Diverging Paths Created By An Expanding Digital Divide

Every day we wake up and one of the first things we do is grab our cell phones and catch up with friends and acquaintances. We often scroll through our feeds on our choice social media platforms and various points throughout the day. These tasks seem very ordinary to many of us; however, we don’t stop to think that it is actually a benefit we have that others don’t have. Cell phones and the internet may seem to have been around for a long time for the youngest of us. The reality though is that these are still fairly new technologies. As such, they are still premium items. A majority of the functional smartphones we use every day come with a price tag of above $300 a piece plus a monthly service charge that can cost upwards of at least $25. A majority of our society still doesn’t have the means to be able to afford to pay for these things. They don’t have access to them, and it is getting harder for those who don’t have access to gain access. The obstacles that exist could be as simple as no knowledge of how to use them. If one doesn’t know how to use them, they can’t get any benefit from them. The additional obstacle is the ability to get them. In order to get a good smartphone one has to have a good job to be able to afford it. To get a job, many times it is expected that one has a phone number and email address. Many of these are features that one has when they have a phone. No phone quickly becomes no job resulting in still no phone. Luckily, there is starting to gain traction access to these crucial devices partially solving the problem. Sadly, the knowledge training on how to use them is still lacking. This is resulting in barriers to closing the divide through effective utilization. When we close this education barrier than we will be closer to closing the divide.

TEDxTalks, director. The Digital Divide. YouTube, YouTube, 5 Apr. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZe4AoZ2Pv8. Accessed 27 Nov. 2022.

Wolske, Martin. “3A: The Digitization of Divides.” Person-Centered Guide to Demystifying Technology: Working Together to Observe/ Question/ Design/ Prototype/ and Implement/Reject Technology in Support of People's Valued Beings and Doings, Windsor & Downs Press, 2020, pp. 74–85.