Digital-Divide

DigitalDivideIntheearly1960s,theconceptofInternetwasintroducedintotheworld.Accordingtoessay,“RoadsandCrossroadsofInternetHistory”theauthor,“GregoryGromov”，saidthatseveraldecadeslater,thefirsttwonodeswereinterconnectedsuccessfullybetweenLeonardKleinrock’sNetworkMeasurementCenterandNLSsystematSRIInternational.SotheInternethadbeeninventedformally.Inthe21stcentury,abundantpeoplecannotlivewithouttheInternet.However,alotofmenarestill“illiterateoftheInternet”。Intheotherword,theydon’tknowhowtousetheInternet,andneverhavesomepeopleamongallegedilliteratesoftheInternetevertouchedcomputer.Aboutthisbeforementionedphenomena,expertsdefineditasDigitalDivide.DigitalDivideisasortoftechnologicalgapevenabyssbetweentwopeopleortwogroupofpeople.Intheotherwords,somepeopleareabletousemoderntechnologyadeptly,butremainingpartofpeoplecannotdothat.Becausetechnologyhasbeenspreadontheplanet,theDigitalDividehappeninanywhere,especiallyinChina.Inthiscountry,theDigitalDividealwayshappensinruralareabecausepeoplewhoarelivinginthisareausuallydon’thaveenoughmoneytopurchaseacomputerandtopayfortheInternetservicesfee.Accordingtotheessay,“China:ImprovingRuralAccesstoInformationandCommunicationTechnologies”，theauthorsaidthattherewasaboutaquarterpeoplewhoownpublicfacilitiesamong3,000peopleinprovinceofGuizhou,Chinathroughanalyzingtheirsurvey,andinChina,therearenumerousprovincesthesameasprovinceofGuizhouis.AllofthemarefacingtheDigitalDivideofruralarea.Therefore,tosolveDigitalDivide,spreadingtheInternetviaeducation,reducingpriceoftheInternetandimprovingthequalityofcontenttoattractpeopleusingtheInternetwillbeconsideredasmethods.Firstofall,spreadingtheInternetinruralareasbyteachingwillbethemostefficientandeffectivewaytosolveDigitalDividebecauseafterbeingtaught,peoplewhodon’tknowhowtousetheInternetwillbeawareofhowtouseitimmediately.Forexample,accordingtotheTEDtalk,“BridgingtheDigitalDivide”，thelecturer,AlephMolinari,saidthattheycreatedaprogram,calledRIAorLearningandInnovationNetwork,toteachpeopletousethecomputerandtheInternet,andafteroneweek,therewouldbeatleast140,000peoplewhoweregoingtobetheuserofthecomputerortheInternet.IfpeoplesetupsuchaprogramasRIAinChineseruralarea,plentyofpeoplearegoingtobenefitfromthisprogram.Forexample,ifaschoolthatwouldteachpeopletousecomputerwasbuiltinruralareainprovinceofGuizhou,villagersmightbeinterestedinthatprogramandtakepartinit.Throughlearninginaschool,thosevillagersorhouseholderswillknowhowtousecomputerandwhattheycanbenefitfromcomputer.Asaresult,throughlearninginaschool,thosevillagerorhouseholderwillknowhowtousecomputerandwhattheycanbenefitfromcomputer.However,thereisalsocontroversialstatementaboutprogram.Forexample,ifthepeoplewantedtoengagethatprogram,thefoundermightchargelearnersmoney.Inotherwords,peopleprobablyneedtopaytuitionforlearningthecomputer.Andsomepeoplemaynotusethecomputerexceptataschoolbecausetheymightnothavemoneytopurchaseacomputerforthemselves,andtheycannotpracticetheskillthattheylearnedduringtheschoolathome.Consequently,theywillforgettheskillthattheyhavelearned.Thatmeansthattheprogram,perhaps,cannotgeneratetherealusersofthecomputerinChineseruralarea.Moreover,ifthegovernmentwantstobridgetheDigitalDivide,theywillhavetoreducethepriceoftheInternetServicesbecauseifthepriceoftheInternetServicesisaffordableforthepeopleinruralarea,theywillconsidertoaccesstotheInternet.Forexample,inearly2012,theChinesegovernmentdecidedtoreducetheInternetratetobeaffordableforthepeopleinruralarea，suchas50RMB《8.05USdollars》permonthforbroadbandof4Mbps.Asaresult,Accordingtotherepost,“StatisticalReportonInternetDevelopmentinChina”，theauthorshowedthedataabouttheincreasingofusersoftheInternetinChineseruralarea.Inthereport,bytheendofJune2013,thenumberoftheruralInternetuserscontributedto27.9%ofnumberoftotalChineseInternetusers,andcomparingwiththepreviousdata,therewerenolessthen9.08millionpeopleaccessingtotheInternetinpastyear.ButthereisalsoaproblemwhenrateoftheInternetisdecreased.Ontheonehand,theInternetprovidersmightlosealotofmoneyduetoreducetheprice,andbecauseofthis,theproviderprobablywillnotsupplygoodservicetotheircustomers.Ontheotherhand,asaresultofratereducing,moreandmorepeopleinruralareacanaffordpriceoftheInternetServices,soallofthesepeoplewouldbuyacomputertoaccesstotheInternet.Finally,moreelectronictrashwillbeproducedifthepeopleinruralareacannotprocessthistoxictrashappropriately,anditwillpollutetheenvironmentinthatvillage.Intheend,makingtheInternetmoreusefulbyaddingvariouscontentfordifferentpeopleisaneffectivewaytosolvetheDigitalDividebecausesometimes,thereasonwhythepeopleinruralareadon’tusetheInternetisthattheInternetisuselessforthem.Ifpeoplecreatesomeinformationforthepeopleinruralarea,alotofthemwillaccesstotheInternetbecausetheycanbenefitfromit.Forexample,accordingtotheessay,“InternetChangesChineseFarmers’Life”，theauthorpointedoutthatpreviously,therewasalittleinformationaboutagriculture,sonobodywantedtoaccesstotheInternet,butwiththerapidlyincreasingnumberofpiecesofagriculturalinformation,alotofpeopleinruralareawillfindanopportunityonli