackwell Publishing,
2008. Blackwell Reference Online. Last viewed on 12 September 2013 http://www.blackwellreference.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/subscriber/tocnode.html?id=g9781405131995_yr2012_chunk_g97814051319959_ss36-1
Chen, Wenhong and
Barry Wellman. "Minding the Cyber-gap: the Internet and Social
Inequality." The Blackwell Companion to Social Inequalities. Romero, Mary
and Eric Margolis (eds). Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Blackwell Reference
Online. 12 September 2013
<http://www.blackwellreference.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/subscriber/tocnode.html?id=g9780631231547_chunk_g978063123154726>
Warschauer,M . Digital Divide.
In Encyclopedia of Library and
Information Sciences, Third Edition. Taylor and Francis: New York, Published
online: 29 Aug 2011; 1551-1556.
With reference to the point about "[Digital Divide] can be dealt with if nations and states were to concentrate on tackling the issue by concentrating on their ICT and policies in relation to all things technology and the Internet".
ReplyDeleteI feel that it may not be the interest of every nation to help its citizens scale the wall of the digital divide. For example, former Malaysian PM Dr Mahatir recently commented that he would "reconsider his decision to grant absolute freedom for the Internet when setting up the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996." By granting internet accessibility to the public, Dr Mahathir said he did not expect the decision to cause such drastic changes that it can be misused by irresponsible parties and the public making provocative statements against each other. Although the internet is ‘free’ in Malaysia today, it was a choice that he regretted.
In another example, China has blocked sites like Facebook, Youtube and Google search. Although not clearly stated some reports have stated that such bans are meant for promoting ‘nation harmony’. Indeed, in 2008, China had blocked Youtube during the Tibet Riots to prevent the spread of ‘harmful information’. Armed with the knowledge of the disruptive powers that the internet can bring, the Chinese Government would have less incentive to help the whole of China to overcome the Digital Divide.
In my opinion, developing nations today may need controls over their ICT and policies regarding the internet. Too many opinions and propoganda from the digital world could lead to a nation being misguided and detracted from development. Sometime traditional media such as print newspapers and radio (although it sounds primitive) may still be the best forms of media to communicate with the nation. With developing nations still existing in many regions, the digital divide may still be a tall wall to climb.
-Melvyn Chiu