Is Google Making the Digital Divide Worse - Essay Example

Summary of Is Google Making the Digital Divide Worse In the article, Brick argues that in the coming days Google envisions that access to the internet will be mandatory for all human beings (1). This solely results from the fact that the company spends a huge amount of money to educate people on Computer Studies in the globe, notably in countries such as Uganda, and even New Zealand. Through its efforts, Google Fiber was born, therefore, it has become easy to connect many homes especially in America.

However, Google Fiber has been termed as one of the major causes of moral decay of the digital age especially going with fact that the internet plays a major role of educating the public (Brick 1). Google Fiber has been credited for is fast connectivity, hence, its market has widened considerably. However, as Google ventures into markets and expands by the day, there are fears that the fiber project may craft lasting class divisions (Brick 2). This results from the fact that the new infrastructure on generation of information may deny the people the previous physical wiring that is required to access the internet at a greater speed.

A good example is the Troost Wall that represents a continuous racial divide that has continually defined the socio-economic setting in the city of Kansas. The White families lead an expensive and luxurious life while the Blacks and Latinos lead lives full of poverty (Brick 3). In 2011, each of the zones had to have prepaid ten dollars for registration that took place online through credit cards. Some sections of the population could not afford; thus, division into lines such as the Troost Avenue (Brick 3).

Worse still, Google Fiber is making the divide worse as it continues to define the have and have not’s in the society. Even with campaigns and advertisements among the neighborhoods on Google Fiber, the community members realized that the major challenge was the cost of connection (Brick 3). It is worse that in Kansas City, there is no free or rather cheaper access to Wi-Fi like in Africa. It is not even clear whether Google has any plans to help the communities that are not able to access Fiber especially the poor households in Kansa City.

One would argue that it is odd that the benefits of technology are known, but very little is done to support communities that do not have the ability to access the same (Brick 6). Though Google has offered to offer free services to different sites selected by the city, it is clear how this system will function as well as its long term effect. Considering that different communities cannot access fiber, it is arguable that the system is not feasible (Brick 8). The digital divide can then be said to have profound roots that have perpetuated discrimination, differences in education and even access to capital and technology.

The Google Fiber project is market oriented and rarely helps the present community members especially the less fortunate members in the society. More commitment from Google may be instrumental in reducing the Digital Divide in the society today. Work CitedBrick, Michael. Is Google Making the Digital Divide Worse. 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.