People who live in highly developed countries often take access to information technology for granted. They find it hard to imagine a world in which this technology does not bring a greater prosperity. However, as the IT revolution moves forward in some parts of the world, in other parts of the world the poor are falling further and further behind. Indeed there are many barriers to wider IT access and its potential benefits.
Firstly, one of the predominant obstacles is illiteracy. In some countries, less than 50 per cent of the population is able to read and understand a text. For example, in Middle East countries women are not allowed to attain an education while some of the poor cannot even afford to pay tuition fees, which makes the former and the latter mostly exposed to be unlettered.
The next predicament that might occure as the prevention to the IT access is inadequate rudimentary infrastructure. Some countries are afflicted with inconstant electricity supply. In addition, broadband access may only be available in major cities, rendering rural areas off the map in the context of IT accessibility. In this circumstances, the Internet could increase social inequality between city and countruside dwellers.
Despite the availability of information technology in some regions, this does not eliminate the possibility of government censorship. Driven by the fear of well-informed public, they are are prompted to censor social media platforms and independent information resources which provide unfetterd information to the nation. Although some people are able to loopholes in the internet resources blocking, cetain part of the population can be possibly deprived of the full IT access.
To synthesize, the IT revolution is unlikely to reduce the unequal access to free information. Unless fundamental inequalities are adressed, the Internet may, in fact, increase societal divides.