Digital Divide in This Knowledge-Based

Digital Divide

In this knowledge-based global economy, the power of information is the key to success in any sphere of activity. Having equitable access to telecommunication technologies is crucial for countries that strive to improve their economic status and life standards. Access gap is a civil rights issue with information technology finding its way into every aspect of our living. From educational institutions to job markets computer skills have become indispensable and the lack of amenities for communities to access this vital technological domain undermines the foundations of our civil rights, which promises equitable access to knowledge resources. While the cities have more penetration, rural areas are the places where the digital divide is more prominent. Government and the NGO's should make computer and Internet technology more useful to rural communities by developing technological programs that are more related to their environment and creating sustainable digital opportunities.

A classic example of bridging the digital divide is the case of Lalashan, a remote mountain place in Taiwan with an indigenous population making a living out of selling peaches. Due to the abundance in production, price of peaches fell down drastically making it an unprofitable trade for many of the indigenous families that cultivated peaches in Lalashan. The government-supported project in Lalashan helped this remote community in establishing a DOWEB (Digital Opportunity Within E-business) that enabled them to sell peaches over the Internet. This promised the native villagers annual income of atleast NT$3,000,000. By this innovative method of creating demand for information technology, the government of Taiwan succeeded in making the local farmers interested in learning about the technology. In 2000, the average income for the families was NT$2,000,000 and most of the families were computer illiterate but by 2005 80% of the households had computers with broadband connectivity and 91 families sold their peaches online and doubled their income compared to 2000. This is just one example where opportunity driven technological intervention proved to be an ideal solution for bridging the digital divide. [Liu et.al (2006)]

One of the high priority initiatives is to develop evaluation agendas to ascertain quality of access. This aspect is grossly ignored in most of the governmental and non-governmental initiatives to tackle the digital divide. Such a feedback system would highlight the needs, and the gaps in the current system and provide positive information for the development of appropriate content that would address the real needs of the specific communities. Catering to the diverse population in a community by including multi-lingual support and content specific to different cultural groups are important considerations. [Harouna Ba]

Thus focusing on the digital divide only in terms of physical access to technology provides only a narrow and limited view of the actual problem. Digital divide is a multidimensional issue that needs a more thorough approach. Also, the core issue of functionally illiteracy (21% of Americans) and limited literacy of tens of millions of American people has to be addressed. [May Monten, 2007] Combating digital divide therefore extends beyond guaranteeing access to the information highway and necessitates solving these core educational issues by implementing reforms in educational policies that target these central problems. There is a need for a change in the strategic objective from just increasing penetration and access to information technology tools for communities towards a plan that involves the integration of these technological tools into the existing community programs. Only such a practical, integrated approach would yield the full potential that the Internet and information technology promises to offer. [Harouna Ba]