Reading and listening. Digital divide
What does digital divide mean? Read and listen to the text to find out. Find examples of will/be going to in the text. Copy the sentences with them in your notebook and underline these structures in them.
Digital Divide
What are you going to do today? Perhaps you’ll email your friends, watch a DVD or listen to your MP3 player. It’s likely that sometime soon you’re going to surf the Net. Today, we take new technology for granted, so you may be surprised to learn that 50% of the people in the world have still never even used a telephone!
There is a huge gap between those who have access to new technology and those who don’t. It is called the “Digital Divide”. The truth is that fewer than 17% of the people in the world can actually use the Internet.
To go online you need a computer, the right software, a phone line, a modem and a subscription to an Internet service provider. These aren’t cheap and a lot of people, especially in poor countries, just can’t afford them.
Then, there’s the language barrier. Four-fifths of all websites are in English, and many people around the world cannot even read or write in their own language, let alone a foreign language. If people can’t read, it will be hard to teach them how to use a computer.
The technology gap also exists, simply because many people do not understand how technology can help them. They have an old-fashioned way of thinking and cannot imagine the difference technology will make to their lives.
Education is the key. Governments, IT industries and educational institutions should work together to educate people and train them, and at the same time introduce local languages into computer usage. When we bridge the digital divide, then everyone will have equal opportunities and the power that technology brings.
What are you going to do today?