The Digital Divide And What It Means For BLM
The digital divide is a real and worrying issue. Being able
to connect, communicate and create through new technologies is a privilege
which many don’t seem to realise to be limited across the world. There is growing
concern regarding this availability and just how minorities and specific
communities now have increasing inequalities with regards to access and
economics due to this divide.
As President Clinton warned, “history teaches us that even as new
technologies create growth and new opportunity, they can heighten economic
inequalities and sharpen social divisions.”
However has this digital divide affected the black community
specifically with regards to BLM?
The above indicates a substantial digital divide but as time
goes on this is becoming less and less. By last year (2015) Hispanics and
Blacks had minimised this divide by around 7% since 2000.
The digital divide is clearly getting smaller between all
ethnicities and communities. The reasoning for this is because of this
generation’s millennials and their widespread use of technologies.
The American Press Institute wrote that technology
is becoming increasingly cheaper and the advent of mobile technology has
consequently almost made this concept of a divide something of a moot point.
The New York Post conveys how 64 percent of millennials say they read and
watch news online regularly, including 66 percent of African-Americans. Tom
Rosenstiel even states that “people of color are very wired and just as adept
in using technology”.
The above graph portrays a digital divide flipped on its
head in Twitter. In fact, there is a 12% gap between Blacks and Whites on
Twitter with African Americans holding the greater percentage. In terms of
broadband and those who use the internet, with each older age bracket the
divide grows. Millenials are almost equal amongst Blacks and Whites which
proves that this divide is getting smaller as technology becomes cheaper, more
widespread, more mobile and newer generations become more adept with
technology.
As Jenkins et al. states, closing the digital divide is dependent on how accessible new technologies are and with each passing year such technologies become more and more accessible.
With regards to BLM, they rely greatly on these millenials.
The hashtag #blacklivesmatter was created on Twitter, the very application used
most by African Americans. It was spread throughout Twitter reaching the globe
and as a result an influential activist group was formed. BLM relies heavily on
Twitter and it comes as no surprise that the Twitter space is most popular
amongst African Americans. This is all due to the postmodern technologies which
are available cheaply to all and so the digital divide is less of an issue with
the BLM community just as it is less of an issue as years pas by.
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Now to transition to another topic real quickly... To further delve into the BLM movement, one must look at the following 3 categories:
- Topics: As a whole BLM encompasses state violence with regards to Black people and how they are deprived of basic rights and dignity. This involves such discussions as Black poverty and genocide, the jailing of millions of Black people and how Black woman bear the burden of assault and violence. Further topics can be found here.
- Actors: The main actors of this movement are the founders Garza, Cullors and Tometi. Besides that are the countless supporters across the world who support the movement and spread the message. The mass media are also a major actor as they provide many of the means in spreading the ideals and hopes of BLM.
- Actions: There are countless actions which BLM incorporates. These include protests, online activism, spreading of message throughout the world and creation of art and content. To join in these actions follow this following link.
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