Conceptual Evolution of the Digital Divide: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Throughout the last twenty years the digital divide – a multi-dimensional concept – has evolved in a manner that takes account of various technological, socio-economic, socio-political, and socio-cultural considerations. The objective of this study is to access recent conceptualizations of the term and to identify emerging considerations. In this paper I employ Okoli and Schabram’s (Okoli, Schabram, 2010) systematic literature review framework as a basis for examining 21 digital divide focused scholarly articles that were selected from 118 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2010 and 2015. The findings suggest that scholarly literature published in this domain during the last five years has identified user attitudes towards technology, motivations for use of technology, and socio-cultural backgrounds as factors influencing the notion of the digital divide. Despite the lack of a widely agreed upon definition of the digital divide, recent conceptualizations appear to be moving away from the traditional emphasis on technological and economic gaps. The central theme of the selected articles is that without addressing long existing socio-economic and socio-cultural inequalities, which are real and deep divides, bridging the technological gaps might not end the real issue of digital divide.