A+Global+Perspective


 * The Global Digital Divide **

While the Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) ensure the continued process of globalization through facilitating increased interaction and communication between countries (O’Hara & Stevens, 2006), discrepancies in the international diffusion of ICTs and Internet access have resulted in the inclusion of some and the exclusion of others, creating a global digital divide.

The Global Digital Divide (GDD) can be understood as the inequality in access to the Internet and the diffusion of ICTs between and within countries (White et al., 2011; Chinn & Fairlie, 2007). The GDD can also be explained in regards to the global inequalities in the ability to derive benefit from ICTs, as the global system in which we operate has been large in part created by developed countries of the Western world, and it is a system that benefits them disproportionately (White et al., 2011; O’Hara & Stevens, 2006).

James (2011) notes, “almost all new products and technologies originate in the developed countries” (p. 123) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is a major predictor in the diffusion of ICTs (White et al., 2011). In addition to the domestic and international diffusion of ICTs, economic developments pertaining to human and social capital (e.g. investment in improving digital literacy through education), and political developments such as democratization, also affect the GDD, as this exerts some influence on the rate in which new technologies are adopted and dictate how they are utilized (O’Hara & Stevens, 2006; Chinn & Fairlie, 2007).

We encourage you to watch this short video on a TED Talk by Aleph Molinari, which explores the current state of the GDD and ways in which we can begin to close the gap. Aleph Molinari is an economist, techno-activist, and founder of Mexico’s Learning and Innovation Network [or the [|RIA (Red de Innovación y Aprendizaje)], on Twitter [|@RIAmexico]], which focuses on educating under-served communities on digital tools and technologies.

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 * The Current State of the Global Digital Divide: A Statistical Overview **

To provide you with an up to date, global statistical overview on ICT use and Internet access, we have included this brief video produced by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nations (UN).

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We have also included visual representations of statiscal analysis compiled by the ITU and the ICT Indicators Database on global ICT diffusion and Internet access. The ITU assess the GDD based on certain variables. These include the number of personal computers per 100 people, which correlates with the GDP per capita; the number of Internet users per 100 people, which corresponds with competency (e.g. digital literacy) and acceptance of ICTs within countries; and bandwidth per inhabitant, which speaks to the quality of Internet access and measures the degree of global interconnectedness (White et al., 2011). Currently 5% of the global population accesses the Internet, and as demonstrated in the graphs below, this is comprised primarily of North Americans and Europeans (Tiene, 2002; Bagchi, 2005).



Chinn and Fairlie (2007) note that “many developing countries have computers and Internet penetration rates that are 1/100th of the rates found in North America and Europe” (p. 17). However, access to ICTs in developing countries is growing faster than in developed countries (White et al., 2011), and at the end of 2011, developing countries “accounted for more than 80% of the 660 million new mobile-cellular subscriptions” (ITU, //Key Statistical Highlights ////June 2012 //).



Additional [|key statistical highlights]can be found on the ITU's website: [|www.itu.int] and you can keep up with the ITU on Twitter: [|@ITU_News]

These statistics provide a general overview of the current state of the GDD, however, the digital divide cannot be solely characterized as one between developed and developing countries, as even within highly industrialized nations there exists vast discrepancies in access and use (White et al., 2011; Bagchi, 2005). This leads us to our next section on inequalities in ICT use and Internet access. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Inequalities in Use and Access