Digital Divide: Donation

Countries with lots of money try loads to donate money to less fortunate countries. One way is through Red Nose Day. This is when people buy red noses and the money goes straight to charity. Also the BBC have funny programmes on etc which encourages people to watch the TV and the money goes to charity.

Another way of raising money is through the "Feed the world" christmas song. Through a sympathetic video sung by popular modern artists, viewers evoke sympathy for the poverty in other less economically developed countries. Therefore people buy the single and the money goes to them for help to get out of their situation. The problem with this is that it has been going on for years with apparently no result. It seems that people buy the single only because it sounds good and they don't donate any extra money to the cause.

Also, aid is given to these countries. This is where voluntarily, MEDC's donate money to poorer countries. The money can be used to develop the country and prevent them from disasters that they get.

Computer aid international is a company which aims to reduce poverty in some countries using IT. They provide high quality, refurbished computers which these countries can use. This gives them access to the internet which, in turn, bridges the digital divide. It claims to have provided over 150,000 PCs to where they are most needed in more than 100 countries across Africa and South America, making them the world's largest and most experienced ICT for Development provider.

Digital Divide: The UK

Within the UK there are differences in how computers and technology are used. The differences can be categorized into:

• Age
• Social Lifestyle
• Location
• Education

Age is an imortant difference. Younger people are educated with computers from a very early age and they can take further technological education at university if they want. Whereas older people are used to doing tasks the old fashioned way which doesn't involve the use of a computer. According to government statistics, 95% of teenagers have used the internet in the last 3 months but only 30% of 65+ year olds used the internet in the past 3 months.

However social lifestyle is an important factor because those who are upper classed have more money to spend on computers which is a luxury. To some people in highly populated areas, £500 for a computer is a lot of money.

Digital Divide: Bridging

The world is going through an ICT revolution, a revolution that has enormous social and economic consequences for the developed and less developed countries of the world. A huge difference already exists between the developed countries in terms of access to ICTs (this includes radio, computers, TV and mobile phones).

In parts of the developing world, less than 1 in every 1,000 people have access to a computer compared to nearly 600 in every 1,000 in the developed world. For this reason, CNET Networks International Media has partnered with UK charity Computer Aid International, to undertake the effort of bridging the digital divide between the developed world and the developing world.

More than 80% of people in the world have never even heard a dial tone, let alone surfed the Web. And the gap between the information haves and have-nots is widening.
In a speech in Switzerland, UN Secretary General Kofi Anan warned of the danger of excluding the world's poor from the information revolution. "People lack many things: jobs, shelter, food, health care and drinkable water. Today, being cut off from basic telecommunications services is a hardship almost as acute as these other deprivations, and may indeed reduce the chances of finding remedies to them," he said. Intel chairman Craig Barrett says "We have a saying in our company: PCs aren't magic, teachers are magic."