The widening of digital divide
The development of technology is growing rapidly. The Internet has become the strongest power to change and reshape individuals’ life. However, there are three major variables that may lead the enormous gap of the digital divide between those who regularly have access to the internet and those who do not. The sociological variables associated with the digital divide are education, age and gender.
The term digital divide can be understood as referring to a range of different phenomena. On the other hand, it can be understood as referring to the unequal use and access to the internet. On the other hand, the term can be understood as referring to the inequality that is inherent in society in terms of using the internet which is caused not only by the lack of access to the internet but a variety of other factors such as education, language, content and so forth. Canada could be the most internet related countries across the globe. However, access to and use of information technology (ICT) among its populations is still varied. A report by the Canadian internet Registration Authority found that the internet connectivity in Canada had risen by 7% in the year 2014 when compared to the level of connectivity in 2010. On the global internet connectivity gap, Canada is ranked 16th in terms of internet penetration rates. However, the connectivity rates in the population of Canada still vary. The report also highlights the digital divide between Canadian populations in urban areas and those in the rural and remote areas(Canadian Internet Registration Authority, 2014). The divide, accruing to the report is more profound in the nor them parts of Canada. Nunavut region in North Canada has the worst internet connectivity rates. In this region only have the highest rates in internet connectivity in the country at 86%. The regions of Quebec and the East Coast had the worst rates on internet connectivity at less than 80 %.(Freeman,2014,p.65)Education
The digital divide will become a serious social concern in the future. Educated individuals are revered to have the opportunity and ability to use the internet and other electronic devices. Studies have shown that the penetration of the internet increases with education. In a Statistics Canada quintile performed in 2000, 91% of people with a university degree or higher use the internet whereas only 50.1% of individuals who do not have any internet knowledge. (Sciadas, 2000, page 2).
Most paper resources nowadays are transformed into online resources. These enable people to keep in touch with the newest information. However, those who are less educated may not have difficulties accessing the internet, or their knowledge and skills may impede them from making use of the internet. In the time, the gap between educated people and uncultured people will become larger leaving those who are less educated behind in the technological age.The digital divide is present to the Canadian secondary school system. It relates to a number of factors of sexual orientation, rustic urban area, and socio-financial status. The citizens whose parents have low standards of education do not have computers at home. This results to poor performance in line with technology, for example, the failure to use computers. Following the expenses of Internet access as well the use of internet in rural areas, school administrators have not been able to improve the computer skills on these areas. Students from these areas have not been performing well, and their standards are questionable. It means that the Government has to consider the rural areas students if they positively want to work on enhancing the education system in the country. Moreover, rural schools have less trained workers, and most of them do not use software, for example, e-learning in their education system. Rural schools have the ability to have various types of specialized training for teachers (Looker & Thiessen, 2003). The ICT use is mostly applied to urban schools than rural areas. The education may become poor and poorer if the IT system does not be immediately introduced to the rural areas In Canada.
There could be an agreement regarding different Canadian schools that the gap between schools in line with internet depends on the lowest and highest levels of income Sciadas, 2002). This gap should not be overlooked as the Internet is growing so excessively and stems out as the most ideal modern of communication. It is critical to acknowledge that the digital divide is not measured by the amount of connections to the Internet. However, it is measured by the results of both connection and unavailability of connection (Sciadas, 2002). At the point when taking a gander at the advanced partition and its may supporting factors people must be mindful so that not to overlook the issue of abilities. Many people fail to access the even opportunities of the ICT due to the issue of gender (Sciadas, 2002). The HRDC helps the advancement and use of Learning Technologies. Their major order is to reinforce long lasting relationship with the ICT. It is important to put into consideration the callings of both social classes so that to be successful in line with the digital divide advancement (Downing, 2002).
Progressive data and communication technology provisions are very important apparatuses in this broader and even accessible methodology to educational opportunities. They are significantly essential to those communities that are remote. These are communities that need broader training organizations. The Conference Board of Canada in its cover Aboriginal Digital Opportunities said 'there is a huge threat the Aboriginal Peoples will be abandoned and disappointed as the pace of technology growth and integration in the economy advances. The rise of the technology only favors wealthier families and not the poor families (Downing, 2002). Education is very crucial in line with the improvement of education in, especially in the internet use. The ICT has been profoundly hindered to penetrate in the rural areas due to the poverty of most of the households in the country. The ICT is so popular in urban areas than rural areas. The ICT should introduce alternative access points to rural areas so that to improve the performance level of students (Sciadas, 2002).Age
Age is also one of the factors that cause the digital divide. The younger generation is born in a technologically developed environment, so they are used to using the internet and high-tech products every day. Moreover, high technology has become essential for the younger generation. The computer and smart phones are the first and the last things that youngest people feel in their daily life. According to the Statistics Canada, the data of Internet use by individuals 35 years and younger have a home internet usage rate of 60.8% while, for those aged 65 and over, the usage is 22.7%. (Parsons and Hick, 2008) Although the gap is becoming narrower than before, the gap remains. The age factor causes generation gap. It causes issues such as access opportunities, skills, perceived needs, attitudes and overall lifestyle (Sciadas,2000,page 2).In spite of the various translations, there is agreement that a major investment rebuilding has led to the loss of interest in given careers.
Some employers in Canada consider the old as being less technologically endowed, hence locking them out of given activities. There are new requirements and callings among the job realm that tend to segregate prospective employees in line with their age. Youths are also deemed quick to adapt to innovations basing on their zeal to learn (Selwyn, Gorard, & Furlong, 2006). In this element budgetary setting, adults are prone to change professions various times for the duration of their lives. In this manner, grown-ups, despite having a calling to figure out how to utilize particular advances, are always forced to have the capacity to adjust always to innovations. It calls for patience, perseverance and determination for adults to stay in a given profession for a long time. Others have been forced into expanding their technological prowess in a bid to remain relevant in the market. In case they fail to accentuate to the global callings of flexibility and innovation, they are forced out of the employment realm. The new data economy is predisposition against more seasoned grown-ups who finished their formal educating before the business ascent of the Internet in the mid 1990s. Today, grown-ups who do not conform to ICT aptitudes face critical hindrances in line with applying for jobs.Gender
The third sociological factor affecting this divide is the lack of internet systems that are targeted specifically at women in Canada.“Technology is an action, and it is not rational in line with gender. Thus, gender could be playing an interesting role especially when doing any activity related to internet (Herring, 2000). In general, women use social networks on the internet as a way to contact friends and relatives or to organize their agenda to remember birthdays and holidays.(Wellman & Wellman,1992) It shows how women and men use the internet differently. Women’s traditional role is the housewife, and their role is to watch over their family whilst men are mainly responsible for work and family. (Lorber, 2000) This division of labor shows the basic structure of the “gendered social order” that exists in people’s lives.
The primary thing to consider, as far as the effect of gender on utilization of ICT, is that many issues exist in line with existance of no distinction in the extent of females and males who embrace ICT, on the Canadian realm. In line with the GSS information, 98% of all females and males embraced the use of IT technology in the last year. It postulates that despite the disparities in the nature of usage of the computers, there is growth of more interest within the sector from all gender divides. Identical rates of males and females are reported to be accessing the Internet within the same given year. However, males tend to have sheer interest in line with the utilization of the internet in all their daily chores. These different aptitudes are ones that would aid youngest men in line with requisitioning high talented occupations utilizing ICT. This utilization of machines for diversions may be important to the following issue–that is the manner by which these youths initially figured out how to utilize the workstation. The GSS information indicates that females were significantly more inclined to have created their workstation aptitudes for school or study needs.
The opposite side of this given postulation is that the males are more inclined to claim they learned on the basis of a particular premium (59% versus 41%). Identified with the way that males are more inclined to have figured out how to utilize the workstation for their own particular individual investment, they are likewise more probable than females to report in the different surveys. It relates to how they consider it as "truly fun" to embrace the different advantages offered by computers. They also postulate that they utilize a machine in line with the fact that they are "extremely intrigued by this." The contrasts are there, however in numerous examples they are not extensive. Additionally, the contrasts have a tendency to be attitudinal. It relates to the norm that males are always deemed as comfortable with different computers and that they are more inclined to utilize the latter out of their own interests and postulations. Canadian males are always aggressive and gear towards identifying with all innovations that are brought out on every single day. Working with workstations is critical to them. It stays to be perceived, in Canada, how these inclinations will influence the utilization and aptitude improvement past secondary school. It does appear to be clear that there are some little yet vital gender contrasts regarding encounters with and demeanor to machines among secondary school matured Canadian youth.ConsequenceGeneration gap as a result of education
The web is developing at a noteworthy rate. Numerous organizations are moving their exercises onto the web, and new organizations that come up always base on the internet for their survival and competitive nature in the market. There is an inconceivable measure of data accessible on the net and long range interpersonal communication destinations permit families to stay in contact. There is a critical partition show between the more established and more youthful generation. 35 percent of the 37.5 million Canadians over the age of 65 utilize the Internet contrasted with 90 percent of those aged between 18 to 28 years. It is a notion postulated by the education calling that brings forth the generational gap in the society. Youths are deemed as technological savvies, hence despising the aged in the society. The more seasoned era never had the web during their educational stance, meaning the IT skills were rare and could not be emancipated easily. It lets senior natives alone for a touch with public opinion, families on the web, organizations and data for an expansive extent of the populace.
Social disparities as a consequence of age
The Digital Divide has additionally been assaulted by the Social side of innovation. The postulated increase in long range interpersonal communication locales have turned into an enormous some piece common day life among adolescents and many children. Conforming to sites such as Facebook and Twitter deem one as a member of society, but the failure in the same would render one unwanted and a black sheep in the whole realm. There are numerous reasons why a youngster in today's life can' never get to or utilize such engineering further bolstering their good fortune. The challenges they face in line with financial constraints, instruction and handicap. However, despite the many challenges that age has brought forth, there is hope for a diverse society. Many aged people are reconsidering their computer skills by taking evening and distance learning in several institutions in Canada. The Digital Divide is one that probably is not going to limited over any measure of time unless nursery teachers are going to be showing two year olds Html coding at nursery school, which is profoundly farfetched.
Inferiority complex in line with the consequences of gender
When there are many issues in line with makes conforming to technology at a faster pace than women, it brews conflict in the society. There has to be callings that would ensure a balance in the rate at which females can also enjoy their prowess in the industry. This digital divide in line with gender always de-motivates many females who deem themselves as an inferior gender. If pertinent measures are not put in place to check the existing gap in the society in line with the same, there will be serious issues that would affect the Canadian population, hence causing various gaps and disparities.
The Research Design
As education postulates a generational gap in line with the digital divide, the best research design to embrace would be to consider the secondary sources of data. Basing on the times constraints and costs, this would be the best research design to be utilized. There is also a lot of documentation in line with the generational gap that education causes basing on the digital divide (Morgan, 1998). Despite the many criticisms that are brought forth by various researchers, this method would offer the best opportunity for comparison of the studies conducted. Analysis would also be easy since the data collected from most of the resources would be of the most recent studies. Understanding the consequences of education on the society would be pertinent to the realization of the objectives of the whole researched project (Creswell, 2003). Accessing the materials would also be easy since there are many published books, both online and in the library, hence a perfect way of checking the relevant information.
References
Creswell, J.W. (2003). ‘Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed MethodsApproaches.’ London: Sage Publications.
Morgan, D. (1998). Practical strategies for Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods:Applications to Health Research. Qualitative Health Research, 8(3), 362-376.
Sciadas, B.(2000). ICT Democracy: Essays on Society, Self and Politics. New York: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Canadian Internet Registration Authority, (2014). Computer evolution: The Next Social
Revolution. Toronto: Cengage Learning.
Looker,Dianne,&Victor (2009). Computer for development and profit: a win-win scenario
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