The Spread of Information Poverty

The digital world is marching on, and most are happily jumping on board and enjoying the benefits of a more connected lifestyle with everything from smartphones to Oyster cards. Being of a (reasonably) new generation myself I have enjoyed growing up with this kind of technology along with my peers.

Mobile Phones, Game Boys, broadband, and digital cameras have all been born in my lifetime, and frankly every new product brings a certain degree of schoolboy-like excitement as I join the clamber to have the first go on the newest gadget or sign up for yet another life-altering on-line service.

However there is a divide forming in our nation, and across the World. Known as the Digital Divide it has gained press in recent years as the gulf has widened. Whilst some of us revel in digital harmony, others are becoming more and more disconnected in relative terms. Recent figures suggest that around 25% of UK homes still do not have an internet connection. In an age where the internet can facilitate thousands of daily activities we are beginning to face a new social conundrum, that of Information Poverty.

Broadband and many other technologies which facilitate the flow of daily consumable information are relatively cheap, and could be be funded monthly by diverting the funds from a few spared pints in the local. I do not believe it is the cost of technology which puts many off, but a fear of its complexity and bizarre nuances. Resorting to IT as a first port of call is something that has become ubiquitous in the younger generation during their studies, and the older generation as a powerful Business tool. Those who have not yet made the jump tend to reside in the more mature age groups, or those in less close affiliation with education or dynamic places of work.

Technologies such as the 'Basic Phone' have found a niche in the market for those wanting to forgo the hurdles and guessing games of modern, feature rich mobiles, instead simply making calls and staying connected. This opens up what many would consider a basic right for telephone access, to a market of older people or those who struggle to learn complex software. Similarly a software house has recently released a package aimed at helping those who are older or have memory problems to interface with a simplified yet functional daily planner in digital format. This helps them to harness the power of digital organisation which many of us now rely on.

It is exciting times for those of us riding the technology bandwagon, but as the digital society begins to take over, we have a duty to make sure people are not unwittingly left behind.