Neda Pourkhalil, Mansoor Koohi Rostamo,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (3-2019)
Abstract
Background and Aim: The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of information poverty, its levels and its causes in society
Methods: The article is a review-analytical paper.
Results: The findings show that information poverty is part of the larger problem of poverty and results from socioeconomic, educational and infrastructural issues. Information poverty can be discussed at macro (community), meso (society) and micro (personal) levels. Several factors, including the lack of access to information, the inability of meaning to information, socioeconomic and infrastructural factors and context-related factors, contribute to the creation or intensification of information poverty in society. It has also been shown that educational, economic/ financial, institutional, social/ cultural, mental/ diagnostic, personal/ attitudinal, and information awareness contributes to the creation of information poverty.
Conclusion: Information poverty is a concept that is less addressed in the literature of knowledge and information science. Considering the necessity of recognizing it in order to confront and reduce it in society, this paper, while addressing the importance of information poverty, the concepts of poverty, Information, information poverty, information poor, vulnerable groups, and reasons causing information poverty, and showed that this concept has overlapping themes with inequality of information, information gap, information divide, information rich and poor, digital divide and the balance of information