Digital divide and ways to overcome it. Numerical inequalities and their properties. What about in the regions

Connecting the remaining two-thirds of humanity to the Internet is one of the main challenges of our time. The inability of almost 5 billion inhabitants of the Earth to freely receive, use and disseminate information is a global problem that affects the economic and political development of the entire planet. Apparat decided to figure out how things are with the digital divide in Russia.

You are members of the information society, one of the main values of which is access to knowledge. In a few clicks, you can sign up for a monthly online course under the modest title How to Change the World, or read an article on Wikipedia about the deadly Ebola virus now rampant in Africa, or start creating your own Facebook. You can do nothing by looking at a selection of selfies of beautiful football girlfriends instead.

digital divide

The digital divide is a situation where a certain group of people does not have access to modern information technologies. At the same time, the digital divide can exist both on the scale of the entire planet, and on the scale of a country or even a city. The digital divide is especially dangerous because it further increases the already noticeable competitive advantage of the rich over the poor, excluding the latter from the modern information economy.

But you have a huge competitive advantage over people who do not have computers, smartphones and the Internet: they do not have such a choice in principle. That is why, at the end of the 20th century, the UN officially recognized the emergence in our reality of a fundamentally new criterion of social discrimination - digital inequality.

By eliminating the digital divide, we can contribute to economic and political development in specific regions of the planet - new sectors of the economy will emerge there, and the degree of people's participation in public politics will increase. In Russia over the past decade, the growth rate of Internet users is quite impressive, but still insufficient: so far only a minority of people in our country can use the Web for their own purposes.

Internet penetration by regions of Russia:

Percentage of Internet users from the number of inhabitants of each federal district. More than half of the country's population does not use the Internet. Source: Public Opinion Foundation

population of Russia do not use the Internet

This means that about 85 million Russians do not receive emails, do not read Twitter and are not registered with Odnoklassniki. Among them are those who do not have the physical or economic ability to connect, and those who are simply not interested in new technologies. For comparison: in Norway, Holland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, more than 90% of users have the Internet. But in terms of the absolute number of Internet users, populous Russia came out on top in Europe - according to 2012 data, there were almost 68 million of them in Russia.

settlements, in principle, cannot be connected to the Network

This means that residents, with all their desire, having the financial ability to pay for traffic, cannot connect to the Internet. There is no Internet in schools, or in libraries, or at the post office - nowhere in the city. The Internet cannot be accessed through mobile devices. The necessary communications have not yet been brought to these cities. Moreover, in Russia there are settlements in which there is not even voice cellular communication - these are 1343 small towns, villages and villages.

families with an income of less than 12 thousand rubles do not have access to the Internet

Access to the Web is directly related to people's income. Among Russian families that receive more than 45 thousand rubles a month, only 21% do not go online. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the price of the Internet in remote regions of the country is increasing significantly. Residents of the Far East on average pay about 14 times more for access than Muscovites.

Russia's GDP comes from the Internet economy

Terminology

In Russian, there is no single equivalent of the well-established term digital divide in English. The phrases “digital barrier”, “digital divide”, “digital divide”, “digital divide”, “digital divide” are used.

The term appeared as a designation for a split in the family, when the husband spent too much time at the computer to the detriment of everything else, and the wife could not come to terms with it.

The essence of the phenomenon

Currently, the "digital divide" is a term of a socio-political nature. The opportunities of the disadvantaged group are affected by the lack or limited access to television, the Internet, telephone communications (mobile and landline), and radio. All this limits the possibilities of this group in finding a job, establishing social ties, and cultural exchange, and can negatively affect economic efficiency, the development and preservation of culture, and the level of education. According to generally accepted views on the information society, its specificity is such that the free exchange of information contributes to overcoming poverty and inequality, but for those who are disconnected from such exchange, the prospects are catastrophically worsening (Castells, Himanen: “The global trend is that the information economy connects to its network those who are of value to it (thereby giving them additional value), but disconnects those who do not have value for it (thus further reducing their chances of gaining some value)").

The term is used both in relation to the difference between countries (example: in Iceland, more than 86% of the population has access to the Internet, and in Liberia - 0.03%), and in relation to the difference in the opportunities of different social strata within the same society.

Association with chauvinism

Some observers see this phenomenon as a deliberate "policy of exclusion" pursued by certain countries and societies - instead of the former policy of repression. At the UN Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in December of the year, at the initiative of the majority of the countries participating in the third world, a Declaration was adopted calling on Western countries to do everything to overcome the "digital divide" in its current form by the year, however, the leading European countries and Japan even did not delegate their official representatives to the summit.

Sources

Manuel Castells, Pekka Himanen: The Information Society and the Welfare State. Finnish model. - M., 2002

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what the "Digital Divide" is in other dictionaries:

digital divide- Inequality between different segments of the population, arising from the inability of low-income citizens to take advantage of information technology, the Internet, distance learning, etc. Topics… … Technical Translator's Handbook

Digital barrier, digital divide, information divide (Eng. Digital divide) limitation of the opportunities of a social group due to its lack of access to modern means of communication. Contents 1 Terminology 2 Essence ... ... Wikipedia

Digital barrier, digital divide (Eng. Digital divide) limitation of opportunities for a social group due to its lack of access to modern means of communication. Contents 1 Terminology 2 The essence of the phenomenon 3 Connection with chauvinism ... Wikipedia

"VTK" redirects here. Another decoding Educational labor colony. OJSC "VolgaTelecom" Type Open joint stock company Year of foundation ... Wikipedia

Type Netbook Processor ... Wikipedia

Wikiversity http://wikiversity.org/ Commercial: No Site Type: Online Encyclopedia ... Wikipedia

Books

Regional Economics: Theory and Practice No. 22 (349) 2014 , Not available. The journal highlights the problems of the economy and the development of administrative-territorial entities, industries and industries; economic strategy for sustainable development of the Russian Federation and its regions,… electronic book

Sociological and sociocultural aspects

In Russia, the problem of the “digital divide” has been discussed for a relatively long time and is being studied by a number of specialists in both technical, sociological, economic and other fields. A number of scientific discussions and seminars are being held, at which certain aspects of the digital divide are discussed, and the main ways to solve this serious social problem are put forward. Also, this issue is raised on many Internet forums by people who are not indifferent to the implementation of the Electronic Government.

The problem of information inequality is extremely complex due to many features and causes and poses a great threat to the further positive development of Russian society. Therefore, the main task of state policy should be to unite the interests and capabilities of all stakeholders - representatives of the executive and legislative authorities, scientists, public figures - in order to create a developed civilized information society, a society of people with equal opportunities.

The problem of digital inequality has become quite widespread in Russian journalism and has become a subject of discussion at the highest political levels. The discussion was accompanied by actions aimed at both stimulating competition among telecommunications providers and adopting special programs to eliminate the digital divide. For example, in 2002, the Federal Target Program "Electronic Russia" began to be implemented. The President spoke on this issue several times at various meetings and even in his annual address to the Federal Assembly. In particular, at the very beginning of his presidential term at a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council, he stated that "the difference in information training, information capabilities that exist between people living in our country creates the so-called information gap, or digital divide, digital inequality".

It should also be noted that the cost of an unlimited Internet connection in Vladivostok, for example, costs 1,300 rubles. per month at a very low speed Internet connection, and in Moscow for high-speed Internet per month they pay only 167 rubles. (In Ulyanovsk - about 400 rubles). Such a huge gap is explained by the fact that the regional provider has to pay Rostelecom for traffic to a large regional hub, where the main channel passes. Another reason is the relatively low competition among providers in the regions. Fortunately, recently this situation began to slowly improve with the arrival of the regions of large interregional and national providers and the emergence of Wi-Fi access points in the regions.

However, the "information divide" is not limited to the lack of access to computers and the Internet: it is not enough to provide access - it is necessary that people can use this access. Awareness and qualification in the field of modern information technologies is a social skill that is rapidly becoming a necessity for a modern person. It should be taken into account that inequality in terms of the level of computer/information literacy of the population hides at least two more closely related aspects of information inequality. Firstly, this is the problem of lack of motivation, when people do not want to use information and computer technologies, although they have such an opportunity. Secondly, the information inequality is also generated by the lack of content: the lack of motivation is often explained precisely by the fact that people cannot find what they need on the Internet or receive the necessary services.

The lack of skills or ability to work with a computer and the Internet, as well as the lack of such a need, are the main reasons why many people have no desire to use electronic public services. Such motives are more common among older people. According to the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), 10% of such people living in cities with a population of 250 thousand to 1 million people do not own a computer or the Internet, it is difficult for them, another 10% do not want to own them because they do not need it, 6% do not have a computer or access to the Internet, 5% do not trust the Internet.

The number of Internet users is growing all over the world. However, as the results of Olesya Volchenko's study "Dynamics of the Digital Divide in Russia" showed, at the same time, inequality associated with the use of the Internet as a source of information is also growing.

Who chooses life in virtual space

The ubiquity of the Internet in Russia is still an illusion, if we do not talk about the youngest groups of the population. However, the point is not only in the percentage of users, but also in order to enter the virtual space. This is one of the indicators of the digital divide.

The digital divide is the disparity in access to and use of the Internet. Inequality in access is gradually decreasing, more and more people have the opportunity to go online. However, inequality in goals is only gaining momentum. While experienced and educated users use the Internet to improve their knowledge, beginners see it mainly as a source of entertainment.

The results confirmed that people with a higher level of education and income, and, of course, young people, use the Internet more actively. In addition, residents of Moscow more often than provincials lead a "networked" lifestyle. The results of the study showed no gender differences in Internet coverage.

According to the World Bank, in 2011 in Russia 49 people out of 100 used the Internet, and at the end of 2012 - 64 people. The increase was 15%, and this is the most dramatic jump in the number of users in the entire history of the spread of the Internet.

The researcher found that life in the virtual space has become equally accessible to people with different levels of income. Moreover, the growth in the number of users in recent years has occurred at the expense of citizens with secondary education, residents of provincial cities and older ages.

Why Russians go online

Young people are more likely than older people to use the Internet as a source of information, the researcher found*. Also, highly educated and wealthier Russians are more likely than less educated and less well-to-do Russians to search the Web for information rather than entertainment. There is also a geographical division: compared to Muscovites, residents of other cities and villages are less likely to access the World Wide Web for useful information. Gender differences are also noticeable: men are more likely to visit the Web for news and important information. Interestingly, from 2011 to 2013, the gap between different groups (in terms of the purpose of using the Internet) increased.

In general, only 25% of respondents confirmed that they use the Internet to follow the latest news, and only 14% - to find out what is happening at home and abroad. At the same time, 40% of Russians at the time of the survey did not have the habit of looking at laptops and smartphones to find the necessary information.

Among social networks, VKontakte is the most popular among Russians - 52% of users have accounts there. It is chosen by 86% of people aged 18 to 24, but only 20% - those who are over 60 years old. The second line in the top is occupied by the resource Odnoklassniki, which is losing popularity. In 2012, this social network was used by 61% of respondents, today - 42%. More often in Odnoklassniki you can meet users with primary and secondary education (50% and 51% respectively) and women (53%), less often - people with incomplete higher and higher education (34%) and men (30%). Messenger Whatsapp (18%) bypasses Facebook (13%) and Instagram (12%) in terms of popularity.

Thus, there are multidirectional trends - the digital divide in access is decreasing, and in order to use the Internet it is increasing. On the one hand, this picture can be associated with a change in Internet usage practices: the Internet is getting faster, there are more opportunities for entertainment. On the other hand, the structure of Internet users has changed: people who start using the Internet at an early stage are more educated and, accordingly, have better skills in using the Internet, explains Olesya Volchenko. “Those who joined the Web later do not have a high level of cultural capital, which may be due to the fact that they are not interested in searching for information on the Internet, but use it for other purposes (playing, watching movies, listening to music).” In the future, as new data are published, it is planned to continue the study.

According to VTsIOM, Russians have begun to be attentive to the protection of personal information. The number of those who do not pay attention to the security of their data in the virtual space from 2013 to 2016 decreased from 32% to 20%. The number of people using anti-virus software has grown from 31% to 53%. One in four users avoid posting personal information on social media, use complex passwords and change them frequently.

The digital divide reproduces itself

When the Internet first appeared, the idea was popular that the cheapest possible information would equalize different groups of the population. However, it later turned out that instead of eliminating inequality, the World Wide Web only exacerbated it. “Differences in access to technology should be a cause for concern, since in the information society the spread of knowledge among different groups is directly related to new and established forms of inequality,” the author of the study notes. - Currently, more and more services are becoming available online. Accordingly, people who do not use the Internet are not only deprived of access to abstract information, but also to real resources.”

In addition, the digital divide works like a feedback loop: for example, people with a low level of education are less likely to use the Internet, which limits their ability to get a good education. Thus, unlike other forms, the digital divide reproduces itself and is a vivid example of the Matthew effect - educated and wealthy segments of the population, having access to the Internet, become even more successful. Meanwhile, those who are initially in a less privileged position are excluded from the practices of using the Internet, which makes it impossible for them to get out of this position. Scientists notice that the digital divide, unlike the economic one, exacerbates other forms of inequality.

digital divide is defined as the stratification of society and states, as far as possible, to receive and use information transmitted using new information and communication technologies.

The digital divide is understood by the author as a consequence of the economic and technological lag of certain groups of the population, countries and even entire regions from progress in the field of education and infocommunications, which is not regulated at the state level, at the level of the international community for the development of information processes. It can be characterized by the following provisions:

the digital divide is a multicomponent whole, it manifests itself in difficult access to information and communication technologies; in the unpreparedness of users to work with them; in the limited national information and functional resources; the first two components make it possible to present the digital divide as an internal economic phenomenon, the third as a phenomenon that exists between countries;

 the digital divide prevents not only those who are in the “second echelon”, but also the countries of the new information order themselves in achieving peace and stability, strengthening their own security: information technologies make states dependent on technology and technology, vulnerable to external influences and terrorist attacks ;

 the digital divide simultaneously serves as a field of interaction for cooperation between states with different levels of information and communication equipment;

 The digital divide, however, is not the result of linear social processes. Countries with a strong economy and developed institutions of politics and law have limited preferences in the information sphere, while small and even backward states that have begun to develop new technologies have been able, thanks to this, to jump ahead sharply, give impetus to the development of their economies, and improve the well-being of citizens;

 digital divide is overcome by changing the mentality of citizens and social institutions, primarily business; new education contributes to the appeal to the possibilities of the Internet of an increasing number of people; the activity of entrepreneurs makes it possible to achieve a breakthrough in the development of world information technology markets: the successful development of firms, their partners and subcontractors begins to determine the behavior, preferences of citizens who, after a short time, without the Internet, can not imagine either public administration, or the education system, or their own economy. countries;

 The digital divide is also being overcome thanks to the purposeful policy of the state; everywhere today so-called electronic governments are being created, which are understood as new ways of interaction between citizens and government bodies using information technologies.

In the conditions of intensified information exchanges, the internal state of individual countries was also affected by their starting opportunities in the economy and politics at the time of the onset of a new information era, the state of the intellectual potential of society, science and education. Of great importance, as it turned out, is the nature of national traditions, including in such an area as the media, in particular, whether this or that people is verbal, for which the traditions of oral speech are dominant, or its culture is based on writing. The geographical features of the country, the compactness or dispersion of its population were also extremely important.

There is a modernization of international relations, they are based on the exchange of information, and this goes “over the barriers”: an uncontrolled virtual space is equally accessible to any user connected to the Network, regardless of his location.

The emergence of information inequality, i.e. division of countries according to the level of "information development" is due to the fact that the economy is traditionally oriented towards the effective demand of the population. Today in the world there are about 100 million people with an income of more than 20 thousand US dollars per year. They can take advantage of all the benefits of the informatization process, but the rest of the population may fall out of this process.

 In general, existing in the USA digital bundle is characterized by the following:

 College or university graduates have eight times as many computers in their homes as those who graduated from high school only, and among the latter, the number of those with Internet access is 16 times less than among the former;

 Twenty times more high-income families living in urban areas with access to the Internet than similarly equipped families in rural areas with low incomes;

 Children in low-income white families are three times more likely to use the Internet than their black counterparts and four times more likely to be of Hispanic origin;

 Wealthy families on the US Pacific coast have 13 times more home computers than poor black families and are 34 times more likely to use the Internet;

 children in two-parent white families are twice as likely to use the Internet as children in single-parent white families; children in two-parent black families have nearly four times as many Internet access opportunities as children in single-parent black families.

The presence of digital stratification leads to inequality of citizens not only in obtaining the latest types of services provided via the Internet, but also in the exercise of the constitutional right to equal access to state information resources. Concern about the digital divide in the United States exists at all levels of government, it is considered by the American government and the private sector of the economy as key to the future of the country.

In general, technology adaptation does not occur uniformly across the country. The prevalence of fax machines, for example, is much higher in businesses than in households. Fax has never competed with telephone or mail in home communications, while for businesses there is considerable value in the instant transfer of documents.

There are also special, different from the traditionally considered factors that determine the uneven distribution of information and communication technologies. This is evidenced by the examples of those countries that have never been economically or politically influential on the world stage and only now, thanks to the development of the information technology market, have rapidly taken the lead, have become leading technology suppliers and “trendsetters” in establishing a new lifestyle. The dividing line between those who use and those who do not use the Internet ran along the “city-village” line: the Russian Internet audience in July-September 2000 amounted to 3.1 million people, of which 2.8 million were residents of large and medium-sized cities, primarily Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg

Remote areas, small towns and rural areas have been and remain unattractive markets for the provision of Internet access services.

Studies have shown that Russian Internet users are dominated by men. In St. Petersburg, for example, in mid-1997 they accounted for more than 80% of the Internet audience. Now the situation is changing.

Access to the Internet not only provides economic opportunities, but also has an increasing impact on social development. Information technology contributes to the development of distance learning. Internet medicine can provide access to up-to-date health information to doctors and patients in the most remote regions of the country.

The digital divide entails a clear social loss, exacerbates sociocultural differences between people who have and do not have access to the Internet. This inequality reflects the contradictions of the modern era. It has a material basis, which is rooted in economic relations within countries and in the gap between them in the international arena, it testifies to cultural differences, political differences. It also reflects other aspects of being, such as ethnic, geographical, demographic characteristics of people and societies.