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Digital Divide

The Digital Divide: Alive and Widening in the U.S.

By Jason Aloia ⋅ March 25, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Lately I’ve been marveling at the capacity my kids, and kids in general, show for learning computer-related skills and concepts.  As much as I love my parents, I can’t say the same for them.  I fear there may be something to that Old Dog, New Tricks adage.

I started thinking on the topic of basic computer skills.  Computer skills are a vital component to modern literacy.  What’s going to become of those kids growing up in households without computers?  Experts agree.  They will quickly fall behind the curve, effectively widening the “Digital Divide” - that socioeconomic chasm between this generation’s literates and illiterates.

I’m no expert on this topic, not by any stretch.  But the little research I’ve done was alarming.  Take Robert Fairlie’s findings, which appeared in the October, 2005 issue of Economics of Education.

Among his findings:

  • Teenagers who have access to home computers are 6 to 8 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school than teens who lack access to a home computer, after reportedly controlling for individual, parental, and family characteristics.
  • Only 50.6 percent of blacks and 48.7 percent of Latinos have access to home computers, compared with 74.6 percent of whites.
  • Only 40.5 percent of blacks and 38.1 percent of Latinos have internet access at home, compared with 67.3 percent of whites.
  • Among children, slightly more than half of all black and Latino children have access to a home computer, and about 40 percent have internet access at home. By comparison, 85.5 percent of white children have home computer access, and 77.4 percent can use the internet at home.

    • I intend to start looking into how Washoe County stacks up…

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    Discussion

    4 comments for “The Digital Divide: Alive and Widening in the U.S.”

    1. Jason! Just heard you recently made some changes and I was hoping I could find out what you are up too on-line. Found your blog. Wishing you the very best of everything. Teri Guy

      Posted by Teri Guy | May 3, 2007, 8:46 am

    2. We send cheap laptops to foreign countries but have a hard time raising the computer literacy levels of our own citizens. Nice! I’d like to trade the Iraq War for computers for every child in America.

      Posted by Robert Payne | May 4, 2007, 11:29 am

    3. A-men to that, Robert! I’ve been slacking on this blog - but since this post meetings with administrators at Sparks and Swope middle schools here in Washoe county. The income/computer-literacy correlation is what you might expect.

      Posted by Jason Aloia | May 5, 2007, 5:23 am

    4. Interesting…. I just wish I could convince your old man to really learn the basics so he can enjoy reading your journal. You know he is so proud of you! I am, too! :)

      Posted by Aida Aloia | May 30, 2007, 8:22 pm

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