The Digital Divide Social

How communication technologies
are widening the digital divide

How communication technologies
are narrowing the digital divide

1. Lack of money, unlike people who can afford to buy digital technology devices such as computers, and cell phones, others do not have money to afford those devices. The gap between people who can afford and cannot afford the digital devices exist in Canada, however there is even bigger gap exist between the developed countries and developing countries, because most people in developing countries cannot afford to buy digital devices. Therefore, those people who cannot afford digital technology have no opportunity to access modern information and communication technologies which widen the digital divide between them and people who can afford those digital technologies.  

2. The language also widens the digital divide, because there is language barrier exist for people who speaks minority languages. These people who read and write minority languages cannot access the internet because there are only few websites that are available in their languages, also they cannot share their ideas with rest of the world because there will be only small group of people what will understand. Also, it is hard for them to get information because it is difficult to find website or TV channels available in their languages, so even if there are many information sharing and communicating between people who speaks more common language through communication technologies, there is less opportunity for people who speaks minority languages to access.

1. Providing the communication devices such as computers and cell phones to the people in developing countries can narrow the digital divide, because when people in developing countries are provided with communication devices, they will have access to modern information, sharing ideas, interacting and communicating with people around the world like most people in the developed country, through the communication technologies they are given. Which allows to narrow the digital divide between people who did not have access to the digital technologies in developing countries and   people who already had access to digital technologies in developed countries.

2. Donating money to the developing countries can narrow the digital divide, because most people in developing countries do not have access to the internet, due to the lack of money. They cannot afford communication technologies. However, by donating money to them can change the situation they are facing. If they get money from people who donates money, they can buy the communication devices such as cell phones, and computers which they couldn’t afforded before. By doing that people can get opportunity to access modern information by using internet, through communication devices or, by calling people around the world using their cellphones, or they can also share and exchange their ideas with people around the world who has access to the communication technologies. Therefore it narrows the gap between people who already had access to communication technology and people who didn’t.

Effects of Internet Use on Identity

Positive

Negative

1. Communication is much faster and convenient, due to the internet use. Before there was an internet it was very difficult to communicate with people on the other side of the world, however because of the internet use we can always communicate with people almost anytime if they have internet service. It increases the frequency and quality of interpersonal communications among people. People with easy access to others ought to feel better connected and more strongly supported by others, leading to happiness and engagement in families, organizations, communities, and society more generally. For example people with relatives or family living in different countries can use services such as Skype and Gmail to communicate with their loved ones in almost any part of the globe where internet services are available.

2. The internet has also allowed millions of people to work from home.

In any case everybody’s private situation is different. For many women their own children are the main reason for staying at home. Now days this won’t be a problem anymore, because people can work on their computers at home which is tele-working. Also men take this opportunity to work at home. By doing this if people with family, they can spend more time with their children. Also they can organize every day in the way they want to. Meetings at the company are reduced to minimum.

1.  When people use the internet, their personal information such as their name, addresses, etc. can be accessed by other people. Usually through computer viruses some people tries to steal other people’s personal information mostly to use in a bad ways. For example people use a credit card to shop online, then people’s credit cards information can also be stolen which could be akin to giving someone a blank check.

2. Increase in use of internet promotes social isolation by encouraging people to become “high-tech hermits.”

As people get more connected to each other through the internet, social isolation make social interaction between one another to disappear, where physical interaction is becoming less apparent. Such as friends texting each other than physically seeing each other which is making people to lose their physical communication skill between one another.