Reader Response (Draft 1) "World Wakes Up to Digital Divide"

Wakefield (2010) implies that, countries around the world have started to take action in response to the digital divide. Research by International Telecommunications Union ( ITU) indicates that there is a greater difference between the most and least connected countries. In order to tackle the problem, Eastern European countries like Hungary have implemented a ‘Wi-Fi village’ program by providing Internet access as well as cheap recycled PCs to rural villagers. Moreover, certain countries like America have attempted to reach native communities which remain as a ‘barren desert’ by offering technical support in ‘specialised’ healthcare. However, authorities should also consider the ability of the citizens in utilizing network resources to maximize its benefits.

In my opinion, the increasing global awareness towards digital divide is an essential evolution. Alongside with the rapid development around the world, particularly the developed countries, internet access had been declared as one of the modern 'basic necessities' by the young generation. However, it is only applicable to the 'developed countries'.

In the news article, ITU analyst Vanessa Gray did point out that there is a correlation between a country's scale of digital divide and its economic status, but she seemed to underestimate the implication of the economic factor by stating that ‘being able to compare gives them the incentive to do better’. One should not disregard the significance of the country’s income level while considering the substantial needs for technology.  Comparing the developed and underdeveloped countries, the massive income disparity has a distinct effect on people's spending priorities. For example, people in Iceland can afford to spend more to fulfil their desires apart from their needs. On the contrary, people in Myanmar may not even afford to feed themselves. When it comes to the issue of internet access, we can safely conclude that it is not practical for people in underdeveloped countries to invest in this certain aspect, hence resulting in the digital divide.

The second issue is the different focus on a country’s development. It is noted that Hungary has 'traditionally lagged behind' in terms of economics compared to countries in the same continent despite its focus on the development of high speed fibre-optics cable. This shows that it is hard for a country to achieve a well-balanced growth in all aspects. Developing countries such as Malaysia are not considered as the highly connected countries, but the government did took the effort in providing higher education at lower costs for its people.  In the news article itself, report author Sascha Meinrath mention that, 'Providing books to everyone doesn't help those who cannot read in the first place.' If and only if the people possess the ability to utilize the network, then we can assure that they truly benefit from it.  In short, I believe that investing in terms of education is much more worthy compare to the technology itself.

Nevertheless, I do acknowledged the role of internet in worldwide connections. With internet access, global communities can communicate with each other without geographical restrictions. Besides that, online services such as internet banking and online shopping make life easier by saving a lot of unnecessary waiting time. Different job opportunities are also created throughout the virtual world, providing options for people to work from home. All in all, I agree that technology does benefits the community in various aspects of life. However, it will never bypass the substantial status of physiological needs which is a must for living. Technological benefit is only beneficial when basic needs had been fulfilled while taken into account that humans are capable in making use of it.

References:
Wakefield, J. (2010). World wakes up to digital divide. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8568681.stm

Benefits of internet use. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2014 from http://www.cyberethics.info/cyethics1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=186&Itemid=83&lang=en