digital divide

[ dij-i-tl di-vahyd ]

/ ˈdɪdʒ ɪ tl dɪˈvaɪd /

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noun

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.

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Origin of digital divide

First recorded in 1990–95

Words nearby digital divide

digital citizenship, digital clock, digital compact cassette, digital computer, digital detox, digital divide, digital footprint, digital fount, digital frame, digital furrow, digital humanities

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use digital divide in a sentence

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.
Lacking a Lifeline: How a federal effort to help low-income Americans pay their phone bills failed amid the pandemic|Tony Romm|February 9, 2021|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.
Getting vaccinated is hard. It’s even harder without the internet.|Eileen Guo|February 3, 2021|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.
VC investment in proptech can yield profits and change lives|Walter Thompson|January 27, 2021|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.
A big hurdle for older Americans trying to get vaccinated: Using the internet|Rebecca Heilweil|January 27, 2021|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.
Internet regulation takes on greater urgency as pandemic highlights digital divide|Cat Zakrzewski, Tony Romm|January 20, 2021|Washington Post
The digital dating sphere can prove tricky, and bruising, for the trans user.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Bridging the divide between the police and those who distrust them will take more than protests and symbolic gestures.
How to Solve the Policing Crisis|Keli Goff|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Divide batter into prepared ramekins, place ramekins on a baking sheet, and bake about 20 minutes.
Make ‘The Chew’s’ Carla Hall’s Sticky Toffee Pudding|Carla Hall|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Consider, too, that in this digital age, making something public is not only easier but has greater reach.
Public Marriage Proposals Must Die|Tauriq Moosa|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Divide the dough in half and very gently pat each half into a round 1-inch-thick disk.
Make ‘The Chew’s’ Carla Hall’s Pumpkin Pecan Pie|Carla Hall|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His head fell back limp on MacRae's arm, and the rest of the message went with the game old Dutchman across the big divide.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Still a-shiver at dawn, I saddled up and loped for the crest of the nearest divide to get the benefit of the first sun-rays.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
I remember him saying once—it was at the Zoo—what a pity it was he hadn't enough to divide among the whole Cabinet.
First Plays|A. A. Milne
Should an association dissolve, then the members may divide its property among themselves.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
Sometimes a quarrel springs up in one of these associations, the members divide, who shall have the property?
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles

British Dictionary definitions for digital divide

digital divide

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for digital divide

digital divide

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 for digital divide

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

notes for digital divide

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.