Digital Divide

It is known that technology is everywhere. Since the pen I write with until the latest medicine invented to help with Alzheimer’s disease. What is not known for a few people in society is that, there are a few issues with technology that, instead of approaching people, pushes them away. This is called Digital Divide, and we can see it through: first, people with access and privileged information, such as countries spying others nations, second, people who have access of information and can make money with it, and third, those people who do not have financial conditions to be aware of what is happening, and cannot be a candidate in a job position, for example. Because of these disparities, technology should be used carefully and fairly.

In the past few months, a few spying situations happened between United States of America and Brazil, and / or several other countries. The Brazilian Government found out that they were being spied by the USA through the internet, telephone calls, etc. The fact is that politically the USA government could have some decisions being influenced by this information they had and the Brazilian Government did not know. It was an unfair situation, not very polite or even ethical. But in the end, there is nothing Brazil can do, because they cannot have control on what any other nation does, even if it is unethical. And by now, there is no way to know if the Brazilian Government has the same technology that the USA has. As the facts show the USA spies on Brazil, only the USA has the Technology and it is causing this divider, not in a small community, but in a very large scale.

A small issue is also an issue. When we have people that have access to monetary information or privileged information and can make money, that no one else can do, than yes, there is something wrong. Eike Batista is a Brazilian businessman that is known for having a huge quantity of money, and in the past, for being one of richest people in the world. The problem is that Eike had information about the financial market and some companies, which were provided only for him. This is totally unethical, unfair, illegal, but it happened – and I can assume there are a lot of people in the world that have this same “benefit”. This is way too much to be considered only a digital divide, and it is isolating people from something that should be equal and fair: the information.

This same information is not being given for people who need it to survive! In a few poor communities, the people do not have easy access to the internet or others ways of communication, that it is easily found in rich communities. A lot of companies use the internet to post job position and opportunities, but it seems to be excluding people that do not have computers (Robert Aucoin, personal communication, 27 November, 2013). Those people will not be able to candidate to these jobs, only because they have been excluded, but not because they are not qualified. If the propose of the internet is to connect people, than it should be at least cheap enough, for everyone be able to afford it.

Since the spying, making money or having a job, everything depends on a fair or unfair communication. This communication is failing. Not because it is bad, but because in a time that the world is being daily changed to be more democratic (with exceptions), my first sentence should not have the word unfair. If the technology is being used as a way to have access to information or to connect people, it should be democratic. This digital divide cannot happen in our society and people should care and be aware that everyone has the right to know.