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4.2 Social Inclusion – Overcoming the Digital Divide
Digital technologies have spread rapidly in much of the world. They can be a powerful influence in helping to overcome social inequalities, but they are also characterized by inequalities themselves. Large disparities in access to, usage of, and skills relevant for digital technologies exist, which are summarized as the
“digital divide”. Even more importantly, gaps also exist in the broader development benefits from using digital technologies. Digital technologies have often boosted growth, expanded opportunities, and improved service delivery, yet their aggregate impact has fallen short of being inclusive and is thus unevenly distributed.
The digital divide relates to a range of deep inequalities, often relevant at different scales both within countries (between social groups, age groups, genders, urban and rural areas) and across countries.
Inequalities pertain to:
• Access to, and use of, digital technologies (including relevant skill sets, education, quality, and affordability of technologies or services);
• Impacts on the economy through productivity gains, changes in industries, job losses, etc. (related to dividends from digital technologies and services);
• Concentration of knowledge, power, and revenue regarding the development and ownership of hardware, software, and data;
• Disparities between technology providers and users (nations, communities, companies, citizens).
Digitalization brings the promise of social, political, and financial inclusion – but this promise can only materialize if the technologies reach those who are currently left behind. The recently published book, Weapons of Math Destruction (O’Neil, 2016), warns of the dangers of algorithms and how they essentially contribute to leaving people behind. Patterns of inequalities (in relation to, for example, gender, geography, race, disability, age, and class) will continue to be challenges in the digital era unless they are actively addressed. Future and further digitalization may, if not managed well, exacerbate already present divides; however, if well managed, it can connect people and societies and facilitate inclusion without borders.
On a global level, digital divides are predominantly linked to access. Many of the access divides relate to the physical reality: around half of the world’s population still lack Internet access (Figure 8) and a billion do not even have access to electricity, a huge barrier to digitalization. This does not account for discrepancies in reliability, affordability, and the quality/quantity of service use. However, digital technologies, such as the Internet or smart mobile phones, diffuse more rapidly than some basic technologies, such as improved sanitation or electricity (Figure 9). Leapfrogging in developing countries has been mentioned many times,
Figure 8. The Internet remains unavailable, inaccessible, and unaffordable to most of the world’s population.
Note: High-speed Internet (broadband) includes the total number of fixed-line broadband subscriptions (such as DSL, cable modems, fiber optics), and the total number of 4G/LTE mobile subscriptions, minus a correcting factor to allow for those who have both types of access. 4G = fourth generation; DSL = digital subscriber line; ICT
= information and communication technology; LTE = long-term evolution. Source: World Bank (2016), CC BY 3.0.
as fixed-line telephony never reached as many homes as mobile phones do today.
Digitalization can also bridge divides. A recent study by the World Bank (2016) has shown that Internet access is more evenly spread than income (Figure 10), while economic disparities remain large and pervasive, even across generations (Figure 11).
Internet access can remove the barrier of geographic access, opening up access to information sources in faraway places. However, access to these resources may still be prevented by the lack of electricity access, Internet costs, journal paywalls, language, and other conditions unrelated to the availability of information itself. Open source encyclopedias such as Wikipedia and free courses further ensure the spread of information in the digitalized world. If the current trends of electricity and Internet access continue, the proportion of people with access to the Internet will continue to grow over the next 10 to 15 years to reach almost full coverage around 2030.
Another aspect of digitalization and Internet access is the spread of the use of social media and the changes in social interactions. Social media can function as enablers for social movements to take root. There are, however, downsides of this as social media may drive people to uniformity and limit a healthy diversity of perspectives reaching everyone, creating “echo chambers” in which people only hear information agreeable to their standpoints. The development of echo chambers may harm a well-informed public debate. Social media usage may also reinforce the increase of mental disorders. Is has been shown that limiting social media platform usage decreases loneliness and depression (Hunt et al., 2018).
Internet access can enable information access and provide new avenues and opportunities for doing things differently. A much-used example of how digitalization can enable financial inclusion is the Kenyan mobile phone-based money transfer system M-Pesa.2 Because M-Pesa works on older cell phones, individuals can easily transfer money without having to go to the bank or have Internet access. Similarly, there are several services in South Africa (e.g., eWallet3) which allow people without bank accounts access to finances whether or not they have Internet access.
Digital IDs provide identification and related services and rights to people previously excluded; an example is the Aadhaar4 program in India.
Internet access can also be beneficial for spreading norms and values in line with the notions of human rights, including that everyone should have their basic needs met and the right to human development in line with the capabilities framework (Nussbaum
& Sen, 1993). Norms and values can be spread via the Internet, social media, and television. These can provide information about the use of, and access to, family planning utilities, and they can facilitate sexual and reproductive health and rights. New access to media can also challenge traditional gender norms.
There may, however, be conflicts between modern and traditionally held views of society. Such conflicts may harm social inclusion. There is a risk of cultural globalization, often referred to as westernization or Americanization, whereby Western cultures and cultural expressions dominate and kill diversity and local traditions. This may, for example, lead to 2 https://www.mpesa.in/portal/
3 https://www.fnb.co.za/send-money/eWallet.html 4 https://uidai.gov.in/
Figure 9. Digital technologies are spreading rapidly in developing countries. Technology diffusion comparison:
Diffusion of cell phones vs. toilets for OECD countries (solid) and non-OECD countries (dashed). Data source:
World Bank WDI, CC BY. Source: Model fit and graphic courtesy of Arnulf Grubler, IIASA.
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Figure 10. The Internet (panel b) is more evenly spread than income (panel a). Note: Countries’ sizes are rescaled in proportion to national income and Internet population. The darker the shade, the higher the national income (panel a; GDP at market exchange rates) and the higher the Internet population (panel b). Source: World Bank (2016), CC BY 3.0.
unhealthy food preferences that are not appropriate to the local conditions, or to destructive consumerism.
Achieving a basic level of literacy and numeracy universally was an objective of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The SDGs move to broader goals in educational attainment, skills, and equal opportunities. The Digital Revolution within contemporary and future society means that (evolving) digital literacy and access to digital technologies are essential. As digital technologies become ever more embedded in everyday life – and increasingly taken for granted by those with relevant technologies, skills and understanding – so the exclusion of the digitally illiterate deepens. Such exclusion is a major policy concern in all countries.
The digital divide reveals a tendency for the most privileged to enhance their advantage and leave others behind. To ensure that individuals, communities, and
nations benefit from digital technologies, policies need to be targeted in areas strongly related to education.
Policymakers should focus their efforts on ensuring access for all to hardware and software, which will require investment in infrastructure and open source applications.
For digital technologies to benefit everyone everywhere, it is necessary to close the remaining digital divide, especially in Internet access. But greater digital adoption and access will not be enough to generate digital dividends. To get the most out of the Digital Revolution, countries also need to work on the
“analog complements”. This will involve strengthening regulations and policies so that there is competition among businesses, adapting workers’ skills to the demands of the new economy, and ensuring that institutions are accountable. Examples include access to and quality of educational opportunities, investment in the new roles and skill sets of teachers, promotion of
Figure 11. Great Gatsby Curve. Source: Corak (2013).
life-long learning, use of digital technologies to enhance citizenship and support, and the encouragement and direction of research and development of digital technologies.