The Digital Divide
How much does your parents/grandparents generation know about smartphone technology?
When do you think people in poorer countries will be able to afford technology such as smartphones?
Advancements in Internet technology are creating a new digital divide that threatens to widen the gap between the world’s rich and poor, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said in his annual Mobile World Congress keynote address on Tuesday.
Schmidt painted a picture in which those lucky enough to have a broadband Internet connection, computers and mobile devices will be able to take advantage of world changing new technologies coming in the next decade.
He said that the not-too-distant future will bring us driverless cars, robot people/parent replacements that will attend PTA (Parent Teacher Association) meetings for you, and ultra-fast Internet connections so speedy that video will be replaced by 3-D holograms.
The poor will gain access to better technologies in the next 10 years as well, as gadgets and connectivity become more affordable and widespread. But their advancements will pale in comparison to that of the world's rich.
"We need to act now to avoid the digital caste system I'm talking about," Schmidt said. "We can create a global network where people are equal."
The good news, Schmidt argued, is that the number of connected poor people will grow dramatically over the next decade. Low-end smartphones are rapidly decreasing in price, getting down to the $70 range, which is a change point for many regions of the world. When they get down to about $20, Schmidt believes smartphones will be in "almost every pocket."
Guessing meaning from context
Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. The answers are below the table.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Make the distance between two places bigger |
|
|
|
|
Electronic device/product |
|
|
|
|
A division based on class or place in society, some have more privilege than others |
|
|
|
|
A large distance between two places, in this example between 2 electronic technologies |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Look small when you compare with some other thing/event |
|
|
|
|
|
A=2, B=6, C=1, D=3, E=7, F=4, G=8, H=5
Some example sentences using the new words to help you to better understand their meaning.
1. The income gap between people living an North and South Korea is very big.
2. Climate scientists paint a picture of a future world that is much warmer than now, they say that in the not-too-distant we will have more problems.
3. Youngsters are often crazy about the newest electronic gadgets.
4. The size of the population of Australia pales in comparison with China.
5. India has a caste system, people who come from a lower class cannot move to a higher richer more educated class because they are born into being lower class.
6. Normal cell phones are now considered low end gadgets compared to smartphones.
7. There is a digital divide between our grandparents generation and ours, and an economic one between those who live in cities like Manhattan New York and Tennessee.
Some discussion questions using the new words to help you better understand the word meaning and how to use them correctly. Try to use the words in your answer.
1. How do you think we can narrow the gap between poor and rich countries?
2. Describe the future picture that the Google CEO is painting?
3. Do you agree that the world will change a lot in the not-too-distant future? Why or why not?
4. What future gadgets are most interesting to you?
5. Do you think that smartphones now will pale in comparison with then ones ten years later? Why?
6. Is there any kind of caste system in your country? Or another?
7. What do you think is the future for low end phones?
8. Can you describe the digital divide that Eric Schmidt is talking about?
ECK Education
