Digital Divide

Living in the Ural Mountain region of Russia, I found myself every week hoping that the local Internet cafe would be up and working.  Depending on the city or area I was living in, sometimes it was reliable and other times the cafe would be closed.  While my conceptions of a technologically challenged Russia and the lifestyle people would be living in the third world country before I had arrived had quickly evolved because of the use of technology that a large amount of the everyday people had in their possession.  Walking into the small, poor light rooms that contained usually 10-15 computers, though out dated, they yet seemed to power the Internet and provide me with the capability to stay in touch with the outside world.  Depending on what Internet cafe I was able to go to decided on whether it was broadband or dial up service.  If I was lucky, I would find myself with broadband Internet, sitting next to a teenager who was intensely playing an online game.  At random times the power would go out or the Internet go down and the gamers would start to swear and complain to the cafe operators, while I was just glad I was randomly saving my long emails.  Throughout the rest of the week as I was in the community, going into peoples homes and seeing the varying types of technology and their ability to use it, I saw that a digital divide occurred.  This was happening not only from the standard I was used to in the United States and my ability to use technology but it also was happening among Russians themselves.   The factor of money was often the determining factor in whether the person surrounded themselves with technological devices, but even more prominent was the age factor.  The younger generations of Russians relied more heavily on technology and had a better grasp of how to use it in comparison to their older counterparts.  Cellphones, computers, mp3 players and DVD players were among some of the larger determining factors of whether the individual was technologically up to date or not.  Walking into the corner store or going to the market if an older person was cashier, when you were ready to pay they would pull out from underneath the counter where the register sat a manual counting device, sliding round buttons on several different lines to count how much it would cost you.  But if the person helping you was younger they almost always would go straight to the electronic register.  I even saw on several occasions older customers ask the cashier to use the old fashioned type of counting both for their own understanding of what was happening, but also because they believe it was more accurate and would not screw up.  Most often when I would walk into the local post office, the crowded area would be full of older people, mailing everything from bills to a simple letter.  Not having the ability or opportunity to send it via email, they would use the trusted and true old method.

These examples from my experience while in Russia are found here in the United States, which is not considered a third world country.  The generational gap has given the younger groups an upper hand on technology and its everyday use.  While many have adjusted, it still is not as natural for the older crowd, leaving them behind in the ever growing development of technology and its use, creating the digital divide.