Editing Digital divide (section)

===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>