Time machines and virtual portals

It is frequently argued that the ‘digital divide’ is one of the most significant development issues facing impoverished regions of the world. Yet, even though the term is inherently spatial, there have been no sustained efforts to examine the geographic assumptions underlying discourses of the ‘digital divide.’ This article traces the history of the term, reviewing some of its tangible effects and placing a focus on the temporal and spatial assumptions underpinning ‘digital divide’ discourses. Alternative formulations of the ‘digital divide’ are offered which take into account the hybrid, scattered, ordered and individualized nature of cyberspaces.