EXEGESIS OF DIGITAL DIVIDE IN COMMUNICATION

Abstract

Digital communication is undoubtedly regarded as a revolutionized communication which has transformed
the not just the ontology but the epistemology of communication and its process as a whole. It should also be
noted that the digital communication has created gaps in the communication process which has a discernible
impact on the society. Having said that the impact of technology on communication can neither be
undermined nor overlooked; rather its potential can be attempted to be used in the best of its possibilities. To
do that it is imperative to understand the hindrances in its way. This brings us to the discourse of digital
divide.
The word communication is derived from the Latin words, “communis” and “communicare”. “Communis”
means sharing, can be of views, ideas, thoughts and happenings; while “communicare” means make
something common. With these inferences, digital communication can be defined as ‘sharing of common
views or ideas in a digital form’. The above understanding of digital communication becomes the genesis of
the discourse as digital communication gets restricted only to its users. Against this backdrop, the study
attempts to analyze the undermining of the semantic understandings of the epistemology of communication
and how it has deviated from its basic meaning to accept the new paradigms, which fortunately or
unfortunately nurtures a power inequality and creates a divide between information “haves” and “have-nots”
on local, national and international levels.