Digital Enhancement: A Drawbridge or a Detachment of the Digital Divide

Abstract

Mizoram, one of the smallest states in India, has a very dynamic and flexible culture. The internet reached the state during the late 1990s; the general public started accessing it by the early 2000s. Digital enhancement, facilitated by technological devices, is becoming a reality in various professions as well as daily life. The problem of the digital divide—tangible availability of computers and internet connections as well as issues of content, language, skills and social resources—is yet challenging to eradicate. Whilst a group called the ‘choose nots’ are not interested in engaging with technology, several questions arise—Will digital know-how be useful in bridging the gap of the digital divide? Can digital understanding outdo the divide demarcated by the native–immigrant separation? Or does digital enhancement widen the gap by endowing the ‘haves’ while the ‘have-nots’ keep adding numbers to the ‘digital left behind’? This study focuses on the influence of the internet on Mizo culture, nature of the digital divide, and traces the internet history of Mizoram while trying to map the perceived difference in communication behaviour before and after the existence of the internet among digital immigrants.