Second Thoughts: Toward a Critique of the Digital Divide

1. Second Thoughts: Toward a Critique of the Digital Divide Drew Stover and David Zabilka review on Chapter 3 of Professor Gunkel’s book “Thinking Otherwise”

2. Digital Divide • “Significant differences seem to prevail among social groups within nations and among nations in the access to and utilization of new ICT’s” –Sinikka Sassi • ICT: Information and Communication technology • ICT used to be known for creating boundless opportunity for society, and the digital divide is what’s constricting ICT in a sense • Access to technology is limited and can’t be considered universally applicable • Example: All this talk we do about internet connection. How are we so technologically advanced, yet not in top 10 fastest connections in the world? File under the digital divide

3. Myth Aspect • Much like the “Last Mile Problem” in myth aspect, being that the digital divide is an abstract topic • Many critiques on the subject aren’t meant for improving the system, they just examine the structure of what makes the digital divide possible • “The digital divide is one of the most discussed social phenomena of our era. It is also one of the most unclear and confusing”- Mark Warschauer • Divide between the rich and poor, technologically advanced vs. the tech rookies, or even those who are scared about the future vs. those who just know everything technologically will be better in the future. Digital divide is associated with all these sides

4. Gore’s Designation • May 29, 1996 Vice President Al Gore used digital divide to split up “Information have’s” and “Information have-nots” in K-12 education • The Clinton-Gore administration used the digital divide to justify educational initiatives and policies • Similar to the article deeming importance of coding to children at young ages. Use of school to eliminate digital divide, attempt to equal everybody technologically

5. Drastic Change Between 1998-1999 • In 1998 the San Francisco Chronicle brought race as a possible digital divide denotation • Angwin and Castaneda: Racial discrimination in the inadequate distribution of employment opportunities • In the 1999 NTIA article Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide, digital divide is referred to as those with access to new technologies vs. those who aren’t • Why such a discrepancy within a one year span? Well one reason to not believe the ‘99 article could be that the NTIA has been varying. Each study they do on the term has a different end result of the connotation of the phrase

6. Clip • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn18X4-PSPc

7. Moving Target • Even when the term is talking about the same technological/social differences, it still is done in a different context each time • No single digital divide, but rather an assemblage of social, economic, and technological differences, it’s importunately plural • As technology changes, so does our meaning of the digital divide • “Someone once wittily remarked that the world is divided into those who divide people into two types, and those who don’t”- Daniel Chandler • People who see people as what they are, and people who see people as what they are, and/or what they could be

8. Solutions • Much first allow kids to be technologically educated at an early age, in all areas of the world. We must realize that much like the last mile problem, spending the extra money will be worth it to solve a problem that isn’t a myth, contrary to popular belief • Also, must somehow educate the elderly, to bridge the knowledge gap between age groups, somehow • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xdYTMQ8iJs not in English, but it doesn’t need to be

9. Form • The digital divide is concerned not so much with technology as with its “significant societal ramifications” • Hard vs Soft determinism • Racial and persistent differences • Definitive social issue

10. More on Gore • Al Gore is well known for his rhetoric on social change- • “We meet today to break down walls. At each critical point in our nation’s history, we have acted on our duty to give every citizen the chance to live out the American Dream. In the Agricultural Age, we ensured that land went not only to the privileged few, but to the common yeoman farmer. In the Industrial Age, we focused on making sure that all Americans- and not just the industrial barons-had access to capital. Today in the Information Age, connecting all people to a universe of knowledge and learning is the key to ensuring a lifetime of success.”

11. Technological Determinism • General theory of social change • Controversial as it refers to computer technology • Refuted by sociocultural determinism and volunteerism • Studies show that simplifying the digital divide in complex and nuanced

12. Volunteerism • Says a person has the freedom to choose between competing alternatives. • Often opposing ideologies than determinism which says people “mechanically” choose a alternative. • Employed by humanists because volunteerism shows we are not helpless robots.

13. “The Street” • “The street finds its own use for things- uses the manufacturers never imagined.” • The internet was originally developed for the Department of Defense for the purpose of telecomputing • Now used for games, chat rooms, and fantasy sports. • All ethnic, genders, income levels fall into these patterns.

14. Clip • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLFDDQi9ow4

15. Main points • The term digital divide is constantly flexible. • Socioeconomic or technological differences come down to a binary structure • Understanding the theory of technological determinism.