LxC Tasks 5+6: The Digital Divide and Facebook in Russia

Cyber technology has been growing worldwide and Russia is not an exception. However, this spread of cyber technology has also created evident digital divides. Norris explains that the digital divide creates “disparities in access found among low-income American households.”[1] Such disparities are not unique to America.

In fact, Russian citizens have been protesting against the high prices of internet accessibility. As shown by the Cnews article, basic, relatively slow internet access of 512 Kbit/sec costs ~$20 USD.[2] Such a price for internet can be considered normal in the United States where the GDP per capita is $47,400.[3] However, according the CIA factbook, in Russia, the GDP per capita is less than a third with $15,900. Thus, the same “reasonable” price creates a great economical barrier for Russians that would like to use the internet. This same barrier is the cause for a large digital divide that results in only one in three Russian families having access to the internet.[4]

Cyber technology in Russia has been affecting the privileged in a very similar way as it has in the Western developed countries. A knockoff of Facebook is widely popular: vkontakte.ru has almost a third of their users visiting daily.[5] With all the ongoing persecutions of journalists that go against the Kremlin, an outlet for free discussions prevails on the internet and in particular on the social networking site. There is a group with over 7000 members that would like the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ousted.[6] This group is able to create discussions and allow the free discussion of politics. A major event that the group promotes is a petition to oust Putin. Even though it is extremely unlikely that such a petition would succeed, it signifies the evolution of citizen journalism within Russia and empowers the people with a greater freedom of speech.

[1]Norris, Pippa. Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. Print.
[2]Легезо, Денис. Дорогой интернет: россияне бастуют и пишут жалобу Медведеву. Cnews.ru. Published Sept. 14, 2009. http://www.cnews.ru/news/top/index.shtml?2009/09/14/361763 Accessed April 10, 2011. Internet.
This is the Russian news site that published an article that talked about the cost of internet use in Russia and how widespread it is.
[3]CIA Factbook: GDP Per Capita. CIA. Published July 1,2010. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html Accessed April 10, 2011.
[4]Asmolov, Gregory. Russia: Authorities to Eliminate “Digital Divide” in 2010. GlobalVoices. Published March 7, 2010. http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/03/07/russia-divide/ Accessed April 10, 2011. Internet.
[5]Elena. Most Popular Social Networking Sites in Russia. RussianizeThis. Published June 14,2010.
http://russianizethis.com/2010/06/most-popular-social-networking-sites-in-russia/ Accessed April 10, 2011. Internet.
[6]Болдырев, Александр. Путин должен уйти! Сбор подписей. Vkontakte.ru. Published April 10, 2011. http://vkontakte.ru/club16166867 Accessed April 10, 2011. Internet.
This is the Russian knockoff of Facebook. The specific link directs the reader to the anti-Putin group which allows free discussion threads, news, and pictures involving the Prime Minister.