The Other Digital Divide

The general form that discussions of the "digital divide" take revolve around access: who has it, who doesn't, how economic underclass status correlates with (lack of) access, and so on. This is well and good, and a fine topic for traditional sociologists to take up. But the form of divide which strikes me personally revolves more around literacy: a man who owns a thousand books but can't read is more informationally disadvantaged than the literate man with no books.

I know people who own computers, and have internet connections...but never use them beyond editing the occasional document or spreadsheet. What's more, they have no interest in doing more (or learning how). To some extent this seems to be a generational artifact: children today gain a great deal of digital literacy through cultural osmosis. So this particular divide will likely solve itself in due time, at no great loss.

But the same might be said of the access gap. As technology becomes cheaper and more pervasive, it will be difficult to find people and places without access. Someone will always complain that the rich and well educated have access to better/faster access. This is true, and it is an unavoidable aspect of a market economy. The slope of availability is self-propelling and self-perpetuating. This same force created the consumer-level availability of the technology in the first place. Social critiques aside, it works well at doing what it does.

At this point, with pervasive access, the problem revolves back to literacy. It's part of a loop which we've been inside since at least the Gutenberg press. But the destitute literate will find a way to read (libraries today appropriately offer public internet access as well as books), just as the well-to-do will have means beyond their desires. This is in fact part of what keeps the system dynamic. My point, if I have one, is that digital literacy should take precedence over mere access. Literacy will find (or create) access for itself, but access without literacy sits dormant.

Of course, gaining literacy obviously requires at least minimal access. Additionally, the type of literacy I have in mind requires a certain investment of time, and exposure to literate culture. It is not limited to a technical/functional literacy, but inculcates an appreciation for current and future potential of the medium, specifically beyond one's personal uses. Overambitious perhaps, but I'll negotiate when I have a budget to meet. Teaching this sort of broad literacy is bound to be no easy task. My unlikely suggestion for top consultants on the issue: English (and other language) teachers.