Digital Divide, Global

Abstract

Digital inequality has been evolving over time. Using a global perspective, the entry focuses on the digital divide between the global south and the global north. Recent studies have suggested that the global digital divide between poor and developing countries (located mainly in the global south) and developed countries (mainly in the global north) is on the rise. Using the concept of adverse digital incorporation, the entry explains why digital inequality remains severe in the global south, even if nowadays fewer and fewer people are digitally excluded. Meanwhile, digital inequality in the global north has not disappeared but has persisted. There are newly emerging forms of the digital divide due to inequalities in access to and use of 5G and 6G, fixed broadband services, online clouds, and access to the latest digital devices and peripherals. These have resulted in differential digital/online experiences between the socioeconomically privileged and the less privileged, and shaped different digital opportunities between the global south and the global north.