Digital Divide: Real or Artificial? Cause or Symptom?

Key words: digital divide, international development

The term “digital divide” is used to describe the gap that exists between those who have and those who do not have access to modern communication technology (telephones, computers, Internet access) and related services. Some experts have attributed it as one major reason why people in developing countries and the underprivileged in developed countries cannot fully reap the benefits of globalized economy. “Narrowing the digital gap” has been a major theme in many recent international development projects promoted by institutions like UN and World Bank.

However, is digital divide a real problem facing developing countries, or more of an artificial issue born out of the narrow perspective of western technological society? At its current state, western life style is neither scalable nor sustainable. So we have to ask such hard questions before we rush to roll out our “one size fits all” solution all over the world. I am a senior volunteer and executive board member of a nonprofit trying to improve educational opportunities for poor kids in rural China. Based on my experiences and observations in this work, I would argue that the answer is probably the latter—not an easy conclusion for me to draw as a high-tech professional.

Gaining access to quality information is a real challenge for many people in developing countries as well as for the underprivileged in developed countries. However, while shortage of modern equipments and software can be a hassle, it is by no means the bottleneck. The real bottleneck lies in human and cultural factors: lack of basic reading and writing skills, lack of critical thinking abilities to distinguish information and misinformation, and lack of quality information based on local/traditional knowledge and perspectives, etc. All these contribute to the real “information divide” between the haves and have-nots, but there is nothing “digital” about any of them. In this sense, the so-called “digital divide” is more of a symptom, a manifestation of deeper social, cultural and economic problems, instead of a root cause as suggested by many current international development projects.

There is no denying that technology can play a positive role, and there are real opportunities for developing countries to leapfrog certain technologies. However, too much and too narrow focus on the “digital” and “technical” aspect of things will divert people’s attention from the true root causes, and can lead to misallocation of limited resources and further aggravate the symptoms (which I already see in rural China). While such a strategy can motivate developing countries to catch up with the west technically— whether such effort will be successful is questionable, it also suppresses and even destroys their ability to develop and articulate their own perspectives. Sustainable development is a global challenge now. We probably need new perspectives and different ideas much more than simple catch-up efforts.