YOUR SAY |
DIGITAL OUTCASTS
IN THE DIVIDE By A Cheok
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed not just the info-communications landscape itself – but also the way we use it. The kingdom of simple text messages is now a thing of the past, replaced with vibrant sound and vision of the person halfway around the world. We embraced this newfound connectivity with hesitant but open arms, grateful for this silver of companionship during our forced isolation when the pandemic broke. Against the bleak backdrop of death and despair, families, loved-ones and long-lost friends were reunited and reconnected, while the Body of Christ went literally went beyond its walls and doors into the community. A cartoon captured the following conversation: Satan: “With COVID-19, I closed your churches!” God: “On the contrary, I’ve been opening one in every home”. But the pandemic has opened up another chapter to this story – one that in my opinion has been lurking in the background here in Singapore, always present but never really showing its true colours. Until now. We are all too familiar with the digital divide and have read or seen it in some form. But with the pandemic forcing the populace to adopt a ‘digital lifestyle’, the digital divide has moved from obscurity to take center stage – not just in Singapore, but in many parts of the world. While the computer literates reap the benefits of seamless technology and connectivity, the rest remain in the void – shut off and out from the rest of the world. It has added a new dimension of urgency and troubling new findings that put the privileged at an advantage. Yes, I will be the first to acknowledge that equitable access to digital infrastructure is critical during this period of instability, and the increased demand and implementation of digital technologies to connect and respond to the crisis has helped many in numerous ways. However, the rapid application of these technologies during this time of crisis has in fact broadened the digital divide even further. At a time where timely accurate information dissemination is critical, communities, households and individuals with limited or no access to the internet become the disadvantaged – with little access to vital health-related information – let alone the socioeconomic opportunities and benefits that digitalisation has to offer. At the end of 2019, a survey by the International Telecommunication Union estimated that around 3.6 billion people remain offline. The situation is much worse in least developed countries where an average of two out of every ten people are online. And despite Singapore’s strong info-communications infrastructure and connectivity, the pandemic has weaved a similar tale where the advances and benefits of technology are available to those who can access it, or afford it. A recent survey showed that a surprising 1 in 10 households in Singapore are not connected to the internet, and more than 5 in 10 households living in 1 and 2-room flats have no internet access or a personal computer. That’s not all. The stark truth is the pandemic has shown a significant struggle when it comes to digital literacy and skills- not just among the needy and disadvantaged, but also the differently-abled and seniors. One Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament recently lamented aptly that this group are “not digital natives or immigrants, but digital outcasts”: cut off, left behind and forgotten while the rest of society continues the happy ride aboard the technology bandwagon. And even if we turn our heads to try to see them, they are no longer in sight because the gap has become too wide, too relentless and too fast. I couldn’t agree more.
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INSiGHT | August 2020
