digital divide
any significant gap between groups of individuals in their access to and skilled use of computers, the Internet, smartphones, and other information and communication technologies. For example, there is a digital divide between older adults and younger people: Since the former have been without computers for the majority of their lives, they tend to be less knowledgeable about use of such technology than the latter, who have grown up with the technology. The digital divide is an increasing concern as more and more information is collected and disseminated electronically. A related concern is digital acceptance, or how information gathered through digital means is perceived. For example, some social science researchers routinely collect data via online surveys and other Internet-based methods, whereas other researchers do not consider the information obtained from such methods to be as valuable as that collected from more traditional (i.e., nonelectronic)
sources.