The Digital Divide is the gap that exists between those who use and access the internet and those who don't or don't have it. This divide causes a real exclusion from all the benefits that the digital world brings. Exclusion creates ruptures both culturally and socio-economically. These ruptures can be of various forms, but its effects are always negative for those who suffer them.
The digital is becoming increasingly important to society. The excluded are those who usually belong to the disadvantaged social classes and are fighting wars over social and technological inequalities. The division that creates the Digital Divide, is a discrimination for the equality of rights that can be exercised online thanks to the digital society, and showcases an increasing inequality in the use of technologies and their access. Questa divisione mette in risalto la separazione tra la parte della popolazione che utilizza le tecnologie e la parte della popolazione che non le utilizza.
Le categorie che risentono in modo particolare del Digital Divide sono:
- Gli anziani: l’esclusione è causata da un gap generazionale;
- Gli immigrati: l’esclusione è causata da un gap linguistico-culturale;
- I detenuti, i disabili e chi ha un basso livello di istruzione, che non sono in grado di usare in modo consono i dispositivi informatici;
- Le donne inoccupate: l’esclusione è causata da un gap di genere.
Cosa causa il Digital Divide?
Di solito chi ha accesso alle tecnologie digitali proviene da una determinata area geografica e geopolitica, ma ci sono altre caratteristiche legate al sesso, all’età, al reddito ed al livello di educazione. Da alcuni studi si evince che, chi ha il reddito più alto ed un alto grado di scolarizzazione, ha più possibilità di accedere al mondo digitale. Those who live in the most developed urban centers have more possibilities than those who live in rural centers.
How do inequalities arise?
Already in the 1990s, the thesis began to spread that those who do not use digital technology or cannot use it, create a new form of social inequality by creating a gap with those who do. For this reason they are studying appropriate public policies to ensure access to the Internet for all. The first to use the term Digital Divide was Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, to indicate the difference that had been created between information haves (those who use the internet) and havenots (those who do not use the internet), during the K-12 education program. The advancement of the digital divide is calculated through specific approaches that analyze variables that influence access to the internet.
In short, socio-demographic, institutional and economic variables are taken into account. Sono nate così due teorie, la prima è la teoria della normalizzazione, che gradualmente porterà la progressiva eliminazione del divario informatico e quindi porterà al livellamento delle competenze digitali; la seconda teoria è quella della stratificazione, che porterà ad un aumento costante del divario digitale e delle disuguaglianze che sono nate con la rete. Queste disuguaglianze si protrarranno nel tempo creando differenze discriminatorie tra gli information haves e gli havenots.
Le tre tipologie del divario causato dal mondo digitale
I divari che si vengono a creare con il Digital Divide sono stati classificati in tre tipologie: globale, sociale e democratico.
- Il divario globale riguarda le differenze tra i paesi più e meno sviluppati.
- Il divario sociale si riferisce alle disuguaglianze che ci sono all’interno di un paese.
- Il divario democratico mette in evidenza le condizioni di partecipazione alla vita sociale e politica, in base all’utilizzo ed al non utilizzo delle tecnologie.
Il divario globale non è solo la possibilità di accedere alle tecnologie, ma soprattutto la qualità e le modalità di accesso. Per questo è il divario più forte in questo momento. Per esempio in Cina, Giappone e Stati Uniti hanno ad oggi più della metà delle connessioni nel mondo.
La situazione del Digital Divide in Italia
Per gli italiani che non sono coperti da una adeguata connessione internet, si parla di un Digital Divide di infrastrutture, invece per gli italiani che scelgono di non avere una connessione si parla di Digital Divide culturale. Both situations create disadvantages, although only a low percentage of the population does not have an internet connection and the ultra-wide band coverage affects only from 20% to 40% of the Italian population.
A common good called internet
A duty of the states and of the Internet Government, is to make internet a common good and allow everyone to access it freely. The access to internet must be guaranteed to everyone, regardless of the use that each person can do, with the same conditions. Thanks to the network, through social networks and various technologies, people are given the power to earn money, establish social relationships and take advantage of all that the network can offer. For those who do not have access to the internet, this can become a source of social discrimination. Also with regard to schooling, about 70% of teachers assign tasks that you need to have a network connection to do. We can say that one child out of two is not able to finish the assigned tasks, because he/she doesn't have internet at home.
How can we reduce the Digital Divide?
The term Digital Divide doesn't concern only the digital divide anymore, but also the lack of possibility to access to technologies, as for example the mobile connection. In fact, there are many factors to consider, such as bandwidth and speed and the skills of each individual person. Eliminating the digital divide is the aim of many international organizations and associations that deal with Internet Governance in the world. Sono stati riconosciuti quattro cardini su cui basare le possibili soluzioni: la crescita economica, l’uguaglianza economica, un’organizzazione democratica e la mobilità sociale. Alcune delle attività interessate che potrebbero aiutare a ridurre questo divario sono:
- Creare applicazioni e ambienti digitali che portino l’utente ad essere autosufficiente e che lo rendano un partecipante attivo;
- Creare dei percorsi educativi per l’utilizzo di internet e delle altre tecnologie
- Mettere a disposizione dispositivi con accesso alla rete che riescano a soddisfare le esigenze di tutti;
- Mettere a disposizione un servizio internet a prezzi modici e con una buona connessione;
- Avere un supporto tecnico di qualità.
Gli stati devono garantire ai propri cittadini l’uguaglianza delle condizioni economico-sociali e la parità dell’accesso alla rete. New generations must be provided with a proper digital education to grow up as digital citizens and improve the education of the most vulnerable minority groups. Degrees of digital literacy differ nationally and internationally. Another digital divide exists between those who produce content for the web and those who use it. Creators are a very small part of the total number of web users.
Those who participate more usually are those with high levels of education and income. However, when we talk about the digital divide, we are talking about the knowledge essential to do the most basic things when connected. However, some of the problems also relate to the infrastructure and telematics gaps that allow for effective navigation. Therefore, a real Digital Divide damage has been created, which has caused the violation of the rights of access to the network that hinders those who use it to exercise their rights. This prejudice is damage that is done to the person, because they have a missed opportunity for inclusion.
Is it important to reduce the Digital Divide?
The answer in this case is more than obvious, so yes! The Internet has great potential hence the need to ensure free access and most importantly free access for all, through the enactment of new public policy regulations. The Internet has been declared by the United Nations Human Rights Council, as a fundamental human right, which guarantees a start of progress for future development in all its forms. Every state is obliged to facilitate in enjoying the right to freedom of expression, which can also be done through the use of the Internet, which today is considered the indispensable means for the enjoyment of many human rights, thanks to the ease of access to information and to make it much easier for the population, if they want to participate actively, in the construction of democratic society.
It has not yet been decided whether to formalize the recognition of the right of access to the Internet in the legal system, which takes into account the new digital technologies, since digital equality has now become an almost fundamental issue in our modern society. The possibilities of development offered by new digital technologies are increasing thanks to the arrival of the information society, but the risk is that these opportunities will be offered only to a privileged few, the information haves. Social inequality has become, due to the new technologies, a factor of cultural discrimination that hinders many to access the new information and communication technologies.