This week I want to discuss the prevalence of digital divide within different countries. After reading various articles, I realized that this divide exists within both developing and developed countries. This post seeks to elaborate the former point by stating examples from different countries.
While researching on this topic, I came across an interview I had conducted a couple of years ago for some undergraduate class. This interview was based on the idea that women in developing countries, and especially in rural areas, are also being introduced to new technologies. However, after interviewing a technical assistant for an IT development center in a village in Bihar, India, I gathered that most of the people who used the technologies from this IT center were men. Very few women visited the IT center (some by choice and others due to societal expectations).
Context plays a very important role in the creation of digital divide. For example, the caste system in India is a very influential part of the society. Women from certain castes are not allowed to perform certain tasks. Also, associating with different castes is considered to be profane or wrong. While some women are not allowed to attend emancipation programs, others do not join them voluntarily. I came across an article that describes this phenomenon really well. It depicts the important role of context in shaping the society. Also, it outlines how participation of women and other underprivileged groups are shaped by the societal structure and results in minimal participation from these groups.
http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/29/6/869.abstract
This furthers our discussion about the digital divide between men and women in South Asia. The article below describes how there is a considerable difference in phone usage between men and women in the South Asian countries. This study was conducted in 2006 and showed that phone usage in women (BOP) were limited in comparison to men. Also, in the higher classes, the male members were considered to be the primary decision-makers in the family and had an advantage over the women while using technology.
http://nms.sagepub.com/content/12/4/549.abstract
Gender difference is not the only reason for this digital divide. Economic instability is another big deciding factor. Countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, India etc., all have a huge disparity between the rich and the poor. According to a U.N. report, 30% of the South Asian population still lives on a dollar a day.
http://www.mdgasiapacific.org/node/126
However, in truth, this percentage could be much higher. This is due to the fact that many people in these countries are still illiterate and uneducated. They may not participate in the surveys/census conducted by various governmental and non-governmental parties. On the other hand, there is an upper class that is becoming technologically savvy. They are sending their children to Britain and USA to have a better education. The middle class is also trying its best to catch up with the current trends. This difference within the various subsections of the society causes the digital divide.
So far, this post has discussed the Digital Divide in developing countries. Now, it aims to emphasize that such differences also exist in developed countries. Brussels is a good example to consider.
A study in Brussels delineates that youths who belong to immigrant families do not use computers and the Internet as much as other average young people. So, ethnicity is very important in deciding the digital divide. It also outlines that religion plays an equally important role in establishing the divide.
http://www.reference-global.com/doi/abs/10.1515/COMM.2010.010
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