The new digital divide

Since the Internet started to become popular we have heard concerns about the digital divide. A fear that in the information age, those who are not computer-literate will struggle to keep up with the rest of us, and that we might even see a new kind of working class. Those without access to the Internet.

But there is another type of digital divide, a divide that is potentially far more dangerous, even a potential threat to democracy. That is the emerging divide between those who get their news online only, and those who find time to read the good old-fashioned newspaper.

News on the Internet is all about the "here and now". The accident that just happened down the street. Live feeds from events as they are taking place etc., while the traditional newspaper gives room for thought and reflection. It allows you to understand and discuss the how of things, not just the what. Both paper and electronic publications have their strengths. In order to understand, and to be an enlightened citizen, you need both the what and the why of things.

But traditional media have fewer and fewer readers. Even media students are becoming online only-readers, missing out on the why. And seeing as online news often focus mostly on human interest, celebrities and gossip, this is a dangerous development. The only way to maintain a living, thriving democracy is to have citizens who care and know the why of things. Knowledge is, as ever, power. But now fewer and fewer people bother, and the digital divide widens.