The gap between individuals, families, organizations and geographic areas that enjoy access to the Internet and those that do not is defined as the digital divide. Around the time of the New Economy, it became hard for many Americans to recognize that the majority of the world’s population has never logged on to the Internet. Many privileged Americans do not realize how advanced and high tech our lives have become, especially compared to the rest of the world. Currently, privileged people in everyday life and in educational discourse people commonly talk about wikis, streaming videos, podcasts, blogs, tweets, and other high technology terms. In a Pew Research Study, we learn that in 2010 40% of people with an income of less than $30,000 had Broadband in their home. 87% of people earning $75,000 or more had Broadband in their home. This statistic just shows the fact that they have basic Broadband access in their homes. However, it does not take into account the other factors such as the speed of connection, computer skills, and support in the environment.
Every year, a tremendous amount of money and energy is spent to “close the Digital Divide”. However, many people claim that the Digital Divide continues to get wider. Statistics show that benefits of the online economy continue to channel to the wealthy. However, some say that the decreasing price of laptops, more computers available in public schools and libraries and other advancements have all contributed to closing the divide. The steepest growth in Internet access and use is among the younger generation. But blacks and other minorities of various ages are increasingly using the digital world for the first time in history. According to a Pew national survey, of adults, 74% of whites go online, 61% blacks do, and 80% of English speaking Hispanic Americans report using the Internet. A similar survey by Pew in 1998 shows that we have made significant improvements. Only 42% of white adults said they used the Internet. In 1998, only 23% of black adults reported using the Internet. Whereas in 2006, 61% of black adults did. Another factor that affects the digital divide is geographic location, which includes whether one lives in a rural, suburban or urban environment as well as regions across the country. As you can see from the map, the east coast of the country uses Broadband Internet much more than the west side of the US.
According to Edutopia, there are many divides characterized by community, ethnic, economic, education and age groups. For example, only 6.6% of people with elementary school education or less use the Internet. Also, people with college degrees or higher are ten times more likely to have Internet access at work than people with only some high school education. The divide in America’s classrooms reflects the disadvantages that poor people suffer. In 1998, While the percentage of schools with at least one connection to the Internet increased from 89% to 95% in just one year, the nation’s poorest schools (where 71% or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches) made no progress in expanding Internet connections for classrooms. Clearly, a wide range of factors effect people's access to the Internet. Many people and organizations are working towards closing the Digital Divide. Next, we will look into what is being done now about the issue in regard to education in the "Current Practices" page.
Resources:
Edutopia, "Mending the Breach: Overcoming the Digital Divide" has statistics and analysis of basic issues of the digital divide and who it affects.
Pew Internet Research I got information about how race and income effect Internet access.
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