Bridging the Digital Divide: A Human-Centred Exploration of Physics, Technology and Society

Authors: Sovana Mukherjee

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37082/IJIRMPS.v13.i6.232837

Short DOI: https://doi.org/hbds2s

Country: India

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Abstract: The digital divide—once a narrow concern associated with the availability of personal computers—has evolved into a multi-layered social condition shaped by infrastructure, literacy, cultural expectations, economic disparities, and the physics that underpins modern communication technologies. Although discussions on the digital divide frequently concentrate on socioeconomic inequalities and policy failures, an equally important dimension lies in the scientific and technical architecture of the systems that carry digital information. Understanding bandwidth, signal attenuation, spectrum allocation, network topology, and energy consumption is essential when one seeks to appreciate how technology interacts with society.
This article offers a human-centred, interdisciplinary analysis that grounds digital inequality in both the physical sciences and social realities. Drawing on examples across rural and urban landscapes, community practices, education, labour markets, gendered experiences, and emerging technologies, it argues that digital access cannot be treated merely as a distribution problem: it is a lived experience tied to identity, power, capability, and belonging. Further, the essay shows how physics—often perceived as distant from social life—quietly shapes who can participate in digital spaces and how they participate.
The article concludes by proposing a holistic, inclusive framework that acknowledges the scientific foundations of digital infrastructure while foregrounding the dignity, agency, and aspirations of individuals and communities. In doing so, it moves beyond technocratic solutions and makes a case for a genuinely humane digital future.

Keywords: : Digital Divide; Technology and Society; Physics of Communication; Digital Inequality; Social Justice; Human-Centred Technology; Digital Literacy; Spectrum and Bandwidth; Technological Citizenship; Digital Infrastructure.

Paper Id: 232837

Published On: 2025-12-04

Published In: Volume 13, Issue 6, November-December 2025

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