Digital Divide

As we have read in the Economist article and the Jenkins article, the digital divide affects race, poverty, education, and even gender. Citizens all around the world can get a computer and navigate in the WWW. However, access to the Internet is strongly correlated with income and education.

Even though we talk about the Internet being a blessing for democracy, there are many people around the world who never have had the chance to use a computer, and would not want to think that the government is discriminating against certain areas of the country by not investing in their education and technology.

For poor countries, it is not only a matter of discrimination but also a matter of funding. Unfortunately, they go together. The private sector and the government invest in areas where they know they will have some profit. They want to see profit as in money. They do not see that the most valuable profit they will have is education for their people.

I sometimes think that in some developing countries, governments are not interested in educating their people. They prefer an ignorant society, who will continue voting for whomever offers them a house, food and clothing. Some governments do not see education as an investment, so they do not bother on making the Internet accessible to everyone.

There is also another factor for digital division. I read in a recent study from Vanderbilt University, that new Internet users tend to face psychological barriers. They feel less comfortable using the Internet, less satisfaction with their Internet skills, and greater stress when navigating online. This frustrates them and makes them reject the Internet as an important tool for their daily life.

Studies assure us that the gender gap in Internet users is closing over time, but the perception persists that the gap for race is not decreasing. In Latin America, the race gap includes both black people and indigenous people. But, again, I believe it has to do with economic status and education.

In Ecuador, there are several indigenous Representatives in Congress who had the opportunity to study abroad and they are very well acquainted with the Internet. Those who did not have the same opportunity are still in their fields working the land, and not having any access to the internet. Is discrimination the only factor for the race digital gap, or does the economy of a country also play an important role?