What is the Digital Divide?
It is difficult to explain the realities of the digital divide to those who live comfortably on either side of the partition. Contemporary definitions include not only having access to technology, but also the right to digital literacy, digital participation, and social inclusion. While I was aware of the rapid and pervasive advancement of the digital world, correlating gaps in access did not fully become apparent until I began working within various public library systems. Over the years, I have assisted library patrons with everything from job applications to filing for social security, disability, and other medical benefits, to submitting college essays. The common denominator in all scenarios is that no option remained available for them to perform these tasks without technology, which was made accessible almost exclusively through public library services.
This was exasperated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when virtually all employers expected staff to have the capacity to work remotely. This meant that if you did not have access to the internet and technology at home, you faced new employment barriers at a time when so many people were already in great desperation. During this period, public libraries left their Wi-Fi connections on even when the buildings were closed. I frequently observed children completing their homework in library parking lots, because there was a false assumption by schools that simply providing students with access to devices was enough. I observed workers who were newly employed and struggling with housing instability reserving library meeting rooms every day, because the pandemic had completely disrupted their pathway to economic freedom.
Why Should We Care?
It is observations like these that heightened my awareness that we need to start thinking about technology differently. “Bridgebuilding” and “justice” are central to our understanding of what the interfaith movement lives and embodies, and yet it seems this is one division that religious leaders often have yet to consider or fully embrace. Many of us have complicated relationships with technology, and we might instinctively want to reject the notion that digital access directly correlates with injustice. But there is a clear chain of causality between lack of access and harm, because technology is complexly woven into existing social systems and processes.
Efforts such as the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2023, which provided billions in aid for broadband internet technology, are proactive steps towards bridging the gap. But the reality still exists that groups which already face exclusion and marginalization are more susceptible to the digital divide and continue to have fewer opportunities for access. This means the digital divide inherently intersects with other issues of justice, such as racism and gender inequity. Technology is now integrated into our expectations of societal participation and although digital spaces in and of themselves are value neutral, they inevitably have the potential to mirror existing social injustices in our world. True digital equity will inherently foster social inclusion, allowing for full digital and social participation in all spheres of life.
As an interfaith community, it is important to understand that the digital divide also creates unique barriers and implications for congregations and houses of worship specifically. During the COVID-19 pandemic, churches faced recurring obstacles related to poor internet connectivity, generational gaps in technological literacy, and reluctance from leadership to shift towards the digital. Issues related to lack of access disproportionately impacted small and rural congregations, and digital hesitancy seemed to be intrinsically linked with lack of digital literacy skills. This mirrors the diverse ways that socioeconomic barriers impact digital inclusion and participation.
What Can We Do?
This inevitably presents the question, “What can we, as interfaith leaders, and an interfaith community, do to help bridge the digital divide?” There are many distinct types of programs and opportunities that we might consider in the context of interfaith cooperation and the ability of our faith communities to collaborate and leverage resources to provide access to different opportunities.
A few actionable ideas include:
- Providing direct access to technology through computer labs and community technology centers.
- The development of digital literacy programs and courses and/or offer one-on-one technology training.
- The organization of technology donations and drives for smartphones, computers, and other devices.
- Overall engagement in advocacy and congregational organizing to promote affordable and equitable access to technology and the internet.
- Education, empowerment, and cooperation with the interfaith community to help bridge the digital divide.
- Providing startup funding or seed grants to help rural communities (globally) integrate technological advancement into existing infrastructure.
The first step, however, is redefining our understanding of both “power” and “justice.” Lack of digital access and knowledge presents a structural and systemic problem that forces us to center questions of resources, freedom, and access, in relationship with power and dignity. This calls for new understandings of these terms in ways that are more intersectional and wholistic, reflecting the lived realities of those digitally disconnected around the globe.
1 Romm, Tony. “Biden announces $42 billion to expand high-speed internet access”. The Washington Post, June 26, 2023. https://wapo.st/3xlY6U3
2 Warschauer, Mark. Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2003.
3 Campbell, H. A., & Jordan, M. M. (2022). Tech in churches during covid 19: The digital divide, digital reluctance, and its impact on pandemic churches. Tech Trend Paper 3: The Digital Divide & Digital Reluctance.
Campbell, H. (2023). When churches discovered the digital divide: Overcoming technological inaccessibility, hesitancy & digital reluctance during the covid-19 pandemic. Ecclesial Practices, 10(1), 36–61.
- Interfaith Bridgebuilding Across the Digital Divide – by Geneva Blackmer - August 31, 2024