In 2007 Kevin Guidry of Indiana University examined the digital divide
in America.
He writes, “Although few of us discuss or
focus on it, the digital divide still exists. There are still large
numbers of Americans who do not own computers or have Internet access at
home. Those who do not have Internet access at home are disproportionately
unemployed, less educated, and Black or Hispanic (U.S. Census,
2009b). Even when considering Internet access outside of the home, those
same disparities still prevail (Horrigan, 2009; U.S. Census, 2009a)” (Guidry,
2007, pp. 1). With smart phones being so prevalent today, could the digital
divide be on its way out the door? Smart phones definitely make the Internet
more accessible, but there are some pretty big issues that cell owners face.
In 2012 the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
conducted a survey that assessed the prevalence of some of the major problems
that cell owners might face, especially amongst smart phones.
They found that: "Some 88% of American
adults have cell phones, according to this survey, and, of those cell owners: 72% of cell owners experience dropped calls
at least occasionally. 68% of cell owners receive unwanted sales or marketing
calls at one time or another. Some 79% of cell phone owners say they use text
messaging on their cells: 69% of those who are texters say they get
unwanted spam or text messages. Some 55% of cell phone owners say they use
their phones to go online (to browse the internet, exchange emails, or
download apps): 77% of cell internet users say they experience slow
download speeds that prevent things from loading as quickly as they would
like" (Boyles & Rainie, 2012, pp. 2). As you can see from this data,
the majority of American adults have cell phones and a lot of them experience
problems. Further, over half of the cell phone owners have smart phones and use
them to go online; with over three quarters of them experiencing issues.
The survey that the Pew
Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project conducted found that the
digital divide still exists.
They claim that: “Non-white cell owners confront
all of these problems at somewhat higher rates than do their white
counterparts. This might be tied to the fact that African-Americans and
Hispanics are more likely than whites to rely on their cell phones as their
primary or exclusive phones for calling and for Internet access” (Boyles & Rainie, 2012, pp. 4). Clearly
whites still own computers or have Internet access at home at a higher
rate than African-Americans and
Hispanics. Due to this, African-Americans and Hispanics tend to rely on their
smart phones to use the Internet. Because they are using their smart phones’
Internet so much more frequently than white people, African-Americans and
Hispanics experience more problems with their smart phones. Even after five years, there is still a
digital divide in America.
Having said that, the digital
divide could disappear in the future.
Today, using a computer to access the Internet is still superior to
using a smart phone. But, I predict that within the next five to ten years (or
maybe even less) the Internet on smart phones will be no different than the Internet
on computers. And consequently, the digital divide will no longer exist.
