You’re familiar with the "digital divide" as it relates to those with Internet access vs. those without. Tim Berners-Lee, widely regarded as having been instrumental in the creation of the web, believes there’s a second type of digital divide relating to those who possess programming skills vs. those who only know how to use standard programs such as word processors.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Berners-Lee said that those who can code can "make a computer do whatever you can imagine." Other users treat a computer more like an appliance. "When it breaks, they shout, ‘Mum!" he stated. Berners-Lee argues that a lack of coding skills puts users at the mercy of "a bunch of companies who would love to be able to lock it down, so you can only run the applications that they allow; the ones you can get from their app store."
He suggests that all students should be exposed to hands-on coding lessons, which would help create a new generation of coders and logical thinkers.