Consideration of the Problem of Digital Divide in the Development of ICT

Abstract

The rapid changes in the living environment caused by technological development have created a divergence between the ability of humans to use technology and the technology being used, creating a Digital Divide. In particular, everyone needs equal access to public services such as healthcare and public administration. Liu (2018) states that the Digital Divide cannot be completely eliminated in the information and communication sector due to the rapid transition of technology, and that it is important to take measures that are sustainable. Since further digitization is expected in public services in the future, it is necessary to take sustainable measures against the Digital Divide. This research will survey the literature on the Digital Divide among the elderly. First, we selected articles, reports, and websites, including those related to public services, based on the following criteria: "the article must describe the factors or measures that cause the Digital Divide," "the content must be related to the elderly," and "the article must have been published between 1995 and 2023. Next, the factors causing the Digital Divide were categorized, and the essential factors of the Digital Divide and the overall situation were overviewed. Finally, in order to clarify whether there is a relationship between devices and the Digital Divide, we further narrowed down the literature on devices and classified them again. The results indicate that in order to address the Digital Divide in a sustainable manner, it is important to address factors that occur regardless of the device, such as low digital self-efficacy and lack of mental models when handling digital information, rather than to apply countermeasures to all the factors. In particular, factors related to mental and internal aspects, which are often difficult to see, have not been clarified in detail, and are expected to provide clues for sustainable countermeasures.

Keywords: Digital Divide, Development of ICT, Sustainable initatives, Elderly people

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005133