Online Communities, Democratic Ideals, and the Digital Divide

2011 ◽  
pp. 20-30
Author(s):  
F. S. Grodzinsky ◽  
H. T. Tavani
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Democratic Ideals ◽  
Information Justice

We examine some pros and cons of online communities with respect to two main questions: (1) Do online communities promote democracy and democratic ideals? and (2) What are the implications of online communities for information justice and the digital divide? The first part of the chapter will examine online communities in general and will attempt to define what we mean by “community” and more precisely, “online communities.” It will then examine ways of building online communities, that is, what brings people together online. The second part of the chapter will look at the positive and negative contributions of online communities in light of democratic ideals and will address the issue of information justice and the digital divide. In examining these questions, we also consider the effects of the Internet for community life at both the local and global levels.

Online Communities, Democratic Ideals, and the Digital Divide

2008 ◽  
pp. 2505-2515
Author(s):  
Frances S. Grodzinsky ◽  
Herman T. Tavani
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Democratic Ideals ◽  
Information Justice

We examine some pros and cons of online communities with respect to two main questions: (1) Do online communities promote democracy and democratic ideals? and (2) What are the implications of online communities for information justice and the digital divide? The first part of the chapter will examine online communities in general and will attempt to define what we mean by “community” and more precisely, “online communities.” It will then examine ways of building online communities, that is, what brings people together online. The second part of the chapter will look at the positive and negative contributions of online communities in light of democratic ideals and will address the issue of information justice and the digital divide. In examining these questions, we also consider the effects of the Internet for community life at both the local and global levels.

Online Communities, Democratic Ideals, and the Digital Divide

2008 ◽  
pp. 2463-2473
Author(s):  
Frances S. Grodzinsky ◽  
Herman T. Tavani
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Democratic Ideals ◽  
Information Justice

We examine some pros and cons of online communities with respect to two main questions: (1) Do online communities promote democracy and democratic ideals? and (2) What are the implications of online communities for information justice and the digital divide? The first part of the chapter will examine online communities in general and will attempt to define what we mean by “community” and more precisely, “online communities.” It will then examine ways of building online communities, that is, what brings people together online. The second part of the chapter will look at the positive and negative contributions of online communities in light of democratic ideals and will address the issue of information justice and the digital divide. In examining these questions, we also consider the effects of the Internet for community life at both the local and global levels.

scholarly journals A Socially-Just Internet: The Digital Divide, Cybercultural Agency, and Human Capabilities

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Toews
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
Agency Support ◽  
Cultural Agency

This article argues that while modes of scholarship stressing structural insights into the digital divide and ethnographic insights into online communities each give us important information about current uses of the internet, for the sake of a unified social justice principle it is necessary to interpret these forms of knowledge in terms of what could be. Marx’s formula ‘the development of each as a condition for the development of all’ is put forward as the principle of a socially-just internet actualized from the ground up. It is argued that the most rapidly emerging and important form of constraint upon ‘the development of each’ is the for profit online social media industry in which moments of human communicative creativity become packaged as commodities for commercial purposes. Creative, cultural agency becomes an imposition rather than a liberation as represented in the industry ideology. It is argued therefore that groups that use the internet for serious play – the use of avatars in virtual worlds is discussed as an example – present us with a form of online subjectivity that is rising in importance as a form of cultural agency inasmuch as the play component is premised upon the rejection of pre-packaged forms of agency. Support for a socially-just internet would thus mean supporting the online communities formed in this process. Thus the argument is put forward that the importance of serious online play groups is not due to their potential for forming communities per se but is rather due to their potential for resisting the imposition of agency. Inasmuch as online communities in the midst of such groups can bolster that goal, they can represent the development of human capabilities in a way that expands the theme of social justice.

The Digital Divide and K-12 Student Computer Use

10.28945/2926 ◽  
2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
James N. Morgan ◽  
Craig A. VanLengen
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Computer Use ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Limited Basis ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact

The divide between those who have computer and Internet access and those who do not appears to be narrowing, however overall statistics may be misleading. Measures of computer availability in schools often include cases where computers are only available for administration or are available only on a very limited basis (Gootman, 2004). Access to a computer and the Internet outside of school helps to reinforce student learning and emphasize the importance of using technology. Recent U.S. statistics indicate that ethnic background and other demographic characteristics still have substantial impact on the availability and use of computers by students outside of the classroom. This paper examines recent census data to determine the impact of the household on student computer use outside of the classroom. Encouragingly, the findings of this study suggest that use of a computer at school substantially increases the chance that a student will use a computer outside of class. Additionally, this study suggests that computer use outside of the classroom is positively and significantly impacted by being in a household with adults who either use a computer at work or work in an industry where computers are extensively used.

The Internet is a Semicommons

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Grimmelmann
Keyword(s):  
Open Field ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Private Property ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Field System ◽  
Technical Features ◽  
Dynamic Interplay ◽  
Enormous Success

78 Fordham Law Review 2799 (2010)The Internet is a semicommons. Private property in servers and network links coexists with a shared communications platform. This distinctive combination both explains the Internet's enormous success and illustrates some of its recurring problems.Building on Henry Smith's theory of the semicommons in the medieval open-field system, this essay explains how the dynamic interplay between private and common uses on the Internet enables it to facilitate worldwide sharing and collaboration without collapsing under the strain of misuse. It shows that key technical features of the Internet, such as its layering of protocols and the Web's division into distinct "sites," respond to the characteristic threats of strategic behavior in a semicommons. An extended case study of the Usenet distributed messaging system shows that not all semicommons on the Internet succeed; the continued success of the Internet depends on our ability to create strong online communities that can manage and defend the infrastructure on which they rely. Private and common both have essential roles to play in that task, a lesson recognized in David Post's and Jonathan Zittrain's recent books on the Internet.

The digital divide in individual e-commerce utilization in China

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shizhan Zhu ◽  
Juan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Digital Inequality ◽  
Urban Inequality ◽  
First Order ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Residency Status ◽  
Logistic Regressions ◽  
Using Data ◽  
And Migration

Using data from a national survey with 1,288 respondents, this study investigates the socio-demographic determinants of the first-order digital divide (access to the Internet) and the second-order digital divide (e-commerce use) in China. The survey employed spatial probability sampling technology so it would encompass migrants as well as registered residents. Multiple logistic regressions were applied to model the associations between access to the Internet/e-commerce use and demographic characteristics, socio-economic attributes, and migration and residency status. The results demonstrate the significant effects of rural-urban inequality and socio-economic divisions in Internet access. Age, gender, education, and residency were identified as significant predictors for individual e-commerce use. The findings provide helpful information for enterprises wishing to broaden their business horizons. The research can also be used in designing effective policies to reduce China’s digital inequality.

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