One World, One Network: Revisiting Digital Dichotomy Theory of the Media

Abstract

The advancement in Information Communication Technology (ICT) brings about the debate regarding the potentials of technological innovations for inequities and inequalities. Since the 20th century, when McLuhan argued that technologies help extend human capacity, media technologies have been regarded as liberating and empowering. Technologies aided human manipulation of mechanical and electronic processes in the media and communication industries. The paper examines the fundamental issue of digital dominance in information technologies. Interrogates how developing countries may, or have been left behind in the journey towards building knowledge societies because of poor technological infrastructure and systems. The analysis rekindles the global information order to the past, such as media dominance, information inequality, asymmetrical and imbalanced information flow. By adding the power of computing to mechanical and electronic innovation of the past, as captured by MacBride recommends changes to address inequities in global media representations in the 21st-century society. The network societies are now better connected. This conceptual paper discovered that the resultant gluts of information further intensify the nature of global and social challenges. Given digital divide concerns being accelerated as captured in the Digital Dichotomy Theory (DD-Theory) is proposed towards understanding the inherent global media communication dynamics. The theory asserts that entities without the same predisposing factors will often significantly vary in adoption time of current experience(s). The paper found that technology-aided media communication realities do play out and affect humanity in such an uneven manner as well. Within this context, there is a digital dichotomy that affects actual media communication outcomes, especially in developing societies.