How does the digital divide affect peoples and their cultures?

Created by Webering, Christine S, last modified by Anonymous on Feb 27, 2012

The Digital Divide has a tremendous impact upon the culture and the people of every region. Technology effects every culture in different ways. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes for the worse. But, technology changes culture forever.  For example in the United States, a technology rich country, components that create culture like relationships, communications, and art have been dramatically changed by technology. However, it seems like some specific customs and cultural traditions have remained unchanged.Can you imagine your life without the internet? Try imagining if you had never used a phone before. This is a reality for some of the poorest nations affected by the digital divide. Because they do not have access to technology people in technology poor nations suffer. However, in order to bridge the digital divide, people need access to technology. For example, below is a video of a rural village in Uganda that just had access to a telecommunication center. This telecommunication center will have a huge impact on the peoples culture and education. Technology brings cultural changes to each country it touches. However, let us home that some customs and traditions remain unchanged and preserved.

https://youtu.be/qt1rdqf6mHA 
 Effects of Digital Divide on businesses go farther than companies simply having access to technologies.  The gap that is present in different technological skill levels of employees using technological software is accounted for.  This gap can be a main reason of any slowed productivity.  If employees cannot effectively use the technology at their disposal in given situations, they can cause an even larger gap. When, or if, organizations require themselves to provide information to their employees or certain branches of their organization, can be one of the most efficient routes.  Different situations call for companies to make specific made memos or e-mails for individual employees.  Using non-technological ways to get this information to employees can greatly decrease productivity.  Being able to use technology to schedule meetings can increase a company’s level of production.  If the software that an organization uses does support booking of meetings, then they will be forced to use phone calls or e-mails for each individual employee. 

If an employee leaves their current organization, then the effects will be felt on a larger scale in respect to digital divide.  After the employee leave the organization, if that individual has sole access to certain key technologies they could withhold detrimental information.  The gap that presents itself between assistants and executives is also important.  The assistant could have been in charge of handling high volume of the simplest of operations.  Examples of this could be accessing e-mail, or using handheld organizers that have been provided to them.   “Employees who travel frequently on business usually need to check back in with the workplace periodically during their trip. Cell phones, handheld devices and laptop computers are crucial to maintaining contact while on the road, as are wireless plans that accommodate travel, including adequate number of minutes, clear reception and roaming capabilities.”[7]
..and Social Capabilities

One of the first aspects discussed when thinking about digital divide is the social impact is has on society.  Someone could gather that development opportunities of people could give good insight on the gap between people who are able to access the technology and those who are not.  Various illusions should be taken into consideration when exploring the gap in technology.  First being having time to reflect at the present time, as well as the differences in availability to technology should increase already existing differences.   These are loose concepts that do not do the complexity in the social digital divide justice, and the relationship between the incorporation of technology and the social transformation it could bring.  “For social groups that position a new understanding of this concept, factors that may potentiate the use of technology as a development tool are diverse, complex, and have interrelations that depend on the context, culture, and history of the group in which they are incorporated.”[8]
Knowing this information about communication technologies can be found as an element expands development.  To effectively maximize the potential of this depends on organizational aspects, the developmental skills or capacities that they possess, and also being able to integrate these aspects within their social identity.  The appropriation that a social group provides for a technology allows a company to be able to change their own living conditions, and also the transformation of technology through technological innovation within their social identity.  The cause-effect relationship hides important relationships between the digital divide and social gaps.  Differences in accessibility to technologies are thought to increase the current social difference.  This could draw the conclusion that more development in countries, regions, and individuals with increase access opportunities to those who have less.  This difference can be observed not only between countries, but inside of them also.  The digital divide is believed to be a direct product of social gaps brought forth by economic, political, social, gender, generations, geographic, as well as other inadequacies. 
Social Entrepreneurship 
Bill Clinton once said “It is dangerously destabilizing to have half the world on the cutting edge of technology while the other half struggles on the bare edge of survival”.  He tried to bring the digital divide problem to public attention in 1996 through improving public schools.  15 years later our technology has improved dramatically but the digital divide is still clearly here.  Government intervention in relation to the digital divide is still not likely; the responsibility to bridge the gap has fallen on private citizens and companies.