Digital divide is a term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don't or have restricted access. This technology can include the telephone, television, personal computers and the Internet. The digital divide refers to the separation between those who have access to digital information and communications technology (ICT) and those who do not. Many believe that universal access to ICT would bring about a global community of interaction, commerce, and learning resulting in higher standards of living and improved social welfare. However, the digital divide threatens this outcome, leading many public policy makers to debate the best way to bridge
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This could be for many reasons including economic, technological, social and geographical. Some people also have a fear of technology or a lack of motivation. There is an argument about digital divide is not just about money or economy. Developing countries in areas such as Africa have low income. The people who live there worry about basic things such as food, clean water and health care. They can’t afford to buy or invest in technology because they have to think about what they need to live …show more content…
Nevertheless, there are other factors also causes digital divide such as gender gap and knowledge gap. Before exploring gender dimensions of the digital divide, it is necessary to comprehend differences between sex and gender. Gender differs from sex because sex refers to the anatomical and physiological difference between men and women whereas gender refers to behaviours resulting from socializations (West and Zimmerman 1987, Duerst-Lahti and Kelly 1995). As the issue of access to and uptake of ICTs is entwined with the gender differences (Kole 2001), the need of acknowledging these differences is crucial to overcome the digital divide. Bimber (2000) observed that men and women do adopt ICT differently but the gender gap in terms of ICT utilization is determined by the combination of gender and socioeconomic factors and not the gender exclusively. Due to socialization process, women may undermine their capabilities, and as a result, be reluctant to adopt ICT. Hargittai and Shafer (2006) reported that men and women do not necessarily differ in their ICT capabilities but women’s self-assessed skills were significantly lower than that of men. That is why, although gender gap in terms of access to ICT has been narrowed in developed countries, concern over gender differences should not necessarily be sidelined (Ono and Zavodny
This could be for many reasons including economic, technological, social and geographical. Some people also have a fear of technology or a lack of motivation. There is an argument about digital divide is not just about money or economy. Developing countries in areas such as Africa have low income. The people who live there worry about basic things such as food, clean water and health care. They can’t afford to buy or invest in technology because they have to think about what they need to live …show more content…
Nevertheless, there are other factors also causes digital divide such as gender gap and knowledge gap. Before exploring gender dimensions of the digital divide, it is necessary to comprehend differences between sex and gender. Gender differs from sex because sex refers to the anatomical and physiological difference between men and women whereas gender refers to behaviours resulting from socializations (West and Zimmerman 1987, Duerst-Lahti and Kelly 1995). As the issue of access to and uptake of ICTs is entwined with the gender differences (Kole 2001), the need of acknowledging these differences is crucial to overcome the digital divide. Bimber (2000) observed that men and women do adopt ICT differently but the gender gap in terms of ICT utilization is determined by the combination of gender and socioeconomic factors and not the gender exclusively. Due to socialization process, women may undermine their capabilities, and as a result, be reluctant to adopt ICT. Hargittai and Shafer (2006) reported that men and women do not necessarily differ in their ICT capabilities but women’s self-assessed skills were significantly lower than that of men. That is why, although gender gap in terms of access to ICT has been narrowed in developed countries, concern over gender differences should not necessarily be sidelined (Ono and Zavodny