The author outlines a framework for understanding the access and use of digital media, to understand the concept of the digital divide through four phases: motivation or attitudes towards gaining access, physical access, acquiring digital skills or literacy, and usage of digital media. He describes the research and theories created on the digital divide over the past 25 years, the four phases of access to digital media and research on them, the positive and negative outcomes of access and use of the internet and other digital media, the relationship between digital and social inequality, and policy perspectives to solve the problem of the digital divide in terms of each phase. Annotation ©2020 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
Contrary to optimistic visions of a free internet for all, the problem of the digital divide the disparity between those with access to internet technology and those without has persisted for close to twenty-five years.
In this textbook, Jan van Dijk considers the state of digital inequality and what we can do to tackle it. Through an accessible framework based on empirical research, he explores the motivations and challenges of seeking access and the development of requisite digital skills. He addresses key questions such as: Does digital inequality reduce or reinforce existing, traditional inequalities? Does it create new, previously unknown social inequalities? While digital inequality affects all aspects of society and the problem is here to stay, Van Dijk outlines policies we can put in place to mitigate it.
The Digital Divide is required reading for students and scholars of media, communication, sociology, and related disciplines, as well as for policymakers.
