Digital Divide

What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make? a) To socioeconomically related access issues within a society? b) To global access issues across countries and regions?

a) Especially in times like this with the credit crunch the digital divide is becoming bigger. As people with less income cannot afford and do not always have access to the latest technologies causing more of a divide as the people who have the latest technology have a different understanding and use a different type of language and terms than other people. Although a government programme has been set up in England to help get people with lower income access to the internet there are still many people without internet and in inpoverished places no access at all is avalaible. However with the vast improvements with technoogy and the ever growing reliance on the internet as more and more things are avaliable and reliant online then the gap is getting bigger and people are finding it harder and facing 'social exclusion'
By giving all children access to the internet they can use it to learn online however computers are expensive and not everyone can afford or access them.

b) This is a massive issue globally as although as although the digital divide can be closed impoverished countries. As rich countries have more access and the majority of people have access to the internet then it is making the divide bigger. 80% of the world have never heard a dial tone and in the poorest countries in Africa then the resources are not avaliable in the government to grant the people access to the internet or a televison. In England programmes have been set up in Notttigham, Liverpool, Suffolk, East London and Hull to try and get one laptop per home.
The UN have decided set a plan to eradicate poverty. In Latin America, Africa and Asia there have been plans to demolish the digital divide. By making it possible for people in third world countries to access the interent then elearning could be more accessible and people would be able to get an education meaning that people could get better jobs being the first step out of poverty.