Some don't have access to the tools that enable this kind of participation. But to be fair, the digital divide is not always about lack of money, even though most accounts cite this as the prime cause. Some people avoid participation in the digital world even though they have the resources to fully participate. They become refuseniks, techno-luddites, laggards. Still others simply don't have the skills or literacies to meaningfully involve themselves in the digital society. It's not always about money. Not only are there the 'haves and have nots', there are also the 'wills and will nots' and the 'cans and cannots'.
Regardless of the causes - whether the divide is socio-economic, psychological or practical - the fact is, many people around the globe will not be subscribing to the digital citizen club any time soon.
Those of us who work at the 'chalk-face' are limited in what we can do to bridge the digital divide but we are not completely powerless. Many people choose to create that gulf between themselves and the connected world. For any number of reasons, they refuse to participate. Those who are lacking skill or confidence are another matter. We should make it our duty to help such people to gain the confidence they need, and that is exactly what many teachers are doing. The big challenge to all teachers and trainers now is this: How do we continue to develop 21st century learning, when there are always those few who are stuck (for whatever reason) in the last century?
Most of the problems are caused by lack of provision. Lack of broadband infrastructure. Lack of training opportunities. Lack of finance. The digital agenda of many western governments is falling sadly short of its intended outcomes, because the issues are far more complex than anyone could have imagined. Those in authority need to wake up and acknowledge that the digital divide is one of the key threats to lack of progress and that there are many causes. So just how long will it take until people wake up and notice the elephant in the room? Will they continue to ignore it until it fouls the carpet?
Image by Tom Clearwood
The elephant in the room by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
7 comments:
Some of my colleagues from the Pacific Islands - but not all by any means - are strongly averse to digital technology in the form of Facebook, Twitter, blogging etc. Yet I would not call them "refuseniks, techno-luddites, laggards". They embrace the technology of videoconferencing, for example. I'd be more inclined to guess that, like Socrates, these colleagues prefer the "living words that are carried on the warm breath of relationships [to] the dead words of written accounts that are like seeds left on flagstones in the sun" (Plato)
Hi @Dialogic. I hear what you arr saying, and there are a multitude of reasons why people don't engage. The words refusenik, techno-luddite and laggard are not intended to be derogatory. They are simply words used to describe people who don't engage for whatever reason. I suppose descriptive terms are all about perspective. Refusnik was originally a heroic term, describing Russian Jews who were not allowed to return to their homeland. Laggards was a term used by Everitt Rogers to describe those who resisted innovation. Techno-Luddite is a term I use to define a position on a spectrum of responses to new ideas. It takes all sorts, but it does also present problems for teachers to handle.
Steve, I hear your cry but don't we also have a duty, in business-speak, to 'market the need' to those who are reluctant. It's hugely rewarding when done. Even imperfect but genuine attempts to reach the outliers in educational terms will usually be rewarding as the nature of social media is that someone, somewhere, is likely to chip in and complete the link. Reaching the self-contained non-formal learners however can be a mighty challenge even with lots of support and I'm off there this weekend...
Hi Steve
Digital Divide slips off the tongue nicely, but what's the benchmark here? I don't have a mobile but am an avid user of Facebook, Twitter and blogging.
In fact, the stats for all aspects of digital adoption, especially take-up rate, are startling, especially for mobile and social media. The Digital Divide only makes sense when you see universal adoption as your benchmark - many, I count myself among them, don't. It's a matter of choice and many choose not to - that's fine.
On almost every front the milk bottle is more than half full, so it's not so much an elephant in the room as a small mammal that's getting smaller by the day.
Hi Steve,
When Skills Development Scotland recently launched an online careers website a Labour MSP was quick to point out that 'at least one third of Scottish households have no internet access'. However, when I did some cursory research into the criticism it wasn't that the people in those households had no internet access but that the properties themselves had no fixed internet access. This might be private rented accommodation with no landline or a geographical issue, so it's a very confused picture.
My friend absolutely refuses to have a mobile device - he'll be delighted to labelled a refusenik.
Hi Steve
I live in Johannesburg in South Africa, but I've had the opportunity to do work in some of our beautiful, but often digitally isolated, rural areas (I can't remember seeing any elephants, but they were probably there...). The community centres I visited are funded by a private donor and they offer access to computers with a 3G internet connection. This has helped these communities over the "access" hurdle you mention, but they're a long way from getting over the digital divide. I believe that the people need to see the benefits of participating in the digital world; then they need to learn the necessary skills so that they can get the most of their "digital citizenship". After spending some time in these more remote areas, I firmly believe that these community members have the most profound need to be more connected to, and to participate meaningfully in the digital space.
I agree with you that the complex issues around the digital divide need to be addressed. I think it also takes a bit of creativity on the part of software developers and educators. You can do a lot with even the most basic technology if you're clear about what you're aiming for. I think that bridging the digital divide is as much about connection and empowerment through information as it is about making sure that people have access to the latest technology.
Thanks for a thought-provoking post (and a great blog).
“… others simply don't have the skills or literacies to meaningfully involve themselves in the digital society.”
Yes, include Japanese high school students and university undergraduates throughout Japan!
The key word is “meaningfully’. Japan caters to “meaningless” involvement as consumers. I believe inclusion should be about creativity, not consumerism.
“The digital agenda of many western governments is falling sadly short of its intended outcomes, …”
Include non-western governments too, such as Japan. This country too needs to “wake up and acknowledge that the digital divide is one of the key threats to lack of progress and that there are many causes.” I have researched and written much about this and it is very frustrating - nay, challenging - here in Japan.
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