digital divide

[ dij-i-tl di-vahyd ]

noun

1. the socioeconomic and other disparities between those people who have opportunities and skills enabling them to benefit from digital resources, especially the internet, and those who do not have these opportunities or skills:

   programs that help to bridge the digital divide between rich and poor countries.

digital divide

noun

1. informal.
   the gap between those people who have internet access and those who do not

digital divide

1. A term that describes the division of the world into two camps, those who have access to the Internet and other advanced information technologies and those who don't. The term highlights the issue that those who do not have access to such technology are potentially destined to futures where they will be at an economic disadvantage.

Notes

In domestic political terms in the United States, the divide is between educated, well-off members of society and those who are less well-off.

In geopolitical terms, the divide is between the developed and the developing nations , or, roughly speaking, between the North and the South.

Word History and Origins

Origin of digital divide¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

The country’s digital divide — the gap between the haves and have-nots in accessing and affording the Internet — vexed policymakers long before the pandemic.

From Washington Post

Images of students forced to sit in restaurant parking lots to access free WiFi so they could take their classes on the internet drove home just how wide the digital divide in America remains.

From MIT Technology Review

We work every day with the inspiring stakeholders in the affordable housing community, as well as local governments and tech entrepreneurs looking to bridge this digital divide.

From TechCrunch

Even if seniors do manage to get appointments, Cotter, of San Francisco’s Community Tech Network, warns that the pandemic has exposed how the digital divide has impacted older people more broadly.

From Vox

The pandemic is highlighting a persistent digital divide, in which Americans without a strong and affordable Internet connection are increasingly boxed out of work and education opportunities.

From Washington Post

We could see the progress made toward closing the digital divide come to a full stop.

From The Daily Beast

Although the term “digital divide” is generally associated with the 1990s, multiple digital divides still exist today.

From The Daily Beast

However, the technology access gap is not the only digital divide confronting students today.

From The Daily Beast

In the 1990s, progressive politicians led by the redoubtable Al Gore, viewed the “digital divide” as a dire national crisis.

From The Daily Beast

That means we must close the digital divide between those who have these tools and those who don't.

From Project Gutenberg