In a world where everything is steadily becoming more and more digitalized, not having the access or the skills to be involved in this digital world could be a great disadvantage for many, as it leads to the creation of more inequalities and to some extend – exclusion from society.

Most of us use the Internet on a daily basis for all sorts of things, to the point that we think of it as something natural, taking it for granted, but we fail to realize that there are people out there who are not as privileged as us in this regard, facing difficulties, so

me of which we may have experienced only for a couple of hours just because we ran out of data.

Statistics provided by the International Telecommunication Union (2016) show that, just two years ago, 3.9 billion people equivalent to 53% of the world population are not using the Internet. The figures for Africa being even more shocking, with almost 75% of non-users.

The biggest reason for this digital exclusion is poverty and the lack of resources and infrastructure in some areas. In today’s world, the internet is a tool that gives so many opportunities to those who have access to it along with the appropriate skills. You can make connections with people from all around the world, look for a job or even work online and these are only some of the doors, the Internet opens for you. Due to the lack of such opportunities, someone who is already in a position of disadvantage becomes even more deprived and excluded.

Generally, inequalities tend to cumulate and the digital divide is no different. Therefore, the more digitalized the world becomes, the bigger the inequality gap between the people who have and those who do not have access to a digital device and an Internet connection becomes.

 

References:

ITU, (2016) ICT Facts and Figures 2016. [online], ITU [Viewed 31 December 2018]. Available from: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2016.pdf