Teaching Digital Divides

Abstract

Digital divides—uneven patterns of access—are a major feature of cyberspace. This article opens by noting that most students are digital natives who grew up with the Internet. Second, it summarizes digital divides, including global patterns, rural–urban differences, ethnic and gender discrepancies, and the role of smartphones. The third section justifies teaching digital divides as a way of understanding of sociospatial inequality. Next, it offers six strategies to get students to appreciate this topic, including mapping Internet users, interviewing a nonuser, discussing rural–urban differences, going without the Internet, exploring strategies for reducing the divide, and imagining the pre-Internet world.