What exactly is the digital divide? The digital divide is a continuum of digital literacy. It varies from those who have never even heard of a computer to those that have the latest and greatest technological gizmo known to man. It is no longer about the the haves or have nots because peoples literacy varies so much. It becomes more about having access and taking advantage of the opportunity to use technology to your benefit and not about just acquiring the item and using it as a paper weight. I will use my mom as an example she enjoys buying devices because she thinks its cool to have although she does not know the first thing about using them and tends to only learn the very basics for operation. She does not use the device to it's full potential and often things not even to a quarter of it's potential. She is an example of someone who has full access but little to no literacy and without literacy what good is the device or having access to it?
Well a metaphor that comes to mind is the cell phones of today because they are customizable. I believe the Mac Windows metaphor is outdated. I believe that not only because the dynamics of the "Corporate Culture"(selfe and selfe, 1994) have changed but so has peoples access to technologies. Now there are kindergartners running around with Internet capable cell phones. Reality is that people of all nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and genders are able to represent themselves in today's digital interfaces. I believe this is a better example because unlike the old application Icons a person is able to choose what they put on their home screen. Each app they choose represents them in some way and so does the apps they do not choose. It is no longer a one size fits all when it comes to computers or just technology in general we now live in a time of customization the more custom the better!
Pictue of Iphone 4(wekipedie IPhone 4)
Refrences:
Selfe, Cynthia L. and Richard J. Selfe, Jr. The Politics of the Interface. CCC 45.4 (1994): 485-488.
Warschauer, M. (2002). Reconceptualizing the digital divide. First Monday, 7(7), Retrieved from
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article
Wikipedia.IPhone 4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_4
Smart move saying the more customizable the better..BUT I have to know what about the choices we have with regards to customization, right? What if only certain options are available for customization?
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