Digital devices have become more important in the 21st century.

Many

valuable information can be accessed through the internet, it also increases the

knowledge of many people, making research and data gathering a much less

time consuming task and making communication easier. New Careers and jobs

have emerged due to the boom of the internet. The imminent challenges in

information technology are the following; ease of access, the unequal

distribution of digital information due to many factors or also called the Digital

Divide, and the capitalist problematic use of digital information to further

increase their profits disregarding the effects of such actions on the common

people. The people in lower classes can not afford a phone or even more so

computers and laptops and the ever increasing necessity of the internet have

put them in a disadvantageous position and further lowering their chances to

improve their lives.

Breakthroughs and developments in the field of computers and smartphones

caused an increase in prices due to more complex and expensive production.

While this is a positive for the rich, the poor who need just basic access to the

internet are suffering due to price increases. Although low-end smartphones

have been more common in the market they do not suffice the price needed to

be purchasable by the less privileged. This further puts them at a

disadvantage, every aspect of everyday life has been ingrained in digital devices

such as Job Findings, Entertainment, and Education. According to a study

done in April 2020 by the US Department Of Health and Human services, the
study shows that lower income households have less access to the Internet.

(Swenson and Ghertner 2020)

Our world will eventually be run on a computer, everything can be done

through a computer. With that in mind how can people who aren’t so adept to

these changes? such as people who do not have access to newer information

and formal education about information technology, they are comparable to

that of a computer still running on windows xp whilst the world is all using

windows 10. If an unfair distribution of information and digital technology

continues this will only further create a big divide between the rich and the

poor. According to research done by Rideout and Katz, access to the internet

has become an integral part of our lives, being connected to the internet has

become an essential rather than a privilege. The internet provides opportunities

to those who have access to it, and according to the study, mainly low income

families have some sort of access, but many under imposed challenges such as

slow connection and old devices. (Rideout and Katz 2016)

Diversity in the field of Information Technology, a high paying career that is

popular amongst people wanting to improve their life is a career dominated by

white males, whilst Person of Color (Blacks, Hispanic, Asian) are less present in

those fields. This is a major problem for people seeking to find jobs relating to

Information Technology. Non-white races such as hispanics and blacks have

less income and are on worse socioeconomic factor, and if they do not get hired
even if they meet the requirements is a form of discrimination. In a survey done

by StackOverflow 2017 74% of all their respondents are white and according to

the study the group white male programmers value diversity the least.

Smartphones have become a man’s most wanted item, it has become a

necessity and these could prove troublesome to those in less privileged

households who can not afford an internet service provider or a digital device

capable of surfing the web. If the world agrees that a man has to have a phone

to function in modern society due to our over reliance on it, those who can not

afford phones will feel its effects in their everyday lives.

A divide can also occur due to imposed regulations done by governments,

restricting the citizens of their country to access certain websites. Countries

such as China who severely restrict their people from accessing western

created websites such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter can control the

political narrative of their own country if an international audience does not

influence the sites they’re using.

Although people have found ways of bypassing such laws through the use of

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), the people who aren't aware of such

information would be limited in their access to the internet. But it has some of

its dangers: accessing sites the government has banned is still a punishable

cybercrime and it can potentially put you at legal problems.

capitalist most effective way of profiting off their users. Sites such as Youtube

use a complex algorithm and using those data gained by Searches and interest,

private companies can pinpoint your personal interest, hobbies, and

personality and sell that data to companies and market/advertise directly to

you. This is a breach of privacy and that has become a massive problem to the

common people overconsumption and further spreading the idea of

consumerism. Ease of access to information has some of its downsides, if

valuable information can be easily spread in the internet through research and

articles, so are propaganda, misinformation, and fake news. People in power

such as capitalist, greedy politicians, and the elites can use the internet to

spread propaganda. Politicians can also use targeted misinformation about

other politicians to hurt their reputation. This in turn targets the people, if the

common people see deceit and lies this can be a burden to a democratic nation

and the upward mobility of the poor. If people continue to elect greedy

politicians and support capitalistic business due to their propaganda and

misinformation they would never have a proper chance to improve their lives.

“Trolls farms” , a powerful propaganda tool used by the elites, are the most

common use of digital devices for the elite's benefit. According to a study done

by Cambridge University Misinformation can influence political preferences,

further empower extremist beliefs, and reduce the trust in traditional media

such as TV News and Newspapers. (Guess and Lyons 2020)

traditional forms of job finding such as newspapers get replaced by Internet

ads and searches. The same problem occurs and it can decrease the chances of

poor people getting a job. More companies are adopting a social media and

internet centric approach in finding new clients and employees, and more

people are also using the internet in job seeking. According to a study done by

Pew Research Center 34% of Americans who have actually looked for a new

job in the last two years, fully 90% of these recent job seekers have ever used

the internet to research jobs, and 84% have applied to a job online. (Smith

2015)

Production of digital devices and exploitation and acquirements of natural

resources necessary for production of materials needed to produce products

such as smartphones, computers, and laptops are brimming with worker

abuse, child labour, and bad work environements. Especially mines in Africa to

acquire materials such as gold and copper materials used in smartphones are

notorious for child labour and bad work environments. The common people

further suffer not only through limited access to information, but also in their

work environments to produce digital devices that further puts them at a

disadvantage. A report done by Amnesty International shows the inhumane

treatment of children in dangerous mines in the Democratic Republic Of

Congo. Children told Amnesty International they worked for up to 12 hours a

day in the mines, carrying heavy loads to earn between one and two dollars a
day. In 2014 approximately 40,000 children worked in mines across southern

DRC, many of them mining cobalt, according to UNICEF. (Amnesty

International 2016)

The Digital divide and the effects of its easily seen and experienced by the less

privileged, they will suffer the most in the future if the reliance of such devices

increase whilst the prices of such products increases. This text provides the

necessary information to realize the effects of an unequal distribution of

information due to many factors that can affect many lives and the

advancement of humans.