5 July 2004

The Digital Divide in the Developed World

By Thomas B Riley, Executive Director and Chair, Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance and Cathia Gilbert, Chief Operating Officer, Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance

INTRODUCTION

According to the Digital Divide Network in the United States: "...economic development and the digital divide go hand-in-hand for many reasons. Communities with the tools and skills to compete in the digital economy are at a distinct advantage over communities that don't. In many ways, the situation in a given community can build upon itself, for better or for worse." (http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/sections/index.cfm?key=6)

While there are economic, information and knowledge benefits to be had by having easy access to the Internet, there are many sectors of society that are not part of this growing culture.

Most of the literature on the digital divide agrees that well-educated, technology-literate communities can be successful in developing new and innovative businesses and community initiatives in their areas through the implementation, and productive use, of information and communications technologies (ICTs). It is recognized that while there are economic, information and knowledge benefits to be had by having easy access to the Internet, there are many sectors of society that are not part of this growing culture.

The concept of the digital divide is based on the hypothesis that there are both "information-haves" and "information-have-nots" in the Internet Age, and that the basis for that division may include any or all of such demographic characteristics as age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, region, and locality. From a public policy perspective, the questions about this hypothesis are: (1) Is it true? and (2) Does it matter?

Government officials at all levels in Canada and many other developed countries such as the USA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union countries recognize that there is a digital divide within their populations. This digital divide in the developed world has important ramifications for the delivery of Government services.

It is worthwhile to explore the key issues regarding the problems of this digital divide, and seek out solutions, especially for governments wishing to move towards a widespread delivery of e-services. An analysis of this problem may be framed by posing the following questions:

	·	Is the digital divide in its current context, more than simply lack of access to the new technologies?
	·	What are the issues being debated?
	·	How much do the barriers such as illiteracy, economic conditions of individuals, families and groups, disabilities or lack of interest levels prevent people from making use of the new technologies?
	·	Is there a significant gap between those benefiting from the new technologies and those in the population who do not use the technologies, for whatever reason?
	·	What is the current state of access and usage in different developed countries?
	·	If there is a significant divide how can this be overcome?
	·	How does the digital divide impact on the relationship between government and the citizenry?
	·	What kind of policies, or statutes, might be needed by governments to ensure that large segments of the population are not overlooked when new and innovative ways of developing information for distribution are created?
	·	Is this one of the fundamental challenges facing governments, as ICTs, the Internet, and other communication technologies, such as mobile phones with text and video capabilities, increasingly become an intricate and essential part of our working and personal lives?
	·	Or will governments adopt simple and explicit policies to ensure that the approximately 25% of our population who do not participate in, or use ICTs or government services online, continue to have the traditional access to all forms of services?

The Evidence About the Digital Divide

Two important surveys regarding use of the Internet and mobile communications have been conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The results of the surveys show that there are significant demographic differences in both the access to, and use of the Internet, for personal, professional, or political purposes, either at home, at work, or in the community.

As browsers have become more user-friendly, and as Internet use more widespread, the gender gap is closing.

Males use the Internet more often than females, worldwide. However, in some countries such as the UK, the US and Canada this statistic is changing as women equal or exceed Internet usage of males. To some extent this was originally because "surfing the net" took more technical skill, and males gravitated to these kinds of tasks more readily than females. As browsers have become more user-friendly, and as Internet use more widespread, the gender gap is closing. At work in particular, Internet usage has been on the rise for many occupations, both male and female-dominated. Also as downloading music has spread, more and more females have found its leisure use appealing as well.

Younger people were originally more frequent users of the Internet than older people, because of the medium's cutting edge aura and entertainment content. More recently, however, the number of older users is catching up, because of the increase in work or business-related content, and because of the appeal of instantaneous communications. E-mail is still the "killer app" of the Internet.

Those with larger personal or family incomes are far more likely to have Internet access and use it than poorer people. Access usually involves investment in a computer, a modem, various versions of software, a phone line, and often a printer or fax machine. Besides the initial cost, there are also service, maintenance and training issues to consider all of which require paying for. This is an important issue to address as lack of finances for fixing the current technology or inability to buy newer forms of technology can result as a deterrent to accessing government services online.

Educational attainment can provide either technical skills for information and knowledge work, or standard of living expectations for a "connected lifestyle". Information and knowledge workers are increasingly professionals with specific training in word processing, spreadsheet accounting, database manipulation, and graphical presentation software. Whether acquired in school or on the job, this skills package clearly divides its possessors from the uninitiated. On average, the higher one's education the more digitally mediated communications are integrated into one's lifestyle.

Digital Discrimination?

Ethnic differences regarding Internet access and use, has become a sensitive subject. Racial differences between Caucasian users on the one hand (a higher percentage) and Black and Hispanic users on the other (a lower percentage) were clearly revealed by survey data in the US and the UK. In both countries the percentage of Asians using the Internet was even higher . Surveys from other economies, more or less developed, also show ethnic differences, but the specific distributions depend upon the ethnic mix in each country. These gaps have closed to the extent that assistance programs have made access opportunities more widely available in certain ethnic communities, but this alleviation does depend on continued assistance.

Locality differences are most pronounced between urban and rural areas. Even in developed economies the rural areas are not as well served. This is not surprising because network density reflects population density, but even small distances can make a big difference. Small communities within commuting range of a larger urban centre often find themselves forced to finance their own microwave tower to assure wireless service because the telco providers do not find the prospect profitable enough. Satellite service is an alternative, but it takes considerable subsidy, usually from either a government or a very generous corporate sponsor.

Income and education together account for more of the differences [in the digital divide] than all other variables put together.

Internet access and use does vary with the demographic characteristics of the population. Income and education together account for more of the differences than all other variables put together. Connecting to and using the Internet is expensive, especially for those with only a small proportion of discretionary income. But since that is the definition of poverty, it is not surprising that the digital divide is an economically created barrier. In this respect, there is a parallel with earlier forms of the information divide, specifically regarding the spread of the telephone, radio, and television.

Back in the early to the mid-1990s there was much discussion and debate about the digital divide that was growing in the developing and medium developed world. Now, nearly a decade later, many developing countries are in the process of some economic and cultural change through the use of new technologies. Internet based communication in most African nations is minimal because of the low number of telephone lines. But these countries in Africa and Asia are starting to leapfrog into radio based Internet and mobile phones. The rise of the cellular phone in the developed world is turning out to be advantageous to poorer countries that can use them for a variety of eGovernment services. However, this is a different form of digital divide than the gaps we are seeing in developed countries.

These are some of the issues that are resulting in serious digital divides in many countries. The first step in handling this widening digital gap is understanding the breadth and depth of any cultural, racial, education, knowledge or literary divide that exists in any given jurisdiction. It is incumbent on governments to bridge these divides and ensure that there are no inequities between those who have the capacity to engage in online transactions with governments and those who do not have access or do not wish to participate in the online world. Many national, provincial, state and local governments are seeking to find solutions. This is the next challenge in ensuring successful eGovernment and the delivery of e-services.

Note: A more detailed paper on this subject by this author, and researcher William Sheridan, Research Fellow for the Commonwealth Centre for Governance, will be completed in the next two months. A notice will be sent out to subscribers of this list when it becomes available on our web site.

Other articles by Thomas Riley:
- E-Democracy and the Resurgence of Democracy
- eGovernance to eDemocracy: Examining the Evolution
- Security Laws and Privacy: Striking the Balance [Part 2]
- Security Laws and Privacy: Striking the Balance [Part 1]
- An Overview of the Knowledge Economy
- eDemocracy: An Evolution in Progress
- Definining E-Government and E-Governance: Staying the Course
- The Role of Information in eGovernment Implementation
- Change Management and the Relationship to eGovernment
- Privacy Trends: Meeting New Demands
- eDemocracy in a Changing World

Thomas Riley is the co-Founder, Chair of the Board and Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance, a think-tank set up under a Commonwealth Secretariat programme in London. He is also the President of Riley Information Services, a consultant and advisor specialising in national and international IT policy development, and a Visiting Professor of Law and Technology at the University of Glasgow. For further information he can be contacted at rtriley6@cs.com