Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains the phenomena of digital divide and digital inequalities from a theoretical perspective. It discusses the phenomenon of digital divide using four well known approaches/theorists: Simmel, Bourdieu, Freud and Weber. Massimo Ragnedda and Maria Laura Ruiu propose a perspective that investigates the potential new applications of social capital in the context of digital divide and explores how social and digital capital are interrelated. Barbara Barbosa Neves and Geoffrey Mead use Max Weber's interpretive perspective (known as verstehen) and his concept of the ideal type to provide a theoretical framework that can critically explore non-use(s) and its different meanings and effects. Indeed, the Weberian perspective offers both a holistic and situational analysis of the digital divide and of what non-use signifies for social actors.