Digital divide; the glaring reality

Abstract

The power to access information and technology is important in daily global operations in different aspects of the society, be it economical, political or social. Each and every country has different levels of information and technology which may be highly advanced or developing and therefore creating a d igital divide . It is a gap existing between people and the ability to have effective and efficient access to dig ital technology. Recent studies have proved t hat , the divide is slowly but surely decreasing. Nevertheless, the gap that seems to be increasing is that of utility. There is a variance in digital utilization by the people which is p roven by the fact that some individuals use the internet more than oth ers. Hence, there is need to study factors that influence utilization of the internet by members of the society. The study therefore highlights the key issues that influence the use of electronic information and communication tools among individuals and at tempts to explore the Kenyan situation . The methodology of the study was through extensive literature review from journals and reliable reports. A total of eleven factors were found to contribute significantly to the current global digital divide. In Kenya , several strategies have been put forth in a n effort to bridge the digital gap . This implies that the country is heading towards achieving millennium development goal on universal access of information and communication tools.