South Africa is developing and is one of the technological advanced countries to a certain extent. In comparison to developed countries, South Africa is bound to have a digital divide among its citizens due to the fact that it is a developing country.
The developed world consists of developed countries with developed economies. According to Investopedia, a developed economy is referred to a country with a relatively high level of economic growth and security. Some of the most common criteria for evaluating a country’s degree of development are in per capita income or gross domestic product (GDP), level of industrialization, general standard of living and the amount of widespread infrastructure. Increasingly, other non-economic factors are included in evaluating an economy or country’s degree of development, such as the Human Development Index which reflects relative degrees of education, literacy and health.
Developing countries do not enjoy the same level of developed countries because they are still in the process of stabilizing the economy. Whilst these developments take place, there still lies an availability of services. However, in terms of the digital divide, the use of the internet has a major impact on the economy.
According to Cory Jansen, the term “digital divide” refers to the difference between people who have easy access to the internet and those who do not. In other words, there is a huge gap between those who have access and those who do not have access in many countries, the distinction can be made between developing and developed countries, examples being South Africa and the USA. There are various factors that create a digital divide, even though the use of the internet has had an enormous impact on the economy.
One of the factors of digital division is socio-economic. These are based on different social backgrounds, races, income and education also depending on where one is geographically situated in the world. Due to political systems in communist countries such as China, digital division is also at its peak because in communist states, the use of the internet is limited if not prohibited.
Democracy is defined by the oxford dictionary as
1. A system of government in which all the people of a country can vote to elect their representatives;
2. Fair and equal treatment of everyone in an organization, etc, and their right to take part in making decisions.
South Africa, through democracy, the use of internet was to a certain extent. Freedom of expression was practiced through the media and the internet hence information was easily accessed to educate and drill knowledge into society.
In recent times, internet access has increasingly been seen as the primary advantage that many technologies can grant in that it represents a staggering store of knowledge and resources. South Africa, as a democratic country is unified socially, however, it is divided digitally. Reason being is that in some parts of South Africa’s rural communities, there is a lack of literacy, which is the biggest disadvantage of internet usage. There is also a problem of access to the internet through cases of poverty and the lowest rate of the use of modern technology.
In some places, there are insufficient masses that actually use the internet through their smartphones and in their workplace. In other words, for social and economic reasons, these people do not have access to computers or even relatively valuable information sources, reliable telephone services, let alone the wealth of information and convenience afforded to one via Internet services. Therefore, democracy has only impacted the digital divide to a certain extent if not the least, because it still exists after 20 years into democracy.
There were strategies that some technological companies implemented to overcome the divide. One of these companies was Huawei. Huawei bridged the digital divide in order to enhance communication and accessibility in rural regions. It has developed customized technology that adapts to difficult environmental conditions at a relatively lower cost of deployment and operation, thereby enabling service providers worldwide to bring the power of communication to rural areas more cost effectively.
Cellphones are seen to bridge the digital divide because seven out of ten South Africans are using their cellphones to log onto the internet. This is because it is portable and is preferred by many individuals. It is also because it is a powerful, affordable way of interaction and connectivity, instead of the high costs of internet usage on Pc’s and notebooks.
In conclusion, the digital divide has been defined and discussed with reference to other nations. It is therefore seen as a challenge that most developing countries experience. This also includes the expensiveness of technology and the use of the internet. Although bridging digital divide has been practiced by technological companies, it could be seen that the duration of solving the issue will be prolonged.
Sources consulted:
Herselman M, Britton K.G (2002), South African Journal of Education: Analysing the Role of ICT and Bridging the Digital Divide Amongst Learners. Port Elizabeth Technikon (page 271).
This can be accessed on: www.ajol.info/index.php/saje/.../20567 [accessed 15 April 2014].
Digital divide definitions can be accessed on: www.technopedia.com/definition/605/digital-divide [accessed 15 April 2014].
Bridging digital divide can be accessed on: www.huawei.com/za/about-huawai/corporate-citizenship/bridging-digital-divide/index.htm [accessed on 14 April 2014]. The
International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies can be accessed on : m.com.sagepub.com/content/7/4/96.abstract [accessed 14 April 2014].
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