1. Issues in the Digital Divide Info 280 February 15, 2007 Mahad Ibrahim

2. Universal Service 2.0 The concept of "universal service" in U.S. telecommunications policy has traditionally referred to the goal that all Americans should have access to affordable telephone service. As America has increasingly become an information society, however, that concept has broadened to include access to information services. Now that a considerable portion of today's business, communication, and research takes place on the Internet, access to the computers and networks may be as important as access to traditional telephone services. NTIA, FALLING THROUGH THE NET II:NEW DATA ON THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

3. Emergence of a Concept “Digital Divide” developed to describe situation in the US Initial concept about equity rather than developmental power ICT4D an out growth of the digital divide –Internationalization –Leapfrogging

4. Dimensions of the Divide Caveat: household access does not equal use Regional (highest in northeast and west) Employment status (higher among the employed) Income (rises linearly with income) Education (80% of college grads had access) Race/Ethnicity (highest among asian-americans and non- hispanic whites) Age (highest among those under 25) Gender (no longer an issue) Family Structure (households w/ children have higher access)

6. Critiques Many have rejected binary and time-based measures –Access/non-access or time spent online Physical vs. Social Access Global, Social, and Democratic divides 5 dimensions –Technical means, autonomy of use, use patterns, social support, skill Second-level divide - ability to search effectively and efficiently

7. Non-users Not all non-use is involuntary Continuum of non-users –Intermittent, dropouts, lack desire to use

8. Then and Now In the US, many disparities have diminished –Geographic High income and presence of children still lead to higher access Presence of computers and access to Internet increasing across the board

9. Implications What do we mean by access? Does access have implications for life chances?