Those who are not able to use computers, the Internet, or other elements of high technology are also unable to develop the knowledge base and skills that have come to be expected in most business situations. This means that as the pace of technological advancement rises, and the skill set required for mainstream employment changes along with it, society is becoming increasingly stratified (Mooney & Knox 2007). The technological haves and the technological have-nots have been increasingly separated throughout the twentieth century, first with the advent of the telephone, then the car, the personal computer, the cell phone, and who knows what will be next. Each of these technological innovations has become mainstream in developed countries since its invention, but it takes time for this to happen.
It would be one thing if there were simply a schism between those with access to technology and those without such access. However, the ever-widening rift created by the imbalance in technological access exacerbates current conditions of inequality both within developed nations and the world over (Mooney & Knox 2007). The problem is somewhat easier to illustrate using separate sovereign nations, but the same principles apply to domestic situations, and it all comes down to one simple factor -- money. The people with access to technology...
Since all technologies are expensive when they first come out, richer nations (and individuals) get used to them first, and begin to widely use them. Thus, it is hard to imagine a developed country without electricity, but there are many poorer nations that have large portions of their populations without power or even clean water -- they simply cannot afford the basic infrastructure, let alone computers and the Internet. The complete lack of technology in these countries makes them unable to compete in world markets, and often even in their own countries, where goods can be more cheaply imported than domestically produced. In this way, the rich and technologically advanced countries continue to get richer (and to develop more technologies) while the poor stagnate and despair.
The same phenomenon works on a micro level; poorer people in developed countries have less access -- and later access -- to technology, and are less equipped with the skills to use it. This makes them less economically competitive, making it harder for them to break out of poverty. As the skills gap between whose with access and those without widens, so does the gap of economic inequality.
Reference
Mooney, L. & Knox, D. Understanding Social Problems. New York: Thompson/Wadsworth 2007.
