Reconstruing the Digital Divide from the Perspective of a Large,Poor,Developing Country

Abstract

The global digital divide is usually measured in terms of differences between rich and poor countries in the extent to which they use ICTs in general and the Internet in particular. Such a view of the problem, however, ignores the fact that there are all kinds of ways in which poor, illiterate persons in developing countries benefit from the Internet without any use of computers and Internet connectivity. Most of these benefits occur as a result of intermediaries who, in one way or another, transfer relevant parts of the knowledge available from the technology to recipients in a form that is relevant to their specific needs. Using India as an illustration of this argument, we find that usage understates actual beneficiaries by at least 30 percent. On the basis of this finding, we suggest that a reconstrued notion of the digital divide be based on usage as well as other more indirect forms of benefit from the Internet in developing countries. To this end, much more needs to be known about these other forms of benefit in a large sample of countries in addition to India.