BRIDGING TECH
  • Home
  • Donate
    • Donate a Device
    • Our Donors
    • Monetary Donation
    • Testimonials
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Our Partners
    • Our People
  • Tutoring
    • Our Tutoring Program
    • Request a Tutor
    • Become a Tutor
  • Publicity
    • News
    • Blog
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Get Involved

The International Digital Divide

8/25/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Photo taken by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
As the United States grapples with the emergency of its own digital divide during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not alone in this struggle. In fact, countries all over the world have been dealing with this issue, and on a much larger scale for a long time. This difference in access to technology and the Internet, also known as the international digital divide, describes global disparities, primarily between developed and developing countries, in regards to access to computing and information resources such as the Internet and the opportunities derived from such access. 

The concept of the digital divide was originally popularized due to the disparity in Internet access between rural and urban areas of the United States. However, the international digital divide is a special case of the digital divide, in that the focus is set on the fact that the Internet has developed unevenly throughout the world. The Internet is expanding very quickly, and not all countries—especially developing countries—are able to keep up with the speed of expansion. For example, data taken from the World Bank in 2017 shows the sheer difference in Internet access through the comparison of two countries. In Norway, a developed country, 96% of the population used the Internet. But in Somalia, a developing country, that percentage drops to only 2%.

The international digital divide has caused devastating effects, one of the worst being that it has caused some countries to fall behind in technology, education, labor, democracy, and tourism. In addition, computers and the Internet provide users with improved education, which can help them earn better jobs and higher wages. Unfortunately, this means that people living in nations with limited access therefore become disadvantaged.

On the global scale, the digital divide has turned from an important issue to a dire emergency. According to a 2017 UN report, it was revealed that more than 52% of people on the planet don't have access to the Internet or to a device. Here at Bridging Tech, our mission is to donate devices to those in need, whether they live right here in the Bay Area, or outside our international borders. In a world that has become increasingly reliant on technology, it is extremely important that we work to close the international digital divide. Without help, this gap in access to technology is at risk to become a yawning chasm.


Picture
AUTHOR Hannah Chiu, High School Ambassador, Mountain View High School
DONATE TO HELP US BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
DONATE
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020

    Categories

    All
    2020 Election
    Bay Area
    Digital Divide
    Homelessness
    Nonprofits
    Personal Essays
    School
    Systemic Inequity

    Newsletter

    Subscribe
Donate Now
Picture
Our Mission       |       Opportunities       |       Contact Us

​The Bridging Tech Charitable Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. EIN: 85-1031712
SEARCH OUR SITE
Photos used under Creative Commons from Sharon Hahn Darlin, dconvertini
  • Home
  • Donate
    • Donate a Device
    • Our Donors
    • Monetary Donation
    • Testimonials
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Our Partners
    • Our People
  • Tutoring
    • Our Tutoring Program
    • Request a Tutor
    • Become a Tutor
  • Publicity
    • News
    • Blog
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Get Involved