Created by AI Adobe Firefly via a prompt by Kellie Billingsley
The Digital Divide is a term that refers to the gap between those who have access to internet and computers and those who do not. There are many things that can cause a digital divide in a community. Individuals may not have internet access at home due to lack of income to afford the cost. Low digital literacy skills may also contribute to some people being isolated when it comes to technology. Access can be affected by rural areas that have poor broadband connections.
Good Things Australia
The Good Things Foundation Australia is a non-profit organisation dedicated to digital literacy. This organisation highlights the fact that 1 in 4 people in Australia are still digitally excluded as shown on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index. (ADII, 2023). Individuals with limited income, education, and employment prospects, residents in rural regions, people above age 65 and those with disabilities face increased vulnerability to exclusion and marginalisation. Their focus includes community education, mentor training, and advocacy to bridge the digital divide. The utilise digital mentors and provide small grants to support local initiatives. Additionally, they operate a helpline for ongoing support. One key initiative is the ‘Capacity Building’ program, which trains digital mentors to assist adults over 50. This program aims to up skill thousands of mentors through community partnerships.
School Student Broadband in Australia
The Australian Government’s School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) is an initiative that aims to bridge the digital divide by providing free National Broadband Network (NBN) services for eligible families without home internet access. The initiative, requires families to have a school-aged child and no internet at home. It is one way the government are trying to close in on the digital divide. I do wonder at how easy or difficult it is to apply for this grant.
The digital divide in South-East Asia
In summary from reading the article by Tipton (2020), this region’s collective digital future will depend on reliable infrastructure and whether online services are readily available, especially in remote or impoverished areas. It certainly is evident that significant disparities exist in internet quality, both between and within the countries of South East Asia. I think this threatens to widen the socioeconomic gap between the wealthy and poor populations. I travelled extensively in this region in the past, and there so many complexities in the many cultures and communities. Corruption, political instability and uneven wealth distribution are are easy to spot. There is also a clear divide in infrastructure between rural and urban areas which would directly impact on the digital divide.
References
Good things foundation Australia. (2022). The digital divide. https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org.au/
Tipton, F. B. (2020). Bridging the Digital Divide in Southeast Asia: Pilot Agencies and Policy Implementation in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 19(1), 83–99. https://doi.org/10.1355/AE19-1F