The Digital Divide Essays -- essays papers

The Digital Divide Abstract: Around the world 429 million people are connected to the Internet. Forty-one percent of those people can be found in North America. Although 429 million seems like a large number it is only 6 percent of the global population (Fact Sheet, 2004). Numbers like this reflect the digital divide that has grown since the creation of the computer and more recently, the ‘Information Super Highway’ called, the Internet. The digital divide describes the issue that some people have access to and use computers and the Internet while others do not. There are several factors that play into those that do not have access and there are programs that have been created to close the gap between these people and those that have access. Full Text: Bridges.org (2003) describes the digital divide as â€Å"the wide division between those who have access to ICT [information and communications technologies] and are using it effectively and those who do not.† These groups are labeled the â€Å"have† and the â€Å"have-nots.† As technology increases the importance of having access to it grows also. Those who do not have access to technology lag behind and end up in the ‘gap’ of the digital divide. Usually the majority of people that fall in the ‘have-nots† category are in developing countries around the world, but a large number can be found right in the United States. Several factors seem to play a part in who becomes a victim of the digital divide. These include race, socioeconomic status, education, location, age and gender. The statistics for race and access to Internet access in the home show that 46.1% of white households are online and 56.8% of Asian American and Pacific Islanders have access to the Internet in th... ...e Network. (2004). Digital Divide Basics Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 18, 2004 from http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/stories/index.cfm?key=168 6.) Hillebrand, M. (1999). US Government Attempts to Bridge Digital Divide. E-Commerce Times. Retrieved April 12, 2004 from http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/1086.html. 7.)Holmes, S. (2000). NMSU project aims to bridge ‘digital divide.’ Retrieved April 24, 2004 from http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/070600/usn_nmsu.shtml. 8.) PBS.org. (2001). Outreach Activities. Retrieved April 18, 2004 from http://www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/news.html. 9.) Steele-Carrin, S. (2000). Caught in the Digital Divide. Education World. Retrieved April 27, 2004 from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech041.shtml. 10.) Vail, K. (2003). Next Generation Divide. American School Board Journal, 190, 23-25.