Q.1.2 Facebook in a quest to mitigate the effects of infrastructure and the digital divide have launched Project Aquila. The problem of infrastructure is prevalent in Africa. Discuss the implication of all the different forms of the digital divide.

Socio-economic divide

  The above stated divide is often affiliated with socio-economic factors, similar to the gap between developed countries and developing countries. The differences between countries that are classified as developing and developed extend to internet use. Countries that are regarded as developed countries will have a larger ratio of the public that has access to the internet, while those countries that are regarded as developing have a much smaller ratio of the public that has access to the internet.

 Infrastructure and skills divide    

Internet users in emerging economies cannot create added value even when they have access to the internet, ICT devices and applications. Although conditions to ensure physical access to the internet are essential, they are not sufficient alone to achieve the full benefits of digital technology and that without proper education and skill training, the potential of digital technology cannot be fully tapped. Therefore, digital literacy is key to enable citizens and companies to use the internet and foster a deeper integration of digital technologies into business and public services. Stronger attention should be drawn to the necessary conditions to develop the knowledge and the shared competence necessary to achieve a more inclusive digital economy.

Content divide

The language you speak affects your experience of the Internet. It even determines how much – if any – information you can access in different languages., English is by some distance the largest edition in terms of users, followed by German and then French. On the other side of the spectrum, there is a near absence of any content in many African languages. Far from infinite, the Internet is only as big as your language.

Gender divide

  There is a significant internet gender gap within developing countries. This significant gap is detrimental to those girls and women that are denied access to the internet within those developing countries. The internet has allowed its users to extend their knowledge and due to women’s lack of access, they don’t have the opportunity to extend their knowledge, thus giving them a disadvantage to men who do have access in developing countries. There opportunities include access to educational opportunities, access to support communities and access to potential career opportunities

Universal access divide 

People who suffer from some sort of physical disability are usually disenfranchised when it comes to access. This isn’t due to their lack of skills, but rather due to the hardware and software put to use and available. Moreover, the expense of the hardware and software is outrageous.