&&. Digital Divide in the New Normal
Behold as Digital Divide arises, the expanding gap between the legions of technology HAVEs and HAVE-NOTs around the world that gotten great attention during the trying times of Corona Virus diseases. This is the fine line between individuals who have access to a computer and those who do not, a horizon breaking the bond of technology literate and illiterate. It exists between city dwellers and rural-country folks; between educated and ignorant, elite and commoners; and between countries that are more and less industrially developed. The Digital Divide can be visible in the form of low-performance PCs, poor wireless connections, and low-cost internet connections like dial-up, as well as limited access to subscription-based content, even among people who have some access to technology. The spectrum of the Digital Divide is seen to the disparities of advanced communication experienced by people. Therefore, factors like low literacy and income levels, geographical restrictions, lack of motivation to adopt change, lack of physical access to technology, and digital illiteracy contribute to the digital divide.
In the middle of New Normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused the worst disruption of school systems in history, the digital gap raises its ugly head. The competition of Digital Divide is battling between students who have computers and high-speed internet access versus those who scream with nothing. Most students are denied the opportunity to acquire high-quality education because they lack computers, internet access, and virtual learning and workspace technologies. Existing gaps between individuals from wealthy and unprivileged socioeconomic classes are being exacerbate, which amounts to a denial of basic human rights to people living in poverty and poses a serious threat to learning continuity. International organizations involved in internet governance attempt to close the digital divide around the world. Governments have now taken actions to escalate the status of marginalized communities from the thorns of technological ignorance. After all, the internet is now a necessity where everyone should have the capacity to cope with this change. In times of this pandemic, the regime should promptly provide technological needs for poor citizens so that the division of the digital gap would not worsen. It should serve as a wake-up call for many institutions to step up their efforts and adopt proactive measures to close the digital divide. This pandemic has brought our educational sector to the forefront, but it should not cause us to regress in our efforts to create a technologically inclusive and sustainable society. Together, let us end the gap of the Digital Divide and uplift those in misery to foster understanding and unity.
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