Digital Divide

The information and communication technology (ICT) has become a major force in transforming social, economic, and political life globally. Without its incorporation into the information age, there is little chance for countries or regions to develop (Hafkin & Taggart, 2001).
The digital divide is the socio-economic difference between communities in their access to computers and the Internet. The term also refers to gaps between groups in their ability to use ICT effectively, due to differing literacy and technical skills, and the gap in availability of quality, useful digital content (wikipedia.org, 2007).
Although the below table shows an increasing number of Internet users overtime, it is clear that the digital divide exists among world regions. For example, while 69.4% of population in North America have access to the Internet, only 3.5 % of those in Africa do. However, we can see the dramatically increase of Internet users in Africa, Middle East, and Latin America, which reflects the narrowing gap between the developed and developing countries.