{"id":936,"date":"2016-08-09T18:31:09","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T23:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/?p=936"},"modified":"2016-08-09T18:37:07","modified_gmt":"2016-08-09T23:37:07","slug":"from-digital-divide-to-digital-spectrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/2016\/08\/09\/from-digital-divide-to-digital-spectrum\/","title":{"rendered":"From Digital Divide to Digital Spectrum"},"content":{"rendered":"

The “digital divide” has classically referred to the gap between those with access to computer-based technologies such as the internet, and those without. The\u00a0Pacific Standard<\/em>\u00a0article\u00a0“The Term ‘Digital Divide’ Doesn’t Work Anymore”<\/a> extends more recent arguments that the divide is now not so much about access to technology, it’s also about how technology is used.<\/p>\n

Simple \u201cyes or no\u201d questions no longer suffice. The questions now must also address access (does the person have a home computer or are they smartphone-dependent?) and speed (do they have dial-up or broadband?). These factors aren\u2019t simply ancillary, they are integral.<\/p>\n

This distinction is important because it casts light on another concept at play: Those left behind are further behind than ever before.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article closes with this argument:<\/p>\n

“Digital divide” denotes a chasm that can be crossed. What we should be talking about is a “digital spectrum,” the endpoints of which widen with each innovation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Moving from a discussion of the “digital divide” to the “digital spectrum” sounds like a good project to me. Non-profit organizations can play a strong role in this expanded understanding, as discussed in an earlier Pacific Standard<\/em> article, “How Non-Profits Help Close the Digital Divide.”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The “digital divide” has classically referred to the gap between those with access to computer-based technologies such as the internet, and those without. The\u00a0Pacific Standard\u00a0article\u00a0“The Term ‘Digital Divide’ Doesn’t Work Anymore” extends more recent arguments that the divide is now not so much about access to technology, it’s also about how technology is used. Simple […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1927,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[3504,12],"class_list":["post-936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","tag-social-structure","tag-technology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=936"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":940,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936\/revisions\/940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/dean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}