TT Connect: The Gateway to Enhanced Service Delivery

Digital Divide Issues

The term digital divide relates to gaps that exist between countries (and people) that are technologically advanced and those that are technologically less advanced. The concept became popular in the late 1990s and was a salient issue with public, political, and scholarly debates. It first originated in the United States from stakeholders in certain areas of research such as education, policy making, government and advocacy groups, (Aspray, 2004; Kuttan & Peters, 2003; Mossberger, Tolbert, & Stansbury, 2003; Van Dijk, 2005; Warschaeur, 2003) and later spread to Europe and the rest of the world. This term captured the essence of the dichotomy in the world of those who “have” and those that “do not have” technology (Aspray, 2004). The important point to consider is that the digital divide, is a complex issue that brings new questions for policy makers that must decide how society is able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by technology.