Digital Divide

In a world where technology is growing in many different directions, the ways of communicating with people seem to be multiplying. Unfortunately, some people are being left behind. When looking at information about the digital divide, I always think about the difficulties those who don’t have access to this new technology must have. However, according to an article in The Seattle Times, I should have been thinking about the difficulties that those people would have once getting their hands on this technology.

Many people of older generations are trying to acclimate to this new world of online communication. Many people find that their parents and grandparents are trying to communicate with them via this technology.

The author of this article discusses the difficulties they faced while having their father be his “Facebook Friend.” He put in his status on Facebook that he was engaged to a girl. This is a running joke on Facebook that nearly everyone of our generation knows not to necessarily take seriously. Unfortunately, his father was not privy to this information, and it caused him to yell at the author for not telling him about the “engagement.”

Having people who are not aware of the social implications that come with Facebook and other social networking sites doesn’t actually make communicating with them any easier. If anything, it can make the relationships more complicated and awkward.

The author uses the example of having their great-aunt friend request them on Facebook. On one hand, having your great-aunt see every bad picture, wall post, and other various awkward aspects of Facebook could be potentially mortifying, rejecting her friend requests could make family reunions very awkward. There is no right answer to this question (the author even points out that giving them limited profile access could make her suspicious).

This article made me more aware of additional issues that come with crossing the digital divide. While it is definitely important for everyone to be able to use technology, should these sites have to change in order to help those who may not understand it?

The author ultimately decided to delete their father as a friend on Facebook. He reasoned that his father did not grow up in the digital age, never having a digital representation of himself, hence not really needing one. Whether or not this is right, I do not really know, but this article definitely gave me a new perspective on this digital divide.