Massive Digital Divide in the Land of IT, Essay Example

Digital divide creates and increases inequality in the world. The recent article by Dhar (2011) highlighted how disadvantaged children living in rural areas of India are. Poverty is, however, the main issue, and while governments invest into projects to increase computer literacy among pupils and the adult population, it is likely that policies and state initiatives will not solve the problem alone.

The responsibility of eliminating the digital divide is everybody’s. With a talent pool like India’s, it is important that people have access to the internet and information. Non-profit organizations, telecommunication and internet companies, NGO-s, and charities need to work together to tackle the problem. The IT Decisions article (2011) describes how Brazil’s NGO-s fight the Digital Divide through the Alchemy Project and Computers for Inclusion.

However, digital divide does not only exist in the Global East and BRIC countries. In Philadelphia, America, over 40 percent of the population has no access to the internet. While the government has tried to address the issue and create public Wi-Fi spots in the town. Still for education and research purposes, according to the video published by The Real News (2011), people needed constant, reliable, home access to the internet. In communities, where poverty is a burning issue, it is hard to convince residents to invest into technologies (and their children’s future), especially if they struggle to pay for their bills or weekly shopping. Low cost schemes, such as the one introduced in India (Dhar, 2011) might provide a solution. Low-cost computer tablets are suitable for browsing the internet, researching information, or simply communicating with the world. Lack of computer literacy creates not only disadvantage, but isolation from the outside world, as well.

In America, one would assume that the majority of students have internet access at home. While this is not the case, school computer rooms close just two hours after the day finishes; making it almost impossible for students to complete research and homework. They belong to, what Wolff & MacKinnon (2002) describes as “information underclass”.  Only national strategies can successfully move them out of this category.

Schools might not have the resources to provide out-of-hour access to computers and internet, however, charities could run the service. The role of charities, community organizations, and large NGO-s should not be neglected.

Providing children low-cost appliances, in poverty-struck neighborhoods might not be the best solution, given the crime rates associated with these areas. Allowing them to learn to use the devices and safely browse the internet in a home-like environment, such as shelters ran by charities might be a better option. In America, the cost associated with developing high speed Wi-Fi networks is relatively low. The question is: who should be paying for it? The local government? Charities? The Federal Government? In India, however, the problem is more complicated. The country lacks the infrastructure that would make Wi-Fi network development in rural areas possible, and it is likely that for at least a decade, the situation will not change. In India, schools have a huge responsibility for providing both computer literacy skills and access to information systems to reduce the impact of the digital divide on the future of children.

Overall, the two sources about the issue have revealed how poverty and disadvantaged family background impacts people’s lives in the digital era. It is like comparing a family trying to harvest crops without machinery with another farming community having access to the latest technology agricultural equipment. When comparing the results, people would only see the productivity of the farms, not the difference in opportunities to improve. If we want to improve the chances of children for a better future, we (NGO-s, for-profit IT companies, and governments) need to work together.

References

Dhar, S. (2011) INDIA: Massive digital divide in the land of IT. IPS News. Retrieved from http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/11/india-massive-digital-divide-in-the-land-of-it/

IT Decisions. (2011) Case study: Brazilian NGO fights digital divide. Retrieved from http://itdecs.com/2011/06/case-study-brazilian-ngo-fights-digital-divide/

The Real News Network (2011) Digital divide in Philadelphia. Video. Retrieved from http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7091

Wolff, L. & MacKinnon, S. (2002) What is The digital divide? Inter-American Development Bank. World Bank Publication.