The Digital Divide 1

The Digital Divide: Haves versus Have-nots

Kathryn Stirk

University of Illinois
 The Digital Divide 2

The Digital Divide: Haves versus Have-nots

For many years, a chasm has existed between those with access to technology and those

without. There are a large number of reasons that technology is so inaccessible to particular

individuals, varying from income level to physical location to necessary skills. Not only does this

limited access to technological resources hinder many children’s education, but it also affects

America’s competitiveness, productivity, and workforce employability. While many understand

there is still a necessity for further growth, there are an occasional few under the belief that

technology has already changed significantly across the nation. However, statistics support the

former desire to continue trying to close the present technological gap. Although several changes

have occurred within the digital world to assist the way young people learn, play, socialize, and

participate in civic life, there still remains a significant digital divide amongst those with an ease

of access to technological resources and those without.

Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology, describes our culture as a participatory culture, one where there is a

significant amount of community support primarily for artistic expression and civic engagement.

Jenkins lists numerous benefits for involvement in this participatory culture, ranging from

potential peer-to-peer learning opportunities to the development of specific skills important to

the modern workplace. However, the increasing participation gap within our society significantly

dampens the broad development of these beneficial skills. Jenkins (2006) defines this

participation gap as “the unequal access to the opportunities, experiences, skills, and knowledge

that will prepare the youth for full participation in the world of tomorrow” (p. 3). In other words,

a large number of individuals are receiving different experiences and opportunities than others. It

is important for both current educators and prospective teachers to provide all students with an
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equal opportunity for education, helping them to achieve these particular experiences and skills.

However, many students continue to not receive this chance.

Additionally, our digital world is constantly updating itself, making it more and more

difficult for students with limited access to technology to maintain the same level of education as

their peers with access. Not only is our digital world changing on a daily basis, but mandatory

school filtering software and outdated technological machines significantly hinder children’s

education, making it even harder for them to keep up with their peers. In contrast, cities across

the nation, such as Philadelphia, Boston, and Cambridge, plan to offer Internet access free of

charge throughout their cities. In an interview, Philadelphia mayor John Street stated,

“Philadelphia will allow low-income families…to be able to be fully and completely connected.

We believe that our public school children should be—their families have to be connected or else

they will fall behind, and, in many cases, never catch up” (Jenkins, Purushotma, Clinton, Weigel,

& Robison, 2006, p. 12). Plans to provide free high-speed wireless Internet access hope to

combat the increasing participation gap as well as provide all students with the same experiences

both at home and at school, in turn closing the achievement gap.

Data Presentation and Analysis

Although the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 calls for improved academic

achievement through the use of technology among other demands, there still remains a

significant digital divide between the technology haves and have-nots. Computer and Internet

access within schools has considerably increased over recent years, yet there are still many

obstacles to overcome. From differences in income to physical distance to necessary knowledge,

there is a large variety of explanations for the inaccessibility to specific technological resources.
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Historically, middle-class youth have had access to books and additional resources in their

homes, helping them perform well in school, while on the other hand, working-class youth rarely

receive this attention and help at home. In a 2009 study by the Pew Foundation’s Internet and

American Life project, it was found that “85 percent of households with an income exceeding

$75,000 have broadband service, more than double the 42 percent of households earning less

than $30,000 that have Internet service” (Giegerich, 2009, para. 9). When a family’s personal

income level limits children’s access to the Internet and other technological resources, it must be

available in other places, such as at school or the local library, to specifically benefit all students.

However, even when these sources are available elsewhere, children still must find the time and

transportation to get to its physical location. Washington University social welfare professor

Mark Rank, who teaches a course on poverty, reports, “If you don’t have the resources, you’re

going to wind up exerting a lot more energy to do the same things that those with resources do”

(Giegerich, 2009, para. 9). This unnecessary effort discourages the use of technology for

learning, thus hindering children’s education.

Not only is it becoming more difficult to access computers and Internet, but these sources

are also becoming more essential to beneficial opportunities and preparation for the modern

workforce, thrusting those without access deeper into a hole. For Americans who need help with

using simple computer applications, such as the Internet and Microsoft Word, “finding a new job

during a time of high unemployment can be especially difficult” (Johnson, 2009, para. 6). This

makes basic computer skills crucial to the lives of low-income children to not only help receive

an equal opportunity for education, but also an equal opportunity within the future workforce.

Therefore, the lack of computer skills among so many Americans significantly affects both their

current education as well as their prosperity in the future.

Rathbun and her two colleagues analyzed data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal

Study of the kindergarten class of 1998-1999 regarding children’s access to and use of computers

in both their homes and schools. They reported,

In kindergarten, some minority children and those from lower-SES families were

less likely to attend schools that provided Internet access. In first grade, children

from the lowest SES group continued to have less access to the Internet in

comparison to first-graders in the highest SES group. Kindergarteners and first-

graders in the lowest SES group were also less likely to have a computer area in

their classroom…and at home. (Rathbun, West, & Hausen, 2003, p. 1).

It is important for children to have these resources available at an early age, helping to prevent a

further divide among students in the future. Studies have shown that technology accessibility,

especially at home, positively affects both students’ academic achievement and success in the

future workplace. The lack of computer and Internet access within homes is generally correlated

to specific lower socioeconomic statuses. More specifically, in North Carolina, existing research

results document a “positive association between moderate computer use and achievement in

across-student comparisons” (Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2008, p. 34). Thus, when children are

taught within their early elementary years to effectively use computers and Internet sources for

their schoolwork and studies, it benefits their education and their future.

Perspectives and Positions

While some believe a considerable amount of progress is still necessary to improve the

digital divide, others are under the impression that we have already made this digital progress. In

general, the nation is still fighting the growing split between those who have access to computers
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and those who do not. The United States federal funding program has tried creating a program,

E-Rate, to provide discounts on technology resources, helping to “ensure access equity across

poor and rich, rural, urban, and suburban areas, and highly served and underserved areas” (Park,

Sinha, & Chong, 2007, p. 1). Although E-Rate significantly improved the availability of

technology, it did not necessarily permanently fix the digital divide between schools. Due to

funding issues, it eventually led to a growth in this chasm among rich and poor schools as well as

rural and urban schools.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration reports statistics and

tables displaying the portion of households across our nation with increased computer and

Internet access over recent years. More specifically, “groups that have traditionally been have-

nots are now making dramatic gains” (National Telecommunications and Information

Administration [NTIA], 2000, p. 1). The large participation gap between rural and non-rural

households, men and women, the elder and the young as well as between different races have all

began narrowing. Nonetheless, a digital divide still remains. Therefore, many believe that our

education system should now be addressing different issues in regards to academic achievement.

Some argue that students’ education will not be improved by increasing our nation’s

technological access. Rather than focusing on unnecessary technology, as educators and

perspective teachers, we should be brainstorming ways to simply encourage student involvement

within society.

In my opinion, the digital divide that particularly exists between rich and poor schools as

well as simply served and underserved areas is clear. Our approach to solving this issue by

increasing the number of computers within both homes and schools in addition to providing free

Internet access across the nation needs to be reevaluated. I strongly believe that the availability
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of both computers and Internet access is important to an individual’s education, yet technology

can only help educate our youth if used effectively. Not only can the ineffective use of

technology hinder students’ education, but the present inequity existing between schools with

and without technological resources offers significantly different levels of education to students.

To help combat these issues, I believe it is necessary for our schools to educate students on how

to properly utilize technological resources. Teachers should be required to attend specialized

training to provide the best education for their students. With this proper education, students will

benefit much greater from the use of technology in the classroom as well as receive better

preparation for their future in the modern workforce.

Overall, the digital divide remains a central issue behind academic achievement. There

are numerous reasons why a large percentage of Americans do not have access to the necessary

technological resources important to their personal education, varying from income level to

physical location to necessary skills. While organizations, such as the federal government, have

created programs to counter the growing technological gap, statistics defining academic

achievement have vaguely changed. In other words, the digital divide remains prevalent in

today’s society, calling to question the current methods being used to combat this issue.
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References

Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2008, July 29). Scaling the digital divide: Home

computer technology and student achievement. Duke University, 1-55. Retrieved October

11, 2009, from

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/events/colloquia/Vigdor_ScalingtheDigitalDivide.

pdf

Giegerich, S. (2009, October 9). Some job seekers work without net. St. Louis Today. Retrieved

October 11, 2009, from

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/B6F13EDF8074A760862576

4A000A12B4

Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M., & Robison, A. J. (2006). Confronting the

challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. New Media

Literarcies, 1-68. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from

http://www.newmedialiteracies.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf

Johnson, A. (2009, October 2). Lack of computer skills foils many job-seekers. MSNBC.

Retrieved October 11, 2009, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33106445

National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (2000, October). Falling through

the net: Toward digital inclusion. A report on Americans’ access to technology tools.

Abstract retrieved October 18, 2009, from

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1

6/c7/61.pdf
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Park, E., Sinha, H., & Chong, J. (2007). Beyond access: An analysis of the influence of the E-

Rate program in bridging the digital divide in American schools. Journal of Information

Technology Education, 6, 387-406. Abstract retrieved October 11, 2009, from

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Rathbun, A. H., West, J., & Hausken, E. G. (2003, March). Young children’s access to

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