NEAR THE TOP of a commercial high-rise in downtown Davao is a high-tech company that develops state-of-the-art business solutions for North American companies. In another building is an unassuming, but ultra-modern, geographical information systems company that counts numerous local governments across various regions as part of its portfolio. And yet in another location is a graphics design outfit that has won international recognition.
The business district is dotted with internet cafes, the best of which are equipped with broadband access. And, more and more city hotels and coffee shops are becoming WiFi hotspots, enabling businessmen the luxury of connecting to their companies via high-speed Internet access. Computer shops abound and are stocked with the latest in digital hardware. Many schools now offer courses in computer science and information technology, what with the demand in the burgeoning call center and medical transcription fields for graduates with high computer literacy.
Looking at it this way, Davao does appear to be a modern city now. However, we’re only considering a few of the city’s 244,000 hectares. Only less than a quarter of the city’s more than 1.2 million people are in fact computer literate.
While it can be truthfully said that a handful of industry players are already capable of offering quality IT solutions to the world, the majority of the population, on the other hand, is blissfully unaware of even the mere usage of personal computers. Even as the third largest city in the Philippines in terms of development and population, Davao is far from being an urban center like Cebu. The city is still very much an agricultural center, but this should not be an excuse for remaining uninformed in the field of information technology.
Ever since the boom of IT and the resultant culture of technology, there has been the so-called "digital divide". It is the perceived gap between those who are immersed in the wonders of computers and high-tech gadgets, and those who merely wonder about these things. In other words, the digital divide is simply another rehashed concept of the disparity between rich and poor. But is it really that simple? Obviously, you know I’m going to say ‘No.’
In an article published by The Economist, the author wrote, "…the digital divide is not a problem in itself, but a symptom of deeper, more important divides: of income, development and literacy." This idea of a digital divide does not even occur in the minds of those on the other side, because they are concerned with more fundamental pursuits, such as the next meal. Still and all, technology–while being at the root of the digital-divide problem–is itself the key to bridging this gap.
The beauty of technology is that, it can be custom-fit to suit one’s needs according to one’s budget. Take, for example, mobile phones. I remember when, back in college, it used to be the exclusive use of the upper echelons of society. In less than a decade, this utility has become so mass-based that I daresay the cellular telecommunications industry is now a major contributor to the country’s economy.
The conventional view of high technology as the domain of the rich or of the well-educated is outmoded. More and more people, from all walks of life, are now realizing that technology can work for them. So does this mean that the proverbial digital divide has now been spanned? Hardly. (To be continued.)
