Societal Implications of IT: The Digital Divide
As business people, citizens, and human
inhabitants, we should be aware of the effects digital technologies have on
society as well as the effects on populations who do not have widespread access
to digital technologies. Your group
will help educate the class about the phenomenon known as the digital divide,
practices to reduce it, and the role businesses play in acerbating or
alleviating it.
According to Wikipedia:
“A digital divide is an economic and
social inequality according to categories of persons in a given population in
their access to, use of, or knowledge of information and communication
technologies (ICT). The divide within countries (such as the digital divide in
the United States) may refer to inequalities between individuals, households,
businesses, or geographic areas, usually at different socioeconomic levels or
other demographic categories. The divide between differing countries or regions
of the world is referred to as the global digital divide, examining this
technological gap between developing and developed countries on an
international scale.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide viewed July 7 2015.
Your group might address:
What is the Digital Divide?
How is it measured?
What are its effects?
Global Digital Divide
Digital Divide within the US or within other
specific countries
Specific examples/case studies of overcoming digital
divide (look at Google Loon Balloon Project: https://www.google.com/loon/
Effective policies for reducing digital divide
Make sure you cover the negative consequences of too
much access to digital technologies: (Cyber-bullying, social isolation, poor
physical health, addiction to gaming, etc.)
What is business’ role and responsibilities in
addressing the digital divide?
Source: https://digdipblog.com/2015/01/26/divide-2/
Each
group is responsible for interviewing at least three people on this topic. You might interview non-profits that try
to help reduce the digital divide, or interview experts who understand the
digital divide with the US or across the world. Be creative!
The group
might end the presentation on best practices for reducing the digital
divide and do a comparison that
integrates your primary (interviews) and secondary (journal articles &
books) research.