Digital Inequality: Digital Inequality: New Challenges And Response Strategies For Social Governance

Informatization,digitization,and intelligence are the distinctive signs of the times.Changes in the information environment have triggered differences in opportunities.There has been a significant change in traditional inequality and its governance: basic inequality is decreasing,but inequality related to capacity has always been stubborn and is increasing in new forms.A typical example is digital inequality with capabilities and future development at its core.There are 3.6 billion people offline in the world.In China,there are nearly 500 million non-Internet users.In addition to the problem of physical Internet access,the issue of digital skills and literacy has become another new problem facing the world.On the basis of getting rid of simplified dualism,digital inequality pays more attention to social,psychological and cultural factors,and is more visionary and inclusive.It is considered by experts as the latest achievement of the digital divide.In the second chapter,the article builds a framework of feasible capabilities,divided into three types of differences: primary,intermediate,and advanced.These can be understood as the physical access level,the digital skills and awareness level,and the high-level feasible ability level to improve life and resist risks.In Chapter 3,the article introduces the status of digital inequality in the world and some countries,pointing out that mobile technology has promoted the bridging of the digital divide,but it still faces: differences in continuous,high-quality connections.Differences in skills and awareness.However,current governance actions lack an in-depthunderstanding of social issues,and the governance model is more confusing.Due to the lack of Internet access conditions,good skills,literacy and awareness,some social governance measures designed for traditional inequality and relying on technological changes will be challenged by digital inequality.In Chapter 4,the article summarizes many challenges that digital inequality has or will trigger,including: the background of organizational uncertainty,the threat to fairness,and the equal treatment and tolerance lost by the government in the process of digital public services.Finally,the article proposes a more complete governance framework and responds to these challenges.In the development of differences centered on capabilities,digital inequality can serve as an important representative of future inequality and needs to be paid attention to by social governance.Through proper functional support,inclusive design,and the efforts of many actors,we can avoid its harm as much as possible.