SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY ERA ISD REVIEW
Keywords:
Social Inequality, Digital Economy, Basic Social Science, Social Justice, Social DevelopmentAbstract
The development of the digital economy has changed the way people interact in the social, economic, and cultural fields. On the one hand, the digital economy opens up new opportunities in increasing efficiency, accessing information, and encouraging economic growth. However, on the other hand, the digitalization process also creates and widens social inequality, especially in terms of access to technology, digital capabilities, job opportunities, and social participation. This article aims to analyze the social inequality today that is influenced by the digital economy using the Basic Social Science (ISD) approach as the main framework to analyze the problem. This research uses a qualitative method with a literature study approach. Data is collected from various sources such as books, scientific journals, international organization reports, as well as policy documents related to digital economy issues and social inequality. The data was analyzed descriptively-analytically to show the relationship between the advancement of digital technology, social structure, and the role of the government in managing the social impact of the digitalization process. Research findings show that the digital economy has not been able to fully encourage the equal distribution of social welfare. Digital inequality still occurs in various aspects, such as differences between regions, gender, age, education, and access to public digital services. In addition, the strength of the market mechanism and the lack of state intervention have the potential to strengthen structural inequality and social exclusion. From the perspective of ISD, this condition shows the importance of a development approach that not only focuses on economic growth, but also targets social justice, inclusivity, and sustainability. This article concludes that integrating the perspective of Basic Social Science in digital economic policy is a major need. The government, together with the community and the private sector, must ensure that the digital economy develops as a fair, humane, and sustainable social transformation tool for all segments of society.
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