Information literacy in the context of digital divide refers to the ability to access, evaluate, and use information effectively in digital environments. This includes being able to navigate the internet, search for information, evaluate the credibility of sources, and use technology tools to communicate and collaborate. The digital divide refers to the unequal distribution of access to technology and the internet, often based on socioeconomic factors. Individuals who are information literate in digital environments are better equipped to bridge the digital divide and access the resources and opportunities available through technology.
Information literacy can play a key role in overcoming the digital divide by providing individuals with the skills and knowledge they need to access, evaluate, and use digital resources effectively. This includes:
By providing individuals with these skills and knowledge, information literacy can help bridge the digital divide and give individuals the tools they need to participate in a digital world
I agree that the digital divide plays a major role in the success rate of students in the Tertiary environment. The inclusion of digital literacies is important to bridge the digital gap that exists.
Dear Božić!
You raised a very important topic. I would say the solution is a case and context-dependent one, but university-industry partnerships are needed to deliver and support open-science-culture based community e-platforms to countries all over the world:
1) Chakravorty, N., Sharma, C.S., Molla, K.A. et al. Open Science: Challenges, Possible Solutions and the Way Forward. Proc.Indian Natl. Sci. Acad. 88, 456–471 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43538-022-00104-2, Free access: Article Open Science: Challenges, Possible Solutions and the Way Forward
2) Gallegos-Rejas VM, Thomas EE, Kelly JT, Smith AC. A multi-stakeholder approach is needed to reduce the digital divide and encourage equitable access to telehealth. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. 2023;29(1):73-78. doi:10.1177/1357633X221107995, Free access: Article A multi-stakeholder approach is needed to reduce the digital...
3) Zhao, Y., Zhang, T., Dasgupta, R. K., & Xia, R. (2022). Narrowing the age-based digital divide: Developing digital capability through social activities. Information Systems Journal, 1– 31. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12400, Open access: Article Narrowing the age‐based digital divide: Developing digital c...
4) Louise M. Bezuidenhout, Sabina Leonelli, Ann H. Kelly, Brian Rappert, Beyond the digital divide: Towards a situated approach to open data, Science and Public Policy, Volume 44, Issue 4, August 2017, Pages 464–475, https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scw036, Free access:
https://academic.oup.com/spp/article/44/4/464/3959654?login=true
Yours sincerely, Bulcsu Szekely
Good thoughts, but there is another digital divide that is significant. It is the limited access many people face to expensive information behind paywalls in academic databases. The open access movement is trying to address the problem, but the existence of sites like SciHub shows that this divide is still there. May I recommend the Dimensions Database (https://app.dimensions.ai/discover/publication) which has an open access filter to the left of search results? Information literacy includes the ability to find information not behind paywalls.
Literacy education content needs to be created for the audience.
Universities include digital (in my case digital media) literacy courses. K-12 are integrating informational amd digital literacy into curriculum. However, as we know, this still misses a massive cross section of the population (and this is just based on U.S., other parts of the world may not evennbe integrating the subject into curriculum yet).
Students dont want to learn from teachers. If the audience is on social media, experts and educators should be finding our audience where they are and creating/curating content so that they listen.
A great example of what i am referring to is Dr. Feisler from U of Colorado, Boulder. She has a TikTok series of tech ethics courses where she mixes educational lecture content and an assessment of current events in AI to educate her followers on the ethics of digital media.
In short, academics could harness the power of social media marketing strategies to spread the mesdage of digital literacy to people who need it.
Older generations will be harder to reach. They will require more organization, time, and physical output.
Velibor Božić
Dear Professor,
Thank you for initiating a discussion on such an interesting topic.
In my country (India), the digital divide is acute. We are a developing country. In this country, clear and safe drinking water is a dream for millions. Therefore, topics like information literacy are beyond dreams. So, we need to overcome the problem of skilling the major part of the population for basic educational literacy first.
Therefore, in a country like mine to reach to the level where information literacy can be considered a problem or an obstacle to overcoming digital divide, will be an achievement.
Best regards,
Anamitra.
Given that the digital divide is fundamentally a question of inequality, not only based on socioeconomic factors, but caused (or at least exacerbated) by power relationships and issues at play, i.e. by the underlying neoliberal economic logic, I would argue that it is the critical information literacy (CIL) that can play a role in overcoming the divide. Having a transformative agenda aimed at achieving social justice, CIL can raise critical consciousness of people to recognize those underlying causes of the divide and thus empower them to take critical action to transform their lives and the broader society. In his reply in this thread Professor William Badke provides a good example of IL helping find information not behind the paywall; but I would add we need to go beyond access - here CIL is helpful: it includes the ability not only to find and access such information, but also to question why information is behind the paywall in the first place, who decides on that, in whose interest etc. The digital divide is in essence a structural, systemic problem - the social divide maybe a more appropriate term, and the real problems are the social and social justice issues connected to it, so it is the overall system we need to transform, not only improve the skills and abilities of access. Critical information literacy can empower us to address those real issues at stake (including by demanding normative actions), thus at least contribute to overcoming the problem of the divide, if not solving it (in itself).