Digital Divide in America

    We would expect that by 2025, the digital divide for American citizens would have drastically narrowed because of how essential access to technology and the internet is in this modern age. This remains expectation unfulfilled today as access to these essentials continue to be out of reach of many families. According to the Pew Research Center, families with lower incomes face difficulties obtaining essential devices like smartphones, computers, tablets, and home broadband.

    Emily A. Vogels writes that 24% of adults with an income below $30,000 a year don't own a smartphone in a survey conducted between January 25th to February 8, 2021 in her article "Digital divide persists even as Americans with lower incomes make gains in tech adoption". Additionally, 41% don't own a computer and a majority of Americans with lower incomes don't own a tablet as well. This is a concerning statistic as 27% of adults living in households earning less than $30,000 a year rely on their smartphones to access the internet. This reliance on smartphones means they are more likely to use these devices for tasks traditionally completed on large-screen devices like tablets and laptops.

    This disparity of online access does not only effect adults, the lack of access affects the younger generation by extension. This is apparent in what is called the "homework gap" for school-aged children. This impact of this gap in access  was called into focus during the COVID-19 pandemic as many schools transitioned from an in-person learning environment to digital. Many low income families faced troubles with reliable internet and a lack in owning computers for assignments.

    

    Now years after the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to see a similar struggle in access to these technologies. To resolve these issues, a focus in increasing government funding to expand access to broadband in low-income areas and in programs that work with low-income schools to provide students with their own personal computers.

Articles Referenced:

Vogels, E. A. (2021, June 22). Digital divide persists even as Americans with lower incomes make gains in tech adoption. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/06/22/digital-divide-persists-even-as-americans-with-lower-incomes-make-gains-in-tech-adoption/