The Digital Divide in Eswatini: Viewpoints of the Millennials

Developing countries continue to be vulnerable to, and adversely affected by, the digital divide (DD). The study explored the perspectives of affected individuals in a poor, developing African country, i.e., Eswatini, regarding factors that contribute towards a DD. The researchers identify in this study the factors that cause the DD, and efforts that can, according to the participants, overcome the technological epidemic in their country. The interpretive research method that was applied was complemented with an approach from the systems thinking field-the researchers structured the study by means of soft systems methodology (SSM). It enabled a better understanding of the social context, and the problem situation, from the viewpoint of those that are mostly affected by it. SSM was useful to systematically guide the enquiry of this problematical techno-social context. The researchers interviewed students at the main campus of a leading University in Eswatini. Students were chosen as the participants since searches about the perspectives of younger generations regarding the affects of and solutions to, the DD yielded few results, indicating a gap in the body of knowledge. However, this generation (i.e., the millennials) are known as the digital generationthey want to partake in the digital and information era. The outcome of the study is a number of factors that the students of Eswatini perceive to be oppressing them by causing the DD, and ways to overcome itthey are frustrated and accordingly vocal regarding the negative effects and the causes of the DD, and they want the situation to change.