Van Dijk (2005) distinguishes four types of access that are necessary to obtain full access to a technology: motivation, access, skills and usage. Motivation and, in particular, access are mostly referred to as the first-level digital divide.

“The ‘digital divide’ is a term used to describe a gap between ‘information haves and have-nots,’ or in other words, between those Americans who use or have adequate access to telecommunications and information technologies and those who do not.

Inequality in access to the Internet and ICT is known as the digital divide.

Below are solutions that can help narrow the digital divide gap.

1. 1) Increase affordability.
2. 2) Empowering users.
3. 3) Improve the relevance of online content.
4. 4) Internet infrastructure development.
5. 5) Address gender gap in internet access.

In the past few years internet addiction (IA) and internet gaming disorder (IGD) have become very frequent, leading to many personality and psychiatric disorders including low self-esteem, impulsivity, poor sleep quality, mood disorder, and suicide.

7 Tips to Defeat Technology Addiction

1. Keep Yourself Busy and Occupied.
2. Use Fire to Extinguish Fire.
3. Shut down Your Device before Bed.
4. Be Gradual In Disengaging.
5. You Can Turn off All Notifications.
6. Commit Yourself to a Schedule.
7. Your Willpower is never enough.
8. Conclusion.

There is, technically, no such thing as internet or phone addiction. Some in the psychiatric community have proposed a new disorder called internet gaming disorder, to recognize unhealthy patterns of game-playing.

What causes technology addiction? There are no specific causes for technology addiction, but many researchers believe there are multiple contributing factors. Some feel this addiction is due to brain chemical imbalances similar to what is seen with drug and alcohol dependency.

Signs You Have a Technology Addiction

• Losing Track of Time Spent Online. One of the key indicators for a technology addiction is losing track of time.
• Inability or Unwillingness to Complete Other Tasks.
• Lack of a Social Life.
• Exhibiting Guilt About Internet Use.
• Defending Internet Use.
• Experiencing a High.

Body aches, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, insomnia, vision problems, and weight gain/loss are just some of the physical problems one may suffer as a result of an internet addiction. Emotional effects may include depression, dishonesty, anxiety, social isolation, aggression, and mood swings.

Internet addiction alters the volume of the brain. The brain changes are similar to those produced by alcohol and cocaine addiction. IAD shrinks the brain’s gray and white matter fibers which results in changes to emotional processing and brain functioning.