The different dimensions of the digital divide

الملخص

The digital divide is often addressed from a purely technical perspective. Nevertheless, a few years ago, a body of critical research in the field of social sciences suggested a broader approach to this concept, than that which associates it only to the lack of equipment. In this regard, the social researcher "Kling" makes a clear distinction between the disparity in access to information and communication technologies and the divergence in terms of knowledge and abilities between people connected to the Internet. In the present paper, we investigate the other type of exclusion that users of modern technologies in general and the Internet in particular are subjected to, and the variables affecting the emergence of these differences. We also attempt to clarify this different vision and how it differs from the previous one, in order to move away from the hypothesis of the inevitable digital exclusion related to equipment and to show the other dimension of the digital divide.