Digital Divides and Online Media

TL;DR

This paper investigates the digital divide by evaluating the maturity of online media across 134 countries from 2007 to 2016, considering factors like consumption, diversity, and reporting consensus, and analyzing their associations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework for assessing online media maturity and links it to the digital divide, filling a gap in existing literature.

Findings

Higher economic and infrastructural development correlates with increased online media maturity.

Political factors significantly influence online media diversity and reporting consensus.

Administration quality has less impact on online media maturity.

Abstract

Digital divide has been a common concern during the past two or three decades; traditionally, it refers to a gap between developed and developing countries in the adoption and use of digital technologies. Given the importance of the topic, digital divide has been also extensively studied, although, hitherto, there is no previous research that would have linked the concept to online media. Given this gap in the literature, this paper evaluates the "maturity" of online media in 134 countries between 2007 and 2016. Maturity is defined according to the levels of national online media consumption, diversity of political perspectives presented in national online media, and consensus in reporting major political events in national online media. These aspects are explained by considering explanatory factors related to economy, infrastructure, politics, and administration. According to the empirical results based on a dynamic panel data methodology, all aspects except administration are also associated with the maturity of national online media.