Digital inequality in the information society

Abstract

The article analyzes the problems of digital inequality or the digital divide in the modern information society through the prism of an interdisciplinary information and communication approach. Digital inequality has been considering at the international level and at the level of society as a complex and multifaceted process. The specificity of the digital divide was viewed through behavior of the «info-rich» and the «info-poor». The main current social factors influencing digital inequality and the specifics of their manifestation in Ukraine are described in the article. Information inequality as a type of social inequality has always existed in all societies and is their integral characteristic. For most of history, the population has been divided into an educated, knowledgeable elite and a poorly educated mass. Opportunities for access to knowledge/information were predominantly from the upper strata. The latter corresponded to their status and fenced off from the masses. The digital divide is present to one degree or another in all societies and is considered one of the main socio-economic problems that must be overcome at the national and international levels. Without telecommunication technologies today it is impossible to achieve economic growth. The distribution of goods and services via the Internet, paperless transactions, limitless operational information, multiple educational and research platforms are significantly changing the world. Access to the Internet, use of information and communication technologies (ICT), social networks such as Twitter, Facebook create online groups with similar interests and problems. The Internet and ICT are reshaping society in a certain way, improving mutual understanding, accustoming people to get acquainted with new ideas, conduct business transactions, evaluate news, and so on. Information inequality is also explained by personal and social factors, which include unequal opportunities for social adaptation to new processes and the realization of natural abilities, worldview, psychological (lack of motivation, needs), language, etc

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