Google and the Digital Divide

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Power, communication and the internet

The study of the digital divide has its roots in the historical investigation of the social and political ramifications of media and communications. This chapter looks at the evolution of ICTs and the contribution of new ICTs to the emergence of the so-called ‘information society’ with its inevitable inequalities and biases. It highlights the central role of information in the production of power as it has been argued that when information becomes ‘useful’ and productive, it turns into knowledge (Borgmann, 1999; Roberts, 2000) and so into a potentially powerful social and political tool. The internet is currently one of the main media through which one can transfer and diffuse information worldwide. It ...