The Rich getting Richer at the Disadvantage of the Poor
This extract explains that the rich will always be one step ahead of the poor because the rich have the sufficient funds to invest in computers and software’s that will benefit them but the poor will stay poor because they do not have the money required to invest in thing that will benefit them and boost their income. The Wealthiest people in the society are using IT to make their businesses run more smoothly and effectively but if poorer people cannot even invest into the simplest of hardware then the new competition is immediately limited and there is new hope or breakthrough for poorer people who want to set up business. The more wealthy people do not directly benefit form the divide but they benefit from other things such as the information age where more newer technology can help make their lives easier than it already is. Countries have varied amount of technology in them for example countries in Africa will not have the same amount of technology as that in the US which can also burn the gap if another country is that far ahead of another country, Having less money than another country can directly effect the poorer country because they cannot invest into things that are needed to help them advance so the poorer country will continue to stay poor
Geographic:
There are many different factors to why people can have lots of different connections and access to technology and why some people cannot. In some countries like Ghana do not have basic infrastructure supply so networking can only work in cities. Another reason why certain geographic places do not get connection because places like woodlands and some rural area are not in the best conditions to have certain technology round them. In some places in the UK in woodlands and very rural area’s connection speed is quite low so many people have to use dial up connections to go on the internet which means that its not that they cant afford fast internet but the area they live in is acting like a barrier and stopping them from viewing fast multimedia, therefore its not how rich a person is it could also be where they live, this can be in contrast with people that live in poorer parts of Africa it might not mean that If they lived anywhere else they still would be poor it could be that where they are there is no way of advancing because they are stuck their with low income and cannot afford basic things to advance into a more better lifestyle.
“Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm (18 December 1913 - 8 October 1992), was a German politician, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.”
Brandt made a review international development issues. The result of this report provided an understanding of drastic differences in the economic development for both the North and South hemispheres of the world. He used this line to separate the developed countries form the undeveloped countries which was very accurate but over recent years countries like China have worked to get above this report and now China is seen as a developed country so this shows that countries do not have to remain poor they can introduce steps to make sure there country has the latest technologies. By using the Brandt line you can see a clear difference into what counties are keeping up with technology like having computers because if these countries are able to bridge the gap in technology and train people then many of these people will be employed and contribute into the countries GDP.
Impacts;
The geographical factor has a large impact on the divide gap because in places such as the UK it would be quite normal for a person to own a mobile phone, a computer and maybe a radio where people can hear the weather which is becoming quite old fashioned as technology is increasing but in less economic developed countries all these things that most people in the UK have would be a luxury to people in countries such as Africa. This is arguably not fair because this poorer people are at disadvantage to other countries and this not give equal opportunities in life with those that are born where they cannot afford these technologies that most people own in the UK.
As a result of this poorer countries are not able to bridge the gap and they continue to behind other well off countries. The development gap is in terms with economic factors and geographical factors, countries and the poorer side of the gap have a very poor standard of living because they do not have access to ICT and people on the more better side of living have a sustainable lifestyle because they can develop on their skills with the technology they have which will effectively help them in the workplace.
Social;
Another factor that contributes to the divide is social aspects, the use of technology may be dependent on age, gender, education, literacy and a persons working environment. Disabled people or other groups in society might be in fear of using technology; A person over 65 with no past experience may not feel the need to use technology as they will not feel it is relevant as they never used it in their generation. A teenager in this modern day and age will have a mobile phone, a laptop and a MP3 player, this is because most people around them have the same kind of technology and the teenager will start to think it is a normal way of life, but a person brought up in the 1940 will not have the same view on technology because they did not have it and nothing happened to them so it is not really useful.
Previously men were seen as much more able than women. In the workplace there was a lot of discrimination, at the start of the information age not many women were using technology because many men that women rightful place was in the kitchen and not at work or doing things that required knowledge and that discouraged many women from using these newer technology but now as the old fashioned ideology has been demolished the divide between men and women has been closed. Technology does not only mean computers, mobile phones, mp3 players, laptops, games consoles and televisions are also hardware that people use.
Impacts;
Many people that do not take part in using technology like computers have no knowledge in technology because they cannot compete with other people that know how to text and type so they will just normally send letters or phone people instead of using online services like email etc. Basic computing skills have become a necessity in society if you wish to receive a high salary but if you do not have any ICT skills your chances of getting a high paid job is very slim.
This effects the poorer country directly because they already lack education they will certainly not have any interest In using computers so they will lack basic IT skills and will not even get a average payable job so they will have to work manually with hard labour. With people that live in rural area’s and live off agriculture is very impossible for them to have any contact with any forms of IT so it is impossible to bridge the gap.
Older people will not really use IT and latest technology because they were not brought up that way, but the younger generation continue to exploit using technology to make their lives easier this can arguably make young people seem very lazy and not as hard working as previous generations where.
In conclusion people that use IT everyday are more likely to be better off and have better paid jobs but on the other hand they can become to easy minded and become use to things coming easy to them which will eventually affect them and make them work less hard in the workplace.
Measures to bridge the gap;
Aid/Charity
There is a big difference between rich and the poor countries, people in poorer countries cannot afford basic hardware or electronic equipment this is a huge disadvantage to less able people because people need to have basic IT skills in this modern day and age. Technology will be of little use to them because they live off agricultural means but if they find money to introduce IT this can help raise there income because they can widen the business they choose to sell to. There are various charities where people can donate so poorer people can get free computers and electronic equipment to close the divide.
Charities like computer aid international donate unwanted computers to poorer countries that cannot afford them this gives them an opportunity to develop ICT skills and have a taster of the information age this is because the internet is the best place to learn a lot of things and people can educate themselves on it. There are many charities devoted into closing the gap and one of the best ways in which to do this is by giving more helpless people old computers that are no longer needed.
There are many benefits of using aid and charity one if that less able people can get equal opportunities as able people to improve their IT skills. IT skills is in high demand in this modern age and many people can come out of manual labour and specialize into other industries and if these poorer people develop on their IT skills they will eventually be able to run their own business and contribute to the information that will guarantee their escape from poverty and raise their quality of life, eventually this will increase economic growth of the country leading to a rise in jobs.
Measures In the UK
Another way in which the gap can be bridged is that the government can put in a lot of free wifi networks like what Macdonalds do for its customers . If people could use the internet at anytime with no cost this would massively improve their IT skills and also their knowledge because they will be coming into contact with many websites that will add to their knowledge. On a global scale it will be quite impossible to fund this kind of project because it will be very expensive but in the UK steps can be taken to bridge the gap.
There are many Benefits of this like Internet would be free so even if a household cannot afford to pay monthly internet they can always connect to internet free of charge. It would also encourage people to use the internet seeing as it is free of charge, more people will be interested in it.
Schools in the UK also take free up to a billion in pounds from the government so students can have enough computers to improve their IT skills each you however this is not always evenly distributed because some schools have computers for each and every student which may force students in other schools to share computers which will have a negative effect on their learning. Computers are very useful because it gives people a wide amount of information as the internet is updated every second but not all the information could be real but deciding which of the information is right or wrong is the hardest thing when it comes to the internet. There also many company’s that donate computers to school like Tesco’s had a scheme that you collect a free voucher that goes towards free computers in schools when you spend £10 or more. This pacific scheme introduced by government and companies is quite good because schools get equipment free of charge. Creating cheap ways for people to access the internet is very important to closing the gap in technology.
Evaluation;
The Digital divide effects well developed countries to undeveloped countries. As technology continues to get better and better each day it has for poorer people to keep up with technology as their old equipment will become outdated and can no longer keep up with the high IT demands. A way of improving this could be like what Tesco’s do with their vouchers which is good because the company will be making profit and also would the school. The government of poorer countries need to take steps to invest in new technology which will make the country worse off in long term because taxes will be increased but for the long term this will make people have better IT skills which will educate the country because at this modern age a country cannot compete with other countries If it only specializes in producing agricultural goods like Ghana. In countries that have the required technology but do not use them as efficient as they should do the countries can introduce grants that will help people
