Introduction
The topic of interest for the given research is the digital divide and its social and economic implications. Is there a digital divide, and is it responsible for socioeconomic differences between nations and populations? Rosling et al. argue that people tend to view gaps in a polarized manner without properly acknowledging the existence of a large majority in the middle (30).
The main reason is that there is usually a gap instinct to overlook the majority and focus on opposites and extremes, thinking that the problem is dire when it is not. The digital divide exists, but it has minimal socioeconomic implications because it is not problematized, the majority has access to essential technology, and it has no direct effect.
Digital Divide and Its Implications
An Exaggerated Concern with Limited Scholarly Attention
Firstly, the digital divide is an overdramatized issue that is not even recognized as a global problem responsible for socioeconomic differences. It is critical to “beware of comparisons of averages. If you could check the spreads, you would probably find they overlap. There is probably no gap at all.” (Rosling et al. 30). For example, Lythreatis et al. state that the digital divide is not problematized by the community of scholars and academics (1).
In other words, professionals and experts do not see the digital divide as an issue. It does not mean that it is non-existent, but the situation with technology around the globe is mostly equal when it comes to the essential types of technological solutions. Essentially, it is not worth raising awareness about or being fearful of since there is no gap as such. Thus, it is important to look at the greater majority.
Widespread Access to Basic Technology
Secondly, although there is a digital divide, the majority have access to essential technology. It is stated that “there are some at the top and some at the bottom … but even then, the majority is usually somewhere in between, right where the gap is supposed to be” (Rosling et al. 30).
Evidence suggests that “there are over 5.22 billion smartphone users in the world, representing 66% of the global population” (“Number of Smartphone and Mobile Phone Users” par. 1). The latter means that there is a large majority of people have access to the most critical technology – smartphones. This means most people have access to the internet, electricity, digital entertainment, social media, and key software.
Another key piece of evidence is that almost the entire population of India and China has access to basic technology, and they together comprise more than a third of the global population (Maiti et al. 237). Therefore, the majority of people have access to and possess technology and digital solutions, eliminating the myth about a gap. As a result, it is valuable to address the socioeconomic implications of this gapless divide.
Insignificant Socioeconomic Consequences
Thirdly, the problem of the digital divide has minimal direct effect, making it negligible. Rosling et al. state that one should “remember, looking down from above distorts the view. Everything else looks equally short, but it’s not” (30). Aissaoui states that the socioeconomic effect of the digital divide can only be identified at the third-level range, which means its direct and secondary impacts are not significant (686).
Conclusion
The effect of the digital divide can be considered non-existent because evidence must show a direct causal relationship for it to be a real problem. If noticing the issue is only possible after it is viewed from a broader perspective, the perspective becomes distorted. In a sense, the latter is a result of confounding variables, where a large number of factors contribute to an observed outcome.
Works Cited
“Number of Smartphone and Mobile Phone Users Worldwide in 2022/2023.” FinancesOnline, 2023, Web.
Aissaoui, Najeh. “The Digital Divide: A Literature Review and Some Directions for Future Research in Light of COVID-19.” Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 71, no. 8/9, 2022, pp. 686-708.
Lythreatis, Sophie, et al. “The Digital Divide: A Review and Future Research Agenda.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 175, no. 121359, 2022, pp. 1-9.
Maiti, Dibyendu, et al. Digitalization and Development. Springer, 2020.
Rosling, Hans, et al. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World–and Why Things Are Better Than You Think. Flatiron Books, 2018.