The Geographical Digital Divide: Urban-Rural, Regional and Gender Inequalities of Digital Transformation in Turkey
Although the existence of a global digital divide between developed and developing countries is well-known, there are crucial inequalities in internet and computer access in different regions, cities, and even in different neighborhoods of the same city. This article aims to map the geographical dig...
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| Language: | English |
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Istanbul University Press
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Coğrafya Dergisi |
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| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/E9C803437FA34D0D9F340E1B443B021A |
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| author | Serhat Ay Taner Kılıç |
| author_facet | Serhat Ay Taner Kılıç |
| author_sort | Serhat Ay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although the existence of a global digital divide between developed and developing countries is well-known, there are crucial inequalities in internet and computer access in different regions, cities, and even in different neighborhoods of the same city. This article aims to map the geographical digital divide in Turkey by using data about internet access, internet speed, computer ownership, and internet cafe access from the World Bank, OECD, Eurostat, TurkStat, Speedtest, BTK, and Google Earth. According to our findings, the digital divide in Turkey has four geographical dimensions. First, in the global digital divide, Western European and North American countries have developed digital infrastructure, while developing countries such as Turkey fall short in fiber connection and fixed broadband internet. Second, there are sharp digital disparities between cities to the east and west. Especially in coastal areas and industrialized cities, internet speed and computer access are high, while in rural areas it is quite low. Third, the difference in digital development between cities also exists between regions. Fourth, in the Eastern regions, where the education level is low, women’s access to computers is considerably less than that of men. As a result, in Turkey, which is behind developed countries in digitalization, there are increasing digital inequalities between urban-rural regions due to insufficient infrastructure and low income. The fact that women have lower access to digital technology compared to men shows that the digital divide problem in Turkey has a cultural dimension in addition to low income. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-92cc9a0be7bb411b8d4c8b710629e32a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1305-2128 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Istanbul University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Coğrafya Dergisi |
| spelling | doaj-art-92cc9a0be7bb411b8d4c8b710629e32a2025-08-20T01:47:37ZengIstanbul University PressCoğrafya Dergisi1305-21282023-06-014611112210.26650/JGEOG2023-1169477123456The Geographical Digital Divide: Urban-Rural, Regional and Gender Inequalities of Digital Transformation in TurkeySerhat Ay0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1604-2208Taner Kılıç1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1944-8214Bilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi, Bilecik, TurkiyeBilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi, Bilecik, TurkiyeAlthough the existence of a global digital divide between developed and developing countries is well-known, there are crucial inequalities in internet and computer access in different regions, cities, and even in different neighborhoods of the same city. This article aims to map the geographical digital divide in Turkey by using data about internet access, internet speed, computer ownership, and internet cafe access from the World Bank, OECD, Eurostat, TurkStat, Speedtest, BTK, and Google Earth. According to our findings, the digital divide in Turkey has four geographical dimensions. First, in the global digital divide, Western European and North American countries have developed digital infrastructure, while developing countries such as Turkey fall short in fiber connection and fixed broadband internet. Second, there are sharp digital disparities between cities to the east and west. Especially in coastal areas and industrialized cities, internet speed and computer access are high, while in rural areas it is quite low. Third, the difference in digital development between cities also exists between regions. Fourth, in the Eastern regions, where the education level is low, women’s access to computers is considerably less than that of men. As a result, in Turkey, which is behind developed countries in digitalization, there are increasing digital inequalities between urban-rural regions due to insufficient infrastructure and low income. The fact that women have lower access to digital technology compared to men shows that the digital divide problem in Turkey has a cultural dimension in addition to low income.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/E9C803437FA34D0D9F340E1B443B021Ageographical digital dividerural-urban digital dividefiber internetgender digital dividedigital transformation |
| spellingShingle | Serhat Ay Taner Kılıç The Geographical Digital Divide: Urban-Rural, Regional and Gender Inequalities of Digital Transformation in Turkey Coğrafya Dergisi geographical digital divide rural-urban digital divide fiber internet gender digital divide digital transformation |
| title | The Geographical Digital Divide: Urban-Rural, Regional and Gender Inequalities of Digital Transformation in Turkey |
| title_full | The Geographical Digital Divide: Urban-Rural, Regional and Gender Inequalities of Digital Transformation in Turkey |
| title_fullStr | The Geographical Digital Divide: Urban-Rural, Regional and Gender Inequalities of Digital Transformation in Turkey |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Geographical Digital Divide: Urban-Rural, Regional and Gender Inequalities of Digital Transformation in Turkey |
| title_short | The Geographical Digital Divide: Urban-Rural, Regional and Gender Inequalities of Digital Transformation in Turkey |
| title_sort | geographical digital divide urban rural regional and gender inequalities of digital transformation in turkey |
| topic | geographical digital divide rural-urban digital divide fiber internet gender digital divide digital transformation |
| url | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/E9C803437FA34D0D9F340E1B443B021A |
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