The "Digital Divide" and Community Technology

A recurrent issue surrounding the development of the Internet is whether this technology is creating a new class of "have-nots," those without access to the Internet or to the money required to acquire access. Internet access is not cheap -- it requires a computer, a modem, and an Internet account. There are also disparities in access to broadband technologies. The "digital divide" exists within nations and of course between nations and regions of the world.

What is the scope of this problem? What should we do about it? Should we do anything, or will it take care of itself over time?

We will also look at the concept of "community technology," which is often the approach used to bridge the "digital divide." This covers community networks, community technology centers, and new tools meant to encourage participation and expression.

Readings

The United States government agency, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), published a series of reports on the "digital divide" in the U.S., beginning in 1995. The following three reports are part of this series; the first two are from the Clinton administration and the last is from the Bush administration. Review these reports briefly, skimming them for background information about the historical character of the concept of the "digital divide" in the United States, keeping in mind that the data presented in these reports is now considerably out of date. Also note the change in emphasis and philosophy from the Clinton-era to the Bush-era reports.

Falling Through the Net: A Survey of the "Have Nots" in Rural and Urban America, U.S. Department of Commerce, July 1995. At: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html.

Falling Through the Net 1999, at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/contents.html.

A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet, February 2002, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/index.html.

See the World Internet User Statistics page at http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm.

See the Digital Access Indicator Statistics page at http://www.internetworldstats.com/list3.htm.

"Behind the 'digital divide,'" The Economist, March 10, 2005, at http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3714058

"The real 'digital divide,'" in The Economist, March 10, 2005, at http://www.economist.com/printedition/displaystory.cfm?Story_ID=3742817.Browse the links and resources on the Digital Divide Network, at http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/."Reconceptualizing the Digital Divide," by Mark Warschauer, First Monday, at http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_7/warschauer/index.html.

"Effective use: A community informatics strategy beyond the Digital Divide," by Michael Gurstein, in First Monday, December 2003, at http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/gurstein/.

"Bridging the Organizational Divide: Toward a Comprehensive Approach to the Digital Divide," a PolicyLink document, Fall 2001, at http://www.policylink.org/pdfs/Bridging_the_Org_Divide.pdf. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF-file reading application. Also on course E-Res.)

Review documents and links of the Community Technology Centers Network, at http://www.ctcnet.org/.Look at the site for Plugged In, in East Palo Alto, California, at: http://www.pluggedin.org/.Look at the site for Austin Free-Net, at: http://www.austinfree.net/.Look at the site for the Austin Learning Academy, at: http://www.alaweb.org/

Further Optional Reading:

Democracy in the Digital Age: Challenges to Political Life in Cyberspace, Anthony Wilhelm, Routledge, 1999.

High Technology and Low-Income Communities, William J. Mitchell, Donald A. Schön and Bish Sanyal (eds.), The MIT Press, 1999.

The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Manuel Castells, Blackwell, 1999.

Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide, Mark Warschauer, MIT Press, 2004.

Bridging the Digital Divide: Technology, Community, and Public Policy, Lisa J. Servon, Blackwell, 2002.

Digital Nation: Toward an Inclusive Information Society, Anthony Wilhelm, MIT Press, 2005.