Poverty

How does poverty affect the digital divide?


Poverty is by far the most important factor that contributes towards the severity of the digital divide; countries that are still developing suffer greatly from this. Residents living in countries that have high poverty levels are more than likely going to spend their wages on their family and bringing food to the table- the average wage is so low that they cannot afford to sustain a family and own technological goods. Over half the world's population reside in developing countries- this means that over half the world's population are likely to have never driven a car, called another person or logged on to the internet. As the divide between the rich and the poor in the world deepens, the digital divide also becomes more apparent. Studies have shown that Africa, as a continent, is the world's poorest- for this reason I will be using Africa as the main example of how poverty affects the digital divide.

Of the approximately 816 million people in Africa in 2001, it is estimated that:
How does it affect the use of computers/internet:

The graph shows the difference in internet costs in comparison to average monthly wages all throughout the world; in most African countrie's it exceeds 100%.

A recent study found that over half of the households in the USA owned a computer compared to less than 1% in Africa; this accounts to 77 million houses in America being connected to the internet while in Bangladesh there is less than 50 known internet connections for the whole country. This huge difference may be due to the low wages in developing countries; over half of the world's population live on less than £2 a day and more than 20% live on just £1- leaving nothing spare after feeding your family as much as possible. The cost of an internet connection in Africa exceeds the average income for the majority of the population, while it amounts to less than 2% of an average monthly income in the UK. This contrast in wages is most likely due to the laws on minimum wage that each country possess- in the UK a minimum working wage for one week is equivalent to 258 euro yet in Zimbabwe the allowed minimum wage law allows for a man to earn just 2.50 euro a week legally. Employers in developing countries are more likely to exploit their workers and force them to work longer hours for little money as they are able to get away with poor treatment and unsanitary conditions allowing them to gain the maximum amount of profit possible- however in developed countries such as the UK this would be against human rights and not allowed by law. Workers in countries such as Zimbabwe would also be more willing to take whatever job they could; as very few people have the ability to read or write due to lack of education growing up, and manual labour is often the only way forward.


This lack of computer and internet access is contributing towards the lack of elementary education; the UN states that everybody of school age has the right to access good education. However due to low funds, lack of teachers and families sending out children to work too young means very little of the developing country's population receives the necessary education to succeed academically later in life. It was estimated in 2008 that 18% of the world was illiterate- in sub Saharan African states over a third of men and half of women are unable to read or write. These figures are almost certainly due to the lack of resources available in developing countries and lead to more people turning towards manual labour for low wages, as mentioned in the second paragraph. As society progresses it seems more information is becoming available online every day; and those who can't access it are falling to a much larger disadvantage than those who can. On the web you can find revision sites, information about almost every topic or question in the world or use chat rooms to discuss similar subjects with people all over the globe. Those in developing countries are not able to reap the benefits of computers and the internet and use them in everyday life; if they had the ability to regularly access the information that a computer could hold then the digital divide would slowly lessen. 


However although the effects of poverty on use of computers and internet predominately affect developing countries, we can still see examples of this in the UK. Although poverty does not seem a realistic problem in a developed country like Britain, recent studies have shown nearly 13 million people live in what the Government deems as poverty-like conditions (1 in 5 people) affecting almost 4 million children in our population. However due to rising birth rates these numbers are likely to have risen. Over a third of UK households choose not to subscribe to the Internet as they believe the price range is out of their reach. These 4 million children that are affected by lack of internet access at home are estimated to cost the taxpayers £80 million over a 40 year working life as individuals are estimated to earn on average a lower wage and may require expensive training in the future to bring them up to date with technological advances. 
Measures being taken:

• Broadband for all scheme- this scheme in the UK aims to provide a grant of £500 to all 270,000 recorded low income families in the UK (less than £16,040 a year) allowing them to pick out a computer worth that amount- the Government will then provide a 12 month free broadband connection for all the families followed by a reduced price for the years following. This scheme aims to come in place in March 2011 and will encourage families to use the internet and will lessen the digital divide in Britain.
• One Laptop Per Child- provide laptops that run on low power for under $100 per device, encouraging low income families in developing countries to be able to receive laptops. The computers are sold to the Government of developing countries then handed out to needy families throughout the nation. The company has sold over 2 million laptops so far.
• Basic PC and Internet course- Officials in the Czech Republic have set up one week courses in Africa to teach young people the basic skills required to use a computer and access the Internet. They hope the skills will stay with them and allow them to teach their peers also- these skills will help them get better jobs in later life.
• Computer Aid- a UK registered charity that provides thousands of refurbished computers to schools and hospitals in developing countries to deepen their educational learning and provide people with access to the Internet and computers.
• Close The Gap- A similar project to Computer Aid, computers are wiped and tested then shipped to the country that needs them, although this project also forms partnerships with companies all over the world to 
• Grameenphone Communication Information Centre- "It is designed to be run independently as small businesses by local entrepreneurs. Each CIC is equipped with a computer, a printer, a scanner, a webcam and a modem to provide internet-based services. CIC entrepreneurs are trained and are provided with continuous support from Grameenphone so that they can extend their knowledge and service to the communities they serve. CICs also provide other GP services, such as payphones and electronic recharge for pre-paid and post-paid mobile accounts."
• 50x15- aims at providing accessible internet and computer to 50% of the world's population by 2015
• World Information Society Day- Recognised each year on May 17th, introduced by the UN in a hope to raise the awareness of the digital divide and the effects it has on our neighbours.
•  Many towns across underdeveloped countries are setting up Internet cafes in which one or two computers are available and connected to the internet. However the government often provides the computers and instructs a man to look after the shop and charge low prices for residents to come and access them; meaning even people on extremely low incomes can afford to use a computer.

Landlines/ Mobile Phones


However the digital divide is not solely about the lack of access to a computer, it covers a wide aspect of technology that is widely available in the Western World- such as telephones. However popular phones seem to be, in 2003 over 50% of the world's population have never made or received a phone call in their life. Some 15% of the world's population own 70% of the phones available worldwide- this accounts to roughly 80 million phones in the top 15% however the 48 poorest countries combined only have access to 2 million devices. This shows the extent of the digital divide and how people who live in poorer countries are likely to never use a phone, or even if they did have access to one they may not know anyone they could call. 


However the lowering costs of mobile phones and subscriptions and charities providing free mobiles caused mobile phone subscriptions in Africa to soar; there are almost 300 million throughout the continent (although this still only covers 6.2% of the population); and like all continent's subscription levels it varies from country to country- there is a 75% or mobile phone owners in the Reunion province yet the whole of Ethiopia only has a 0.1% ownership rate. Though users have learned to use drop calls (hanging up before the other answers) to indicate messages for free; owners have used this technique to tell buyers that their stock is ready, to indicate they have arrived at a destination and so on. Research also shows that even though in terms of ownership the percentages are very low, in Africa it has become custom to share your phone with others who require it for a small fee, so even if a person does not own a mobile phone they may be able to access one. 
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE69D4WX20101014

The use of mobile phones to communicate is extremely important to those living in third world countries as they may require stock prices or to talk to family members who may live a long while away. The rise of mobile phone users in these countries has also lead to a lower death rate as people have more connection to the emergency services quickly and ambulances can be called to the scene at a much faster rate than before. Also, as towns in LEDCs often have no landline phones due to the complex and expensive network required to set up this system, mobile phones are often the only way to communicate over long distances quickly and can be essential in everyday life. Officials in Third World countries have also set up a database that allows people to text information, such as polio outbreaks, to the Government who track the health of the country on a real-time computer, information is now shared instantly but years ago it could have taken months to find out about an outbreak on the other side of the country. This method is helping to stop the spread of diseases and has the ability to save several lives. 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/telecoms/8053964/Africa-is-saving-lives-by-turning-mobile-phones-into-hospitals.html

In the UK almost every household has a landline service that is unique to the house and area in which a person lives in; it allows houses all over the country to connect with each other no matter the distance and often for much lower calling rates than mobiles. However a recent study showed that 28% of Brits with a landline hadn't used it in more than 6 months and 91% say they use their mobile phone for the majority of the calls they make and receive. This shows that even though as a country we have a massive amount of access to landlines we frequently don't make the use out of them that we should; countries such as Ethiopia have less than 0.05% of the landlines in the UK and yet we barely use them. Graphs show that in the UK there are 126 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people- this means there are more subscriptions than the whole population; this means that there are several examples of people owning more than one mobile phone (perhaps for work and personal purposes). This shows the extent of the differences in developed and developing countries as we in Britain are exposed to endless landlines, mobiles or public telephone boxes within minutes however there are those in Africa who have to share one mobile often between family and neighbours, as well as themselves. 


Measures being taken:

• Lifeline- This Government funded scheme in the US provides those within America a free mobile phone and up to 75 minutes of calls per month if they fall below the minimum income line, roughly 1.5 million people have benefited from this scheme.
• Lifeline for Africa- A brother scheme to the above lifeline, however this service provides phones for those in developing countries in Africa. People send in old phones, some of which are sold in the USA to generate revenue but most are refurbished and sent on for free to African charities.
• Fonebank- This UK service allows people to sell their old mobile phones to the company who then send on working mobiles to developing countries to be reused for extremely low prices, providing people in developing countries with cheaper alternatives to new mobiles.
• The Village Phone- Run by Grameen Telecom; mobile phones are sold to women in poor villages for a low cost loan. The women then rent out the mobile phone to those who need it in the village on a cost per minute rate. 
• Grameenphone CellBazaar- launched in 2006, allows users to search market prices from all over the world from their mobile phone. Has helped millions in developing countries to develop their selling strategies and gain revenue.

The current situation

The current situation about the digital divide based on poverty cannot be completely accurately defined due to individuals getting access to technology more everyday as the world evolves digitally and unreliable data about levels of poverty that may affect a country. For example in the UK the Government's description of a family living in poverty-like conditions may vary largely from how poverty is defined in Africa, with even some of their more well off population living in far worse conditions than the UK's poverty line. However we can clearly see that globally the digital divide is very apparent with over half of our own world's population being extremely far behind in regards to access and knowledge of technology which is in stark contrast to the leading countries such as the US, UK and China who are leagues ahead. The world's richest 15% of countries have 70% of the world's available computers which leaves the developing countries falling far behind in the technology world. Studies have shown that in general countries with a lower GDA have lower levels of access to phones, cars and computers as they do not have the money to support the costs of these systems. Those who would like to connect to the internet the UK would only have to part with, on average, 2% of a household's monthly income whereas those in African countries may have to part with over 100% of their wages- an impossible feat. The lower network coverage in these areas may also alter the prices as it would cost more time and effort to establish an internet connection when you are not situated near communication towers that speed up the process. Although over the last few years as charities are providing computers and phones, and as prices as slashed in many fields of technology, those in the poorest areas in the world are getting more access to technology than they've ever had before.

Locally the situation is not nearly as severe, however the image above shows that more children than we may expect are not given the oppurtunity to access the Internet at home; though we are unsure if this is due to voluntary or unvoluntary reasons (poverty). On the map it tells me that as of 2007 under 20% of children living in Essex didn't have access to the internet at home- this marks our county as being in the lower band of severity in terms of Internet access. In fact the constiuency in Rayleigh is the second wealthiest in the country making Essex one of the richest counties in terms of income. However although Britain has the fourth largest gross income in the world more than 13 million people live in income poverty; the divide between the richest and the poorest is also very severe; the wealthiest 1% owned four times as much as the combined wealth of half the population (28 million people). In England, as a country, poverty is not one of our main problems and as a nation we tend to focus more on helping the more severe cases of poverty in developing nations due to events such as Red Nose Day.
The following website is extremely interesting in showing us how each country in the world ranks in terms of technology; http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_per_com_percap-media-personal-computers-per-capita . Some examples from this list show that the leading country in terms of numbers of computers is Switzerland with 865,000 computers per one million people however the lowest ranking country Niger has only 0.76 per one million of the population. These statistics show the strong differences in the best equipped and the worst equipped countries in terms of computers; if you lived in Niger there is less than a one in a million chance of owning a computer. The site also tells us about access to mobile phones; China top the list with 547,286,000 mobile phones in use compared to the 130,000 in the Central African republic. However as these figures are not per/1000 (or similar) they do not give us an accurate insight into how many people have access to phones as countries with a larger population have more chance of owning more phones. These lists are extremely helpful in highlighting the differences between the rich and poor in the world; there is such a large divide it is hard to understand the sheer number of people in our world who will never get the chance to use a computer or a phone.

• 1 in 4 have a radio
• 1 in 13 have a TV
• 1 in 35 have a mobile phone
• 1 in 40 have a fixed line phone
• 1 in 130 have a PC
• 1 in 60 use the Internet