Paper Proposal: A new digital divide

This is my paper proposal. Hope this win the attention of the judges.

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1. Background
   Thanks to the rapid development of the Internet, the information gap between those who have access to the Internet and those who do not has greatly widened. Age used to be the primary factor in this division. Younger generation was more likely to have easier access to the Internet and knew how to utilize it to its advantage.
  

   These days, however, people mostly have access to the Internet regardless of their age. In other words, all generations gained access to the Internet with the establishment of its infrastructure. What is more important now is to know how to use the Internet intelligently to acquire the information they want.

   Recently, social media and social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook and Twitter have garnered huge attention from the public. According to a special report published by The Economist, these media channels enable people to establish social networks with people all around the globe with a small amount of effort. Moreover, they are transforming the way people gather information. In addition, smart phones, connected to the Internet and social media, are making people’s lives more ubiquitous than ever. This means people can access the Internet whenever they want to.

   Surprisingly, age does not play a pivotal role when it comes to the use of social media. According to a survey, people in their 40s actively engage themselves in the use of social media while people in their 20s have only a slightly higher participation rate. Thus, it is quite obvious that a new digital divide will surface from now on. This time, it has nothing to do with people’s age. Rather, it is more important for individuals to know how to take advantage of these social network sites. Thus, I propose to write a dissertation that delves into the current use of social media and its impact on the digital divide.
 

2. Research objectives
   The objective of this dissertation lies in figuring out and having a glimpse of the current use of social media by different age groups. Then, it will identify the relationship between the use of social media and the digital divide. It will further prove that this new digital divide created by the social media is not dependent upon age. By delving into the topic, this dissertation hopefully can propose how to remedy this chasm.
 

3. Research questions
- What are social media and social networking sites?
- How different age groups utilize social media and social networking sites?
- How social media and social networking sites transformed the way people gather information?
- What social implications do social media and social networking sites have on our society?
- Is age really an insignificant factor when it comes to the new digital divide?
 

4. Research methods
- Survey questions: Asking people from different age groups about their use of social media and social networking sites
- Books: Grasping the background of social media and social networking sites and its development
- Authorities: Consult experts in this field, including the CEO of my internship company, on the prospects of social media and social networking sites
- Internet: Gather the necessary information to corroborate my argument and proofs
Statistics is the most integral part of my research, for the results of statistics is crucial in determining whether this new digital divide, as I claimed, has nothing to with the people’s age. Thus, I will collect as many specimens as possible to minimize the error of my research.
 

5. Significance of the Research
   People traditionally have assumed that older people are less apt at acquiring information that younger ones. This claim was partially true before the introduction of social media and social networking sites. However, as I will prove in my dissertation, age plays a less significant role in the realm of social media and social networking sites. Thus, my dissertation will help readers correctly comprehend a new definition of digital divide, one that is regardless of age. Moreover, this dissertation hopefully can propose then what role the government and individuals should play in order to fill in this wide gap.