The social impact of digital divides

Abstract

“New” technologies potentially generate inequalities, which are designated in generic terms as the “digital divide.” If democracy and freedom (free political participation) are, along with equality, the three columns on which the constitutional, social and democratic State of Law is based, in current times, equality, which is a principle, value and right, it also necessarily encompasses digital equality. However, paradoxically, technological progress generates inequalities, with the consequent decline of the social State. Maintaining equality as a key element of social constitutionalism involves gradually reducing (until minimizing or eliminating) digital gaps, due to their direct relationship with inequality. On the other hand, when the theoretical and conceptual reflections are transferred to the socio-labor situation of specific people, it is seen that the causes and consequences of digital divides (social isolation, vulnerability, difficulties both in accessing and performing the job of work, etc.) are two sides of the same coin. This work attempts to draw a typology of digital divides from the double criterion of the causes that cause them (access, quality of use, geographical conditions) and the subjects especially affected (gender, age, disability). If such diversity of situations has a profound impact on social rights, the search for solutions must combine technical aspects with the effectiveness of regulatory measures and public policies and private initiatives that favor inclusion. The right to education, in the form of digital literacy, is the common thread that allows action from various fronts to achieve real and effective equality. The data point to a gradual reduction or overcoming of digital gaps, both gender, generational or geographical (at least in developed countries), thanks to the involvement of the different subjects concerned: public powers, international organizations, private sector and civil society. However, at the same time, the alarm is raised about the “analogical” or “real” divide, which refers to the growing difficulty of children and young people in functioning outside the virtual world, with the consequent impact on the social State of the future.