Digital Equity: Responding to the Reality of the Digital Divide

Introduction

In the early months of 2020, the global community faced an unprecedented historical reality not experienced on such a scale since the AIDS epidemic unfolded in 1981. COVID-19 was unlike more recent significant world health challenges. Previous pandemics paralyzed the world community in unimaginable ways, but this latest one would offer a bit of a breather. With the advances in information communication technology (ICT) over the past three decades, life could and would continue for some in what analysts would identify as “the new normal.” This forecasting was in no way to diminish the devastating impact the coronavirus had had on the disruption of life and the subsequent destruction it caused in so many already vulnerable parts of the world. Instead, it acknowledged that while out of an abundance of caution, governments civilly legislated lockdowns, distancing, and the wearing of masks and citizens personally obliged, peoples’ access to their computers and networks made life a bit more bearable for some. Unfortunately, not all in the global village enjoyed the refuge of pivoting to information technology for their work, school, and social life. While the move to online work was a novel transition, at least at first, the raw reality was and continues to be a lack of access to the Internet for several citizens in the global village.

COVID-19 ravaged lives, particularly for those with comorbidities, and the deadly virus profoundly affected those who loved them. Without question, though, the very threat of contracting the pathogen challenged an even more extensive section of the global population. It has been such a deflating anxious experience for so many. People had more time on their hands with the luxury of not having to do as much commuting, and it allowed them to critically assess injustices not so evident before the pandemic. So much of the soft underbelly of global economic, political, biomedical, religious, and social systems were laid bare. Some people took to the streets in protest; others used social media and Websites to highlight the inequities they perceived in historical realities. For almost half of the world’s population, the latter move was not an option. They remain disconnected from the Internet. Although others have laid claim to the phrase, it was Sir Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who in the mid-1940s, as the end of World War II was approaching, “never let a good crisis go to waste.” Citizens of the world have capitalized on this during this uncertain and debilitating historical period. Activists, old and new, have called leadership from all realms of life to accountability for their leadership. For example, in sections of Europe and the United States, crowds of people took to the streets to protest what they understood to be an inordinate amount of violence towards and disregard for people of color, especially law enforcement personnel. In America, particularly the “land of the free and the home of the brave,” the significant pause in life due to the coronavirus has proffered opportunities to reassess the nation’s commitment to “justice for all.”

The lack of digital justice or, more poignantly, the digital divide increasingly became a concern as the COVID-19 virus penetrated more and more parts of the world. As commerce, education, worship, and social life pivoted to virtual experiences, workers, students, and consumers needed equipment to maximize their lives. Corporations and schools outfitted their staff and students with computers. Businesses and educational institutions proudly provided end-users with needed devices did not anticipate the number of users who did not have network access.