Persuasive Essay On Digital Divide

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Around the world approximately 429 million people are connected to the Internet. Forty-one percent of those 429 individuals reside in North America. While 429 million may seem like a large statistic, the number only accounts for 6 percent of the global population. Hence, numbers like 429 million reflect the digital divide; which is a gap between those that are able to sustain and comprehend technology use and those who are not able to. The disparity of the digital divide is the driving force behind underdeveloped nations, digital illiteracy, and an under-prepared workforce and must be bridged in order to allow the world to move forward on equal footing.
The global digital divide revolves around the notion that different nations have “international …show more content…

In countries with uneven technological advances, the Internet acts as an impasse that favors the political agendas of those that are rich and prosperous rather than those who do not have Internet access. By exploiting the advantage of having access to technology, the affluent are able to gather information as quickly as possible, which turns the “digital divide into a political divide” (Qiang, Pitt and Ayers 24). A staggering example of the divide in action is evident in nations with authoritarian government and immense Internet censorship. For instance, in nations such as China and Cuba, “the Internet may serve as a traditional agency of state propaganda, strengthening the government’s grip, rather than providing a channel for opposition parties and groups” (Norris 40). By utilizing the Internet as a form of control, the affluent are able to dictate what is socially appropriate and socially acceptable. Thus, the Internet creates a divide where those that are rich and successful are able to shield their own motives from the scrutiny of its people. To further the example, one could look at the country Malaysia where the government claims that the Internet is “a vehicle for political change and transformation”(Abbott 113) but censors the Internet for causes such a human rights. Hence, while the Internet may appear as a case for equal opportunity, in practice it only “strengthens the power of entrenched authorities, multinational corporations, and established officials” (Norris 39) because the affluent are able to use their resources to mobilize and advance their own interest over the less

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