Research on the digital divide focuses on access to and use of digital technologies, the so-called first and second digital divide. The study of these two dimensions of the digital divide does provide a clearer picture of the distribution and application of digital technologies in unequal societies. A more important question, however, is whether the digital divide in access and use has led to a knowledge gap that has been ignored by researchers; in the information society, this relates directly to the survival and development of individuals and communities. Considering that the social impact of digital technology access and use divides is often taken for granted by researchers and has never been included in the design of relevant research:
(1) predictable access to political knowledge from internet access differentials (2) predictable access to political knowledge from people using political information on the internet。
(3) internet use better predicts access to political knowledge than internet access. The results of a re-analysis of data from a national survey conducted in the united states supported the three assumptions to varying degrees。
The study found empirical evidence for the assertion that "unfair distribution and use of digital technology has adverse social effects", for example, the knowledge gap is one aspect of this negative social impact. More importantly, internet use has a greater impact on people's access to knowledge than internet access. Thus, in today's increasingly widespread internet access, policies should pay more attention to people's internet use. In addition, in terms of dissemination theory, the knowledge gap, on the one hand, can be seen as a direction for digital divide research ... As an intermediate variable between access ditches, use ditches and other social injustices; on the other hand, through the study of the digital divide, knowledge gap research has the potential to develop and, among the factors influencing the knowledge gap, new media technologies have become a variable of significant influence and shape. In that sense, the theory of the digital divide could be linked to the theory of the knowledge gap。
