14 Digital literacies and the new digital divide 90 Sophia Mavridi De Montfort University, UK New technologies have become pervasive in the way people live, work, learn and communicate, challenging our values and norms in education and literacy. This chapter argues that along with the traditional access inequalities, there is a new and increasingly concerning digital divide that separates those who have the literacies to use technology in a critical, responsible and sophisticated manner and those who do not. After exploring the impact of this disparity on students, this chapter introduces a Digital Literacies (DLs) framework and explores the role of English Language Teaching (ELT) in bridging the gap. Finally, the principles underlying the integration of DLs into language education contexts are laid out along with practical considerations of what this may involve. Introduction Digital technologies have become increasingly pervasive in the way people live, learn and communicate enabling us to access unprecedented amounts of information and connectivity. Because of their tremendous global growth, “arguably the fastest growth of any other technology in history” (Warschauer, 1997, p. 470), they have found their way into all walks of life including education and ELT. According to Motteram (2013), despite the digital divisions that still exist, digital technologies are increasingly becoming “a core part” (p. 5) of ELT. Because of this power, however, uneven access to technology can amplify existing social, cultural and economic inequalities, creating the so called ‘digital divide’. The term was originally coined to refer to the gap between demographics with access to broadband and those without (Compaine, 2001), but since then it is also used for divisions in fast-speed devices and connectivity as well as affordable connections. Because using the internet can have an overwhelmingly positive impact on people’s lives, the digital divide can be problematic for those on the less-served side of it. As UNICEF (2017) put it, “to be unconnected in a digital world is to be deprived of new opportunities to learn, communicate and develop skills for the twenty-first century workplace” (p. 43). Progress in “access, affordability and quality of coverage” (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2019, p. 4) has helped to considerably narrow this gap although, quite unsurprisingly, low- income nations are still falling behind. Around 30% of young people globally do not use the internet and almost “9 out of 10 of them live in Africa, Asia or the Pacific” (UNICEF, 2017, p. 43). As efforts to close these access disparities are well underway, a new digital divide comes into play. This divide does not merely separate the connected from the unconnected but goes deeper to reflect new social inequalities that emerge. The digital literacy divide While access to technology is the defining means to many online opportunities, evidence shows that the benefits go to those with the knowledge to leverage it (UNICEF, 2017). This deep knowledge involves a critical understanding of the opportunities and risks available online and it is by no means a by-product of access to technology or technical skills (Hobbs, 2010; James et al., 2009; Livingstone et al., 2014). In fact, it seems that exposure to technology may amplify the likelihood of certain risks. For example, research suggests that despite their extensive engagement with technology, young people may lack the skills to evaluate online information effectively or avoid potentially dangerous online contact and conduct (Byron,