What is the Digital Divide?
The phrase “digital divide” has been applied to the gap that exists in most countries between those with ready access to the tools of information and communication technologies, and the knowledge that they provide access to, and those without such access or skills. This may be because of socio‐economic factors, geographical factors, educational, attitudinal and generational factors, or it may be through physical disabilities. As an island, Ireland has a surprisingly strong digital divide between urban and rural areas. However, since quarantine, where many people now have to work or attend school online from their homes, it has become extremely apparent just how big the digital divide here in Ireland is.
The lockdown has highlighted just how stark the divide is between families who can afford grinds/private education and faster broadband over other families who can not afford the same advantages and lack the broadband due to living in a less expensive rural area. While many primary and secondary schools have reopened their doors due to necessity, Irish colleges and 3rd level institutes are still being forced to teach online. I have not been on campus since the beginning of my final semester of my Bachelor’s Degree back in March 2020, I didn’t even get a proper graduation ceremony a whole 8 months later. And this trend continues as I have not, or will I be setting foot on campus while completing my Master’s Degree. And yet I am still expected to pay full fees, part of which is for being able to use on campus facilities…. which are closed and unusable.
The government have put such an emphasis on reopening primary and secondary schools’ which restrictions in place, and yet it seems that college students have been put on the back-burner. Many college students find themselves attending online classes from home, and may experience a variety of difficulties, including not having full time access to a computer, a quiet place to work, and a strong internet connection. I myself have had to pay for Student Accommodation in Cork despite all my class’ being online. This is due to the fact that my internet access at home is limited and weak, and with another sibling also attending college online, it would be impossible for us both to use the internet for classes at the same time. I have had to pay an excessive fee for accommodation, including weekly shops and travel, just to have decent internet and a quiet place to work. And I would consider myself one of the lucky ones in this instance – many of my classmates are stuck at home, where they have to keep their zoom cameras off because their internet is so poor that having it on would lag the lecture for them. One of my classmates’ internet is always cutting out, requiring them to constantly log back into class several times over. The digital divide is clear as day.
In a joint project conducted by researchers at NUI Galway, the University of Limerick (UL), and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI), the project found that around one-in-six third level students come from areas with poor broadband. As Vickey Godolphin says: “Education is a human right, and in an increasingly digital society we have a moral obligation to equip all our citizens with the right digital skills.” Dr Selina McCoy, a researcher with the Economic and Social Research Institute, says “This digital divide had a direct, but also wider impact: when a subset of students lacks connectivity or has to rely on inadequate access devices, this disadvantage not only those students but also other students in the school with better access, because teachers have to adjust their methods to cater for all their students.”
A huge part of college is the social aspect, cause let’s be honest, people enjoy college not for the classes, but for the social interaction. It is an extremely important part of our lives; it is where the majority of people meet their life-long friends. I was fortunate enough to get 3 and a half years before Covid shut that down. My younger sister and many others like her were not so lucky. She barely got to experience her first year before being forced home. She is missing out on building essential friendships and connection. If Covid had hit when I was in first year, I would never had met the people I consider my best friends. The time we spend in college are the years where we grow the most as people, discover new things and meet our friends. My heart breaks for my sister and many like her who are not getting the full college experience. It is more frustrating because we see primary and secondary schools open, and it sends a message that 3rd level institutions aren’t as important. I only see my friends over the occasional zoom/discord call but the isolation I and every other college student is feeling is really affecting our mental health, and it really feels like the government doesn’t care about us.
The pandemic has really highlighted just how wide the digital divide is. The lengths that students have to go through to attend online classes when they have less then favourable internet is astonishing. And as I said before, it really takes a toll on our mental being, as we try so hard to complete our education during a global pandemic, isolated, while still paying full fees when some of us aren’t receiving the highest quality of education due to the divide. And as much as we beg for the government to do something, anything, they dance around the issue. Some colleges, like MTU have at least tried to assist, which such plans as the laptop scheme for students without a personal computer, but not all universities have the budget to do this, and just because you have a laptop does not mean you’ll have strong internet. Everyone should have an equal playing field for education, and the digital divide prevents that.
Oliver Callan(@olivercallan). (13 April 2021). “I can't stop thinking about Simon Harris interview”. Twitter. https://twitter.com/olivercallan/status/1381931380741959684
Peter McGuire. (19 January 2021). Digital divide: How Covid-19 is deepening inequality in education. The Irish Times.https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/digital-divide-how-covid-19-is-deepening-inequality-in-education-1.4450418
Casey, J. (2020, September 16). Poor broadband access impacting one-in-six third level students. The Irish Examiner. https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40050092.html.
Accenture (13 August 2020). Urgent need to fix digital divide. The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/advertising-feature/urgent-need-to-fix-digital-divide-1.4326644
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