The Digital Divide & Digital Equity in 2020
What is the Digital Divide and Digital Equity?
The Digital Divide and Digital Equity are two concepts that show how the effects and differences of people who have access to digital resources versus those who do not. The Digital Divide can be looked at as a concept that describes people who do not have the necessary resources to be connected online through their devices (Pazurek & Feyissa, 2015). The concept does not merely associate itself with having ownership of digital goods (e.g. cell phones, computers) but instead shows the effects when people are not able to connect online with these devices because they do not have access to reliable power sources or internet access in the area they live in (Pazurek & Feyissa, 2015). I would go on to explain this issue as the divide of people who are able to freely enjoy access to the worldwide web and the people who cannot do so because of the resources around them. This is an issue because providing people with technology devices does not mean that they will be able to connect with others, and we must look at their surroundings. We can ask the questions: Do they have the internet? Do they have electricity? Do they know the true functionality and potential of the device? Once we ask these questions we can see that many people are stuck in this digital divide. It has transformed into a concept that shows that there are people who are privileged enough to have the resources to connect online in a digital community, and people who would like to connect with their device but cannot due to infrastructure problems and lack of information about the functionality of their device. These issues are surrounding us especially in the times of COVID-19, to read more about the digital divide happening in our current community check out this article by NPR.
The concept of Digital Equity expands on the concept of the Digital Divide by looking into the differences in knowledge more than the accessibility of knowledge. Digital Equity refers to people not having the skills to connect to the internet, not understanding the concepts of digital literacies, and not being able to connect to social media platforms with confidence (Radovanovic, 14 Dec 2011). These problems are more prevalent in rural areas of the United States where people are not required to be as connected to the internet as people who live in more urban areas. They generally do not need to be connected to do their jobs, and may not also have access to high speed internet. These things make it difficult for them to become literate and confident in their digital skills. To help make people in rural and poor communities become more confident in their skills it takes a team effort by giving people reliable access to the internet, policies by cities to help create public workshops on technologies, and educational experts in primary and secondary schools to help students gain literacies. These are all things we see in large cities and suburban communities and to help create Equity across all groups of people we need to see these policies expand into our rural and less densely populated communities. To read more about how problems of Digital Equity are arising during this COVID-19 pandemic check out this article by Hechinger Report.
How do these two concepts relate?
These concepts may seem similar, but there are some distinct differences. The digital divide can be seen as a literal divide in the access to technology and access to the resources to connect and the digital equity can be seen through the inequalities in established online communities (Stiakakis et al. 2010). This shows that a digital divide is the first step that we need to conquer in communities, and this can be done through getting people access to the internet, electricity, and places where they can connect their devices. However, just connecting people to the internet does not solve the issue of their knowledge of the internet and digital communities. Just connecting someone online with no prior knowledge of how to act online shows the issues of digital equity. To create a community of Equity we need to make sure that people have the knowledge, literacies, and confidence to create and interact in online communities. With people not understanding how to do this they will not be able to present themselves professionally in online environments and may not feel confident to explore and create in online environments. I believe we crossed into a time where Digital Equity is becoming a prevalent issue in many areas including areas that would generally be looked at as modern. People are not receiving education on how to interact in the online community and use digital literacies. This needs to be changed by implementing teaching programs in schools and communities bringing people together by hosting classes and online seminars. In conclusion, Digital Divide is an issue of mostly economic inequality and limited resources, but Digital Equity is a concept that we can solve as a community, and can help solve by learning our digital literacies and sharing them with others.
How does limited access affect the world?
People who do not have access to technology are at a significant disadvantage in society. Especially during this time we are in now where the only option is schooling over the internet. Most people in university settings or in the middle class are not seeing significant issues right now with online access to their professors, because of the access to technology or people helping them. The issue is the 5 million children who do not have access to technology, especially in children’s families who make less $50,000 a year or who are in minority groups (Lynch, 2018). This is a community we forget about because we really can’t hear from them online. This many people not having technology puts these groups of people at more disadvantages because they already are limited by their surroundings. Without online access they will be put further back than their peers. They won’t be able to research online for school projects, apply and look for colleges, and look for jobs in a market that has gone heavily online. People in these situations who have drive and motivation may be overlooked because they do not have an online presence like their peers do. It is important to get people connected and online and to teach them the skills that it takes to be digitally literate. People in these communities discussed will then be able to communicate and share ideas in online communities around their struggles and the things in their community that are not generally discussed because of the lack of access. I think that bringing digital equity into these communities can help transform the people into having opportunities to gain education through online platforms. It also can also help people outside of these communities learn and understand from the issues that people in these communities are struggling with, because being Digitally Literate and Having Digital Equity gives them a voice.
References
Lynch, M. (2018, August 14). The Absence of Internet at Home is a Problem for Some Students. Retrieved from https://www.theedadvocate.org/the-absence-of-internet-at-home-is-a-problem-for-some-students/
Pazurek, A., & Feyissa, S. (2015). Digital Divide. SAGE Publications. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483346397.n91
Radovanovic, D. (2011, December 14). Digital Divide and Social Media: Connectivity Doesn't End the Digital Divide, Skills Do. Retrieved from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/digital-divide-and-social-media-connectivity-doesnt-end-the-digital-divide-skills-do/
Stiakakis, E., Kariotellis, P., & Vlachopoulou, M. (2010). From the Digital Divide to Digital Inequality: A Secondary Research in the European Union. Next Generation Society. Technological and Legal Issues Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, 43–54. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-11631-5_4