New levels of digital divide around the world

This paper examines the concept of digital divide at the global level and within the countries level. To this end, we have been studying and analyzing research on digital divide in different countries and using international statistics. The research results show that the digital divide is a broad, complex, multidimensional concept and beyond physical access to communication technologies. The digital divide,which is posed in two spheres,first international and among different countries and within the countries , can occur at four levels of access gap, gap of use and motivation, knowledge gap, and production gap. The lack of physical access to an ICT area creates an access gap between people in that area and other areas. The use and motivation gap occurs when, despite the availability of computers and the Internet, many of the population groups do not use these facilities due to lack of motivation and sufficient income. The gap in knowledge lies in the level of technological literacy and the ability to access appropriate online content and services. The manufacturing gap explains that, despite being interactive and participating in the content of new technologies, it remains far between the number of content producers and consumers. Also, the digital divide is a dynamic phenomenon, so that when the digital divide fills up at one level,at the other level, another gap is created. At the end of the study, a model is proposed for the study of the digital divide levels and the variables involved in it.