Digital Divide The digital divide generally describes the disparity that exists among individuals and communities around the world with varying degrees of access to digitally-mediated Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their ability to benefit from digital resources. This gap has socioeconomic and educational implications as well as global impacts. The connections to resources—both to human resources and information resources—that these technologies afford increasingly influences globalization and economic prosperity in the current Information Age, both within the U.S.A. and abroad. Digital technologies open new pathways and possibilities for accessing information, services, and education by way of both formal and informal learning opportunities. This division raises critical concerns about equity  namely, that those without the ability to meaningfully use digital technologies do not stand to benefit from the connections and opportunities that digital access affords and, thus, may be at a significant disadvantage economically and educationally. An Emergent Definition The term ‘digital divide’ was originally introduced in the 1990s to refer to the gap between individuals who have access to ICTs and those who do not. The concept has developed from a construct that highlights the distinction between information rich and information poor members of society; this term was initially introduced to describe people with and without physical access to telephones and personal computers. As the Internet gained a foothold, issues of access were expanded to include online technologies and the broadband infrastructure necessary to support adequate Internet connections. In its earliest conception, access was primarily linked to physical ownership of these technologies. On a very fundamental level, the digital divide describes a negative space. Embedded in the term is a sense of urgency that implies a need to take action to fill this space. Appeals to address the digital divide suggest that improving access to the digital technologies will become increasingly more critical among individuals and among global competitors. There is growing concern that people without access to the Internet are unable to participate meaningfully in the economic, social, and political life that is increasingly being lived on the Internet and through the communication and creation capacities that it affords. Assertions have been made that these disparities require acknowledgement and further study of the contributing factors and implications if the digital divide is to be adequately addressed in order to narrow this gap. A holistic understanding also requires reframing the digital divide as an emerging construct that has evolved to represent much more than a lack of access to ICTs and digital resources. In recent years, for example, it has widened in scope to include more specific technologies, such as access to high-speed and wireless Internet services. More importantly, the definition has been expanded to include access to digitally mediated knowledge and the resulting skills and competencies essential for personal, professional, and economic success in life. Contributing Factors Overall, physical access is no longer a major issue in industrially developed countries. However, due to affordability (cost), weak information technology infrastructure, lack of reliable electricity, and usability issues, access to the Internet continues to be a problem in developing countries. By 2003 scholars had underlined the importance of looking at the digital divide not as a gap focused on access to the Internet on a bipolar scale but as a continuum; they argued that degrees of access to the Internet must be assessed. To illustrate this point, consider the following three scenarios, noting the spectrum of access between (A) a person with high speed Internet in the U.S.A., (B) a student in Accra who uses the Internet at an Internet café, and (C) a fisherman in a small village in Ethiopia who does not understand enough English to complete an online Diversity Visa Lottery form and must have his friends fill out the form for him. These examples demonstrate at least three levels of access to the Internet that are multilayered and complex. Thus, approaching the digital divide dichotomously is imprecise and overlooks essential factors. Although the issue of physical access to ICTs was an important first step in understanding the impact that the digital divide has had on social, economic, and political aspects of modern living, the evolution of the Internet and its effect on everyday life has necessitated evaluating alternative dimensions of the digital divide. Reframing the Digital Divide Beyond concerns associated with physical access to ICT resources and connectivity, increasing concern has emerged about what is necessary to support the development of the knowledge and skills that determine how or in what capacity these technologies are being used (see Digital Literacy Overview and Definition). In recent years, more attention has been paid to the knowledge and skills associated with digital tools that will be required to use them to their fullest advantage. For example, important questions are being asked about what skills are necessary to be able to leverage the Internet as an information resource in meaningful ways, what sources can be deemed credible and accurate, and how information can be shared safely. These new questions framing literate practices reflective of communications that are increasingly being mediated digitally have caused a profound conceptual shift in the way literacy is positioned today. Early historical conceptions of literacy referred to reading and writing of printed text; whereas, a contemporary conception of literacy is much more inclusive. New literacies have been pluralized to additionally include digital literacy and the ability to navigate, understand, curate, and create digital texts. A divide, then, also currently exists among literate practices surrounding ICT and digital media. In addition to the accessibility of physical resources, it is critically necessary to additionally acknowledge the current disparity among individuals who have developed the knowledge and skills necessary to use ICT tools like the Internet appropriately and those who have not. Again, it is not appropriate to make polar distinctions about such aptitudes and whether one ultimately has them or does not; rather, these competencies must be considered along a continuum and by matter of degree. They must also be assessed as a dynamic set of competencies rather than a static proficiency. Indeed, the rapid pace of technological advancement requires adaptive expertise or the learning and relearning of new skills. Paramount to the issue of access to opportunities necessary for literacy development is the recognition that a lack of digital literacy skills may place individuals at a significant disadvantage in the Information Age. Thus, at the intersection of physical resource and knowledge access, an emerging definition of the digital divide must also address 21st century digital literacy skills and whether individuals have access to opportunities necessary to develop relevant knowledge and skills to fully participate in 21st century life. It can be argued that new literacies reflective of digitally mediated communications that are prevalent today are essential in order to increase the capacity to participate in and contribute to the current knowledge economy. This holds significant implications for education, including formal and informal learning opportunities and challenges. Implications in Education Increased technology integration in formal education and gains in the momentum of online learning in educational programming in many parts of the world has made digital access and digital literacy imperative. Educational attainment is, therefore, increasingly dependent upon accessibility to the technological tools and to the knowledge necessary to use the tools purposefully and meaningfully. Further, even more opportunities for learning are being created than ever before as educational institutions offer free and open access to resources that were once out of reach. The digital divide also impacts the efforts of educators as they design and develop technologically mediated educational activities and learning environments that are appropriate for the wide range of diversity of access to digital affordances and devices. Digital technologies are not the sole solution to economic or educational disadvantage, but acknowledging the disparity that exists between advantaged and disadvantaged individuals or communities has the potential to help understand and open up new ways to address the access and effective use gap for underserved populations. Angelica Pazurek Solen Feyissa See also Digital Literacy Overview and Definition, 21st Century Technology Skills Further Readings Modarres, A. (2011). Beyond the digital divide. National Civic Review, 100(3), 4-7. doi: 10.1002/ncr.20069 Ragnedda, M., & Muschert, G. W. (Eds.) (2013). The digital divide: The Internet and social inequality in international perspective. New York, NY: Routledge. Van Dijka, J., & Hacker, K. (2003). The digital divide as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The Information Society, 19(4), 315-326. doi: 10.1080/01972240309487 Warschauer, M. (2003). Technology and social inclusion: Rethinking the digital divide. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Wei, L. & Hindman, D. B. (2011). Does the digital divide matter more? Comparing the effects of new media and old media use on the education-based knowledge gap. Mass Communications and Society, 14(2), 216-235. doi: 10.1080/15205431003642707