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.

The digital divide is a big problem especially prevalent in South Africa. Developed countries have far greater access to appropriate infrastructure, which is more widespread than developing countries, such as here in South Africa. It explains how some of the population have no access to technology, whereas other people have full access. This, along with socio-economic factors, means that a large proportion of the population do not have access to technology. For example, those in townships have less access to internet as they have to use cellphones due to no wifi available, which is very expensive and leaves many without access.

One major problem is a ‘Divide in Content’: that all major websites are in English, so for those who do not speak English as their first language, this may provide problems, and limit their access to resources (Independent Institute of Education, 2016).            

Another divide is the ‘Gender Divide’ which shows that women are far less likely than men to have access to the internet, which severely impacts their economic and educational resources, as well as limiting their support networks, and career opportunities (Antonio and Tuffley, 2014).           

A ‘Skills Divide’ describes how some people are unskilled in knowing how to operate a computer, maybe due to lack of access and hence lack of practice (which could be due to socioeconomic factors). This causes problems with regards to job opportunities, as many jobs nowadays rely on computer skills (Independent Institute of Education, 2016).            

A digital divide in education is also present, as those with limited access to the internet have problems with the amount of education they can access, as so much education is provided online nowadays, through email communication, online videos and tutorials (Independent Institute of Education, 2016).       

Finally, the ‘Universal Access Divide’ describes how those with physical disabilities can be at a disadvantage, as they may not be able to access as many resources as others.  Some software and hardware are available but these can be very expensive, hence increasing the risk of lower accessibility (Independent Institute of Education, 2016).


References
Antonio, A. and Tuffley, D. (2014) "The Gender Digital Divide in Developing Countries", Future Internet, 6(4), pp. 673-687. doi: 10.3390/fi6040673.
Independent Institute of Education (2016). Digital Citizenship Module Manual DIGC5110W. The Independent Institute of Education: Unpublished.