Reducing the Digital Gap
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have opened new paths to possibilities that were unimaginable before. They have allowed us to create new social connections, fostering instant connections between people. Moreover, they have provided us with the ability to access information faster and create content using the tools generated through technology. However, is access to digitalization happening equally worldwide?
The reality is that we live in a world of inequalities, and it’s clear that the problems of the physical world are reflected in the virtual world. Therefore, in response to the previous question, the answer is a resounding no. There is a significant social imbalance that hinders equal access to the internet and ICT for everyone, known as the digital divide. This gap becomes even more pronounced when we consider different regions: according to data from Internet World Stats as of May 2020, only 39.3% of Africa’s population is connected to the internet, compared to 87.2% of Europeans and 94.6% of North Americans.
The digital divide has been a phenomenon that efforts have been made to eliminate. Many experts have proposed digital literacy as a solution, which involves a learning process that enables all individuals to acquire the necessary knowledge to make the most of ICT and the tools that have emerged from them, opening new paths to educational, economic, and social potentials. Despite the widespread commercialization of internet-enabled mobile devices, there remains a significant divide that is more fracturing than unifying, creating gaps of various kinds – in access, usage, age, gender, etc.
La ONU contempla en sus Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS 9) la reducción de la brecha digital. Por ello, en muchos lugares, se han puesto ya en marcha iniciativas para facilitar el acceso a la tecnología. ¿tú cómo crees que esto puede terminar?
