# Social Media and Digital Inequity: Reducing Health Inequities by Closing the Digital Divide
## 4 Access Problems: Defining the Digital Divide  
While social media and digital access continue to increase, around one-third of the world's population still lacks access to the internet. Lack of access is concentrated in developing nations, even though the fastest growth is occurring in these areas. In Africa, just 40% of the population has digital access, while 64% of Asian and Pacific individuals can access online. Social media usage has increased in every region of the world over the last five years, yet large regional differences in access remain (Table 1). The greatest increases in social media were seen in Western and Central Asia, while the smallest were in Eastern and Central Africa. Nonetheless, the gap between the highest and lowest narrowed. In 2019, Eastern Asia had the highest usage (74.9%) and Central Africa the lowest (6.0%)--a 12-fold difference. In 2024, Northern Europe had the highest usage (80.2%) and Central Africa again the lowest (9.9%)--an 8-fold difference. Access disparities exist not only by region but according to gender, age, rural-urban location, and household income. In the 45 least-developed countries, based on the per \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Social Media**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Change in**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Rank Based on**} \\  & **Penetration Rate** & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Penetration Rate**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Penetration Rate**} \\ \hline  & **2019** & **2024** & **2019 to 2024** & **2019** & **2024** \\ \hline GLOBAL AVERAGE & 42.0 & 62.2 & 20.2 & & \\ \hline EUROPE & & & & & \\ Northern Europe & 59.0 & 80.2 & 21.2 & 4 & 1 \\ Western Europe & 45.0 & 78.2 & 33.2 & 10 & 2 \\ Eastern Europe & 40.0 & 70.0 & 30.0 & 12 & 6 \\ Southern Europe & 50.0 & 73.5 & 23.5 & 8 & 4 \\ \hline ASIA & & & & & \\ Eastern Asia & 70.0 & 74.9 & 4.9 & 1 & 3 \\ Western Asia & 46.0 & 66.9 & 20.9 & 9 & 8 \\ Southern Asia & 56.0 & 61.6 & 5.6 & 6 & 10 \\ Central Asia & 8.0 & 37.9 & 29.9 & 17 & 15 \\ Southern Asia & 22.0 & 32.9 & 10.9 & 15 & 16 \\ \hline WESTERN HEMISPHERE & & & & & \\ North America & 61.0 & 70.8 & 9.8 & 2 & 5 \\ South America & 61.0 & 67.7 & 6.7 & 3 & 7 \\ Central America & 59.0 & 66.7 & 7.7 & 5 & 9 \\ Caribbean & 44.0 & 51.3 & 7.3 & 11 & 12 \\ \hline OCEANIA & 51.0 & 59.9 & 8.9 & 7 & 11 \\ \hline AFRICA & & & & & \\ Southern Africa & 36.0 & 42.5 & 6.5 & 14 & 13 \\ Northern Africa & 37.0 & 41.5 & 4.5 & 13 & 14 \\ Western Africa & 12.0 & 16.5 & 4.5 & 16 & 17 \\ Eastern Africa & 7.0 & 10.5 & 3.5 & 18 & 18 \\ Central Africa & 6.0 & 9.9 & 3.9 & 19 & 19 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Global social media penetration rate * by region, 2019 [25] vs. 2024 [26]. centage of individuals using the internet in 2022, digital access gaps exist for the female population (30 percent online versus 43 percent of males), the older population (26 percent online among people 25 and older versus 48 percent for 15- to 24-year olds), and rural populations (28 percent online versus 52 percent in urban areas) [27]. While industrialized nations have robust access levels, access remains stratified in these nations. Almost a quarter of American adults from households with incomes below USD 30,000 per year do not own a smartphone; 41% do not own a laptop, and 43% lack home broadband services. Conversely, almost two-thirds of adults in households making over USD 100,000 per year possess more than one device to access the internet, and 93% of such individuals have broadband services [28]. Almost a fifth of people living on tribal lands in the U.S. lack access to broadband; this is true for just 4% of Americans not living on tribal lands [29]. The digital divide is not just about access, however. The ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information is defined as \"digital literacy\" [30]. It also plays a significant role in determining who can access health information through social media and the internet.