Editing Digital divide (section)

==History==
The historical roots of the digital divide in America refer to the increasing gap that occurred during the early modern period between those who could and could not access the real time forms of calculation, decision-making, and visualization offered via written and printed media.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eddy |first1=Matthew Daniel |title=Media and the Mind: Art, Science, and Notebooks as Paper Machines, 1700–1830 |date=2023 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-18386-2 }}</ref> Within this context, ethical discussions regarding the relationship between education and the free distribution of information were raised by thinkers such as [[Immanuel Kant]], [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]], and [[Mary Wollstonecraft]] (1712–1778). The latter advocated that governments should intervene to ensure that any society's economic benefits should be fairly and meaningfully distributed. Amid the [[Industrial Revolution]] in Great Britain, Rousseau's idea helped to justify [[poor laws]] that created a safety net for those who were harmed by new forms of production. Later when telegraph and postal systems evolved, many used Rousseau's ideas to argue for full access to those services, even if it meant subsidizing hard-to-serve citizens. Thus, "[[universal service]]s"<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=Dr. Kim|date=September 26, 2000|title=The Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (USO)|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/uso|access-date=November 23, 2020|website=Parliament of Australia|archive-date=July 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722193600/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/uso|url-status=live}}</ref> referred to innovations in regulation and taxation that would allow phone services such as [[AT&T]] in [[the United States]] to serve hard-to-serve rural users. In 1996, as telecommunications companies merged with Internet companies, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] adopted [[Telecommunications Act of 1996|Telecommunications Services Act of 1996]] to consider regulatory strategies and taxation policies to close the digital divide. Though the term "digital divide" was coined among consumer groups that sought to tax and regulate [[information and communications technology]] (ICeT) companies to close the digital divide, the topic soon moved onto a global stage. The focus was the [[World Trade Organization]] which passed a Telecommunications Services Act, which resisted regulation of ICT companies so that they would be required to serve hard to serve individuals and communities. In 1999, to assuage anti-globalization forces, the WTO hosted the "Financial Solutions to Digital Divide" in Seattle, US, co-organized by [[Craig Warren Smith]] of Digital Divide Institute and [[Bill Gates Sr.]] the chairman of the [[Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation]]. It catalyzed a full-scale global movement to close the digital divide, which quickly spread to all sectors of the global economy.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Craig Warren|url=https://iucat.iu.edu/iuk/5619796|title=Digital Corporate Citizenship: The Business Response to the Digital Divide|publisher=The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University|year=2002|isbn=1884354203|location=Indianapolis|access-date=November 17, 2020|archive-date=May 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505180835/https://iucat.iu.edu/iuk/5619796|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2000, US president Bill Clinton mentioned the term in the [[2000 State of the Union Address|State of the Union Address]].

===During the COVID-19 pandemic ===
At the outset of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], governments worldwide issued stay-at-home orders that established [[lockdown]]s, quarantines, restrictions, and closures. The resulting interruptions to schooling, public services, and business operations drove nearly half of the world's population into seeking alternative methods to live while in isolation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sandford |first=Alasdair |date=2020-04-02 |title=Coronavirus: Half of humanity on lockdown in 90 countries |url=https://www.euronews.com/2020/04/02/coronavirus-in-europe-spain-s-death-toll-hits-10-000-after-record-950-new-deaths-in-24-hou |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=euronews |language=en |archive-date=May 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519122856/https://www.euronews.com/2020/04/02/coronavirus-in-europe-spain-s-death-toll-hits-10-000-after-record-950-new-deaths-in-24-hou |url-status=live }}</ref> These methods included telemedicine, virtual classrooms, online shopping, technology-based social interactions and working remotely, all of which require access to high-speed or broadband [[internet access]] and digital technologies. A Pew Research Centre study reports that 90% of Americans describe the use of the Internet as "essential" during the pandemic.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last1=McClain |first1=Colleen |last2=Vogels |first2=Emily A. |last3=Perrin |first3=Andrew |last4=Sechopoulos |first4=Stella |last5=Rainie |first5=Lee |date=2021-09-01 |title=The Internet and the Pandemic |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/09/01/the-internet-and-the-pandemic/ |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech |language=en-US |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307062655/https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/09/01/the-internet-and-the-pandemic/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The accelerated use of digital technologies creates a landscape where the ability, or lack thereof, to access digital spaces becomes a crucial factor in everyday life.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ruiu |first1=Maria Laura |title=Digital-Environmental Poverty: Digital and environmental inequalities in the post-covid era |last2=Ragnedda |first2=Massimo |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan Cham |year=2024 |isbn=978-3-031-56184-9 |pages=44}}</ref>

According to the [[Pew Research Center]], 59% of children from lower-income families were likely to face digital obstacles in completing school assignments.<ref name=":12" /> These obstacles included the use of a [[cellphone]] to complete homework, having to use [[public Wi-Fi]] because of unreliable internet service in the home and lack of access to a computer in the home. This difficulty, titled the [[homework gap]], affects more than 30% of K-12 students living below the poverty threshold, and disproportionally affects American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, and Hispanic students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The numbers behind the broadband "homework gap" |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/the-numbers-behind-the-broadband-homework-gap/ |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Pew Research Center |date=20 April 2015 |language=en-US |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307062657/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/the-numbers-behind-the-broadband-homework-gap/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |id={{ERIC|ED581891}} |last1=KewalRamani |first1=Angelina |last2=Zhang |first2=Jijun |last3=Wang |first3=Xiaolei |last4=Rathbun |first4=Amy |last5=Corcoran |first5=Lisa |last6=Diliberti |first6=Melissa |last7=Zhang |first7=Jizhi |title=Student Access to Digital Learning Resources outside of the Classroom |date=April 2018 |publisher=National Center for Education Statistics }}</ref> These types of interruptions or privilege gaps in education exemplify problems in the systemic marginalization of historically oppressed individuals in primary education. The pandemic exposed inequity causing discrepancies in learning.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-15 |title=Understanding the Digital Divide in Education |url=https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/digital-divide-in-education/ |access-date=2023-02-14 |website=soeonline.american.edu |language=en-US}}</ref>

A lack of "tech readiness", that is, confident and independent use of devices, was reported among the US elderly population; with more than 50% reporting an inadequate knowledge of devices and more than one-third reporting a lack of confidence.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kakulla |first=Brittne |title=Older Adults Are Upgrading Tech for a Better Online Experience |url=https://www.aarp.org/research/topics/technology/info-2021/2021-technology-trends-older-americans.html |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=AARP |year=2021 |doi=10.26419/res.00420.001 |s2cid=234803399 |language=english |doi-access=free |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307062658/https://www.aarp.org/research/topics/technology/info-2021/2021-technology-trends-older-americans.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Moreover, according to a UN research paper, similar results can be found across various Asian countries, with those above the age of 74 reporting a lower and more confused usage of digital devices.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Yongwang |last2=Fan |first2=Zhenxiong |title=The Digital Divide and COVID-19: Impact on the Socioeconomic Development in Asia and the Pacific |journal=United Nations ESCAP |date=June 2022 |url=https://www.unescap.org/kp/2022/digital-divide-and-covid-19-impact-socioeconomic-development-asia-and-pacific |access-date=30 May 2023 |location=Bangkok}}</ref> This aspect of the digital divide and the elderly occurred during the pandemic as healthcare providers increasingly relied upon telemedicine to manage chronic and acute health conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Health Literacy Online {{!}} health.gov |url=https://health.gov/healthliteracyonline/ |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=health.gov |archive-date=March 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308042111/https://health.gov/healthliteracyonline/ |url-status=live }}</ref>