Digital Divides (continued)

There are in fact several digital divides. Within a first-world country like the U.S., paying the monthly rent and putting food on the table consumes all (or more than all) of the income of many low-income families. For such families, a computer, software, and Internet connection are unaffordable luxuries. Lacking the power that comes from access to information resources, the parents and children in many families in the U.S. suffer from an information handicap. Plans to address this national digital divide within the U.S. include

• national initiatives by the federal government to subsidize computers and Internet access in the homes of low-income families;
• local initiatives to make public-access computers available in libraries; and
• grass-roots initiatives sponsoring volunteer-staffed "drop-in" centers containing computers and an Internet connection.

There is also an global digital divide that separates the first world from the third world. Initiatives to address the global digital divide have been put forth by the G8 nations (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, Italy, and Russia). However, many third-world countries are wracked by famines, natural disasters, and civil wars. Many have political systems that encourage corruption, and leaders that embezzle funds meant for their people. Many have mismanaged economies or crippling levels of national debt keeping them locked in a cycle of poverty. In such countries, people need many things—food, shelter, safety, political and economic stability—far more than they need Internet connections. Until their higher priority problems are solved (or at least under control), initiatives to address the global digital divide seem misguided at best.

Moreover, the proliferation of the Internet also fans the already incendiary issue of globalization. The spread of the Internet to the so-called third world brings the prospect of enfranchisement in what is an increasingly global, international economy. However, at the same time, some argue that the spread of this technological infrastructure poses a risk to local (and sometimes ancient) cultures and values.

This chapter was written by Jeff Nyhoff and Joel Adams. Copy editing by Nancy Zylstra
©2005 Calvin University (formerly Calvin College), All Rights Reserved

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