What is the digital gap?
The term “digital divide” has been used to describe variations in Internet access and Internet-related technology (such as computers) available in various countries and even within developed countries. As the Internet has become more ubiquitous in many countries around the world, there is still significant variation in the amount of access people have to that resource. There is a clear trend line that correlates the countries where poverty is most common with the lack of Internet access and undeveloped technological infrastructure in those countries.
The existence of a digital divide that separates developed countries from underdeveloped ones does not suggest that the evolution of the Internet has somehow created inequality in the world. In fact, the digital divide generally follows historical patterns of technology development and use between advanced countries such as Great Britain, the United States, and Japan versus more primitive countries such as those in Africa and South America.
However, one thing becomes clear when considering what the Internet has to offer. Those who have constant access to the Internet naturally have more opportunities to communicate, learn, do business, and access the world’s network of resources at large. A study published in 2014 showed a high correlation between average household income and average internet speed.
How does the Internet create an opportunity?
An example from Honduras
There are countless ways provided by the Internet to overcome poverty and create opportunity. As I write this article, I am in Honduras helping a nonprofit charity teach internet marketing skills to its students. An important part of our fundraising program for the school involves building an online dental store that will be operated by students. They will learn how to use search engine optimization and social media marketing, order fulfillment, customer service, technical writing, and other skills that would not be available to them if it weren’t for the opportunity the internet provides.
Education
Perhaps the most critical component in making the Internet accessible to as many people as possible is access to information and the education that goes with it. Learning has certainly evolved over the last twenty years. Rather than having to rely on in-person class lectures that included programs that required tuition and a flexible schedule, YouTube, Wikipedia, and other online learning tools have brought education to anyone who can access their pages.
Deal
The ability of companies to market their products on the Internet has leveled the playing field, making profitability a high possibility for those who will take the time to learn how to configure the Internet to attract their customers. Techniques for attracting customers are described in detail for free or low-cost on inbound marketing tutorial sites across the web.
Because of the internet, a market has developed for entrepreneurs who build their businesses directly from their homes, including blogging mothers who sell advertising, YouTubers who benefit simply from filming what they do on a daily basis, or who film demos of themselves opening toys. Ecommerce business owners who directly ship the products they market through online stores and a host of other creative ways to create an internet revenue machine.
Conclution
Although the digital divide has not caused the wealth disparity between developed countries and those that lag behind, expanding the Internet to make it more available in places that do not yet have access can significantly alter the playing field, doing so. that, otherwise, lower-class or impoverished people can take advantage of the opportunities that are currently being used to create wealth among the population with access to the Internet.
