Socioeconomic Levels Of Technology: The Digital Divide

Technology has become humanity's new and consistent form of communication. However, along with technology, comes a well known phrase: The Digital Divide. The Digital Divide refers to the economic and social inequality with regard to access to, use of or impact of information and communication technologies. The divide appears in disparities between individuals, households, businesses or geographic areas, usually in various socioeconomic levels or other demographic categories. The Digital Divide is an ongoing issue in America and throughout the world. It shows technical diversities ranging from access to the internet and media to how technology is understood due to literacy and sometimes the age of an individual. Underdeveloped countries and elderly people are more prone to having less access to the most recent technologies because of economic status and overall understanding of how technology works. Even though it seems as if the digital divide is closing due to recent technologies, there are still some barriers that need to be addressed to get the divide a little smaller.

The Digital Divide consists of the difference between people who have an economic status where they can afford

high-quality internet and those who do not have finances to support their extrinsic needs, such as this. When an individual has the means to purchase technology such as a computer or a Smart Phone, they will also have a data plan that will allow them to use the internet on those devices. With this connection, the individual has access to all types of information from small local news to issues that span the globe. This information allows the individual to gain knowledge about everything and anything happening at any given place. In America, there is a more likely chance of an individual having the most up to date technology with effortless access to worldly issues and other knowledge. The United States is, in fact, the seventh country in the world harnessing technological advances, with Singapore taking the first rank. (Lanvin, 2015) On the other end of the spectrum, an individual who does not have the means to own the newest Smart Phone or laptop may have a little more difficulty reaching contact with various information, which may deter the individual to gain outside knowledge. The Economist, a newspaper that is based on international business and world affairs, found that Africa is one of the world's fastest-growing regions with the six of the world's ten economies in the sub-Saharan Africa. An example of this is Uganda's GDP growth rate, which has fluctuated between 6.6% in 2011, 3.4% in 2012, around 6% in 2013 and 6.9% in the first quarter of 2014. Nevertheless, the digital divides remain active in Uganda, with 45.9% of the population with mobile cellular subscriptions and 14.7% using the internet. (Qureshi, 2014) Between the two countries, one could notice that economic status does have an effect on the digital divide.
In telecommunications, broadband is a type of connection that offers a means to connect to the internet using a wide bandwidth data transmission with an ability to simultaneously transport multiple signals and traffic types.

Broadband has a data transmission rate that ranges from 1 to 500 Megabits per second (Mbps). (Evans, 2015)

"As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the 111 Congress allocated $7.2 billion dollars in broadband funding for administration by two federal agencies. The larger share, $4.7 billion, was to be distributed by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration to establish and operate the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) (ARRA, 2009, Title II, Title VI, Sec. 6000)." (Weiner,

2014)
The National Broadband Plan was initiated in March of 2010 and its goal is that it, “shall seek to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband”. (Weiner, 2014) However, there is a consequence to the broadband plan. The Broadband Divide is now a recent subdivision of the Digital Divide. Studies are revealing that there are disparities in terms of service quality. "Affordability aside, almost all Americans have the option of purchasing an internet connection with an advertised download speed of 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) -- fast enough to stream a high definition movie" (Mapping the Digital Divide, 2015). However, depending on the location, and how many people are using devices that take up the Megabits will determine the speed of the internet connection at that time. The gap between urban and rural communities in the United States is substantial, as well as between the wealthiest Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) and the least wealthy. In 2013. "only 63 percent of persons in the lowest population density … could get 25 to 50 Mbps connections, and just 40 percent could access the internet at 100 Mbps" (Mapping the Digital Divide, 2015). Broadband may be accessible to everyone in the United States, but there is a limit to how fast one can connect to the internet due to cost of high-speed internet, how many devices are using the source and the geographical location.
Economy and quality may be the main factors of the digital divide, however the elderly are also effected when it comes to this issue. Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are slowly emerging into the healthcare setting. It allows patients to quickly and effortlessly send information to various doctors in addition to viewing their own medical records. When looking over medical records, one also needs to understand healthcare terminology. Health literacy is a reoccurring issue in the health field. With that said, EMRs might pose a problem to those who don't have health literacy as well as computer literacy. The most targeted group of people that may have trouble in both areas are the elderly. In one study done by Journal of General Internal Medicine, it was found that, "only 9.7 % of elderly individuals with low health literacy used the Internet to obtain health information, compared with 31.9 % of those with adequate health literacy. This gradient persisted after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, health status, and general cognitive ability" (Levy, 2014). In order to use computer technology, a certain level of information literacy is needed. The elderly have a tendency to forget information easily, or can't see very well, among other health problems. Using the computer or other small devices may come as off as difficult for the elderly. To help bridge the digital divide, the elderly have to be majorly considered when it comes to their computer literacy.
The Digital Divide, an ongoing problem throughout the world, seems like it is dwindling due to more people having access to the internet. Eventually, even the most rural places will have access, however, there are still some measures that need to be addressed. The difference between people who have an economic status where they can afford high-quality Internet and those who don't is one of the measures. Poverty cannot be solved over night, but overtime, the government of the country can step in, like in the United States, and plan a system that allows internet access to all persons, rural and urban. Then the quality of internet has to be addressed and who can receive quality internet based on the data plan purchased and the location. Lastly, the elderly and all of those who have disabilities need to be targeted and taught computer and information literacy to aid in bridging the gap even closer. Taking in all of these measures will change the world into a more connected and efficient place for all.