The Digital Divide and Cultural Significance essays

The Digital Divide and Cultural Significance essays The Digital Divide and Cultural Significance by Dennis L. Wignall, Ph.D. U.S. Government officials and social researchers have long been studying the phenomenon labeledThe Digital Divide? (DD). The DD is defined as the distance between those people who possess functional computing skills in support of internet access, and those people who do not. The predominate factors limiting the acquisition and/or development of computing skills and subsequent internet access are generally identified as income level, ethnicity, and/or geography. The goal of this essay is to explore the current manifestations of the DD, their impact on American society and societies in general, the steps being taken to close the DD in America, and why other cultures may wish to study these steps. In addition, potential technological developments and their consequences to global populations will be explored. The first point of importance to be addressed is the nature and existence of the DD. Early in the 1990's the National Telecommunication and Information Agency (NTIA) made public the first of three successive reports based on data derived from the U.S. Census Bureau. Although this report was originally designed to review the usage of telephones, data was collected that reflected computer usage as well. The concept of theDigital Divide? emerged from analysis of that data. Subsequent reports from NTIA revealed an overall increase in the use of computing technology and the internet. However, the DD not only was still prevalent, it had grown. That is, the distance between computer users and nonusers had expanded. The distance itself reflects a number of attributes. Primary among these is users are enjoying increased access to each other as well as access to growing bodies of information easily downloadable from the internet. In fact, the internet has experienced an exponential growth rate for the past decade. NTIA estimates that there are approxim...