1. Chapter 8 Accessing the Machine Online Communication

2. In this chapter you will learn: A definition of informacy and the digital divide; How race and income affect Internet access; Statistics on the increase of Internet use across racial groups; Critiques offered against the digital divide thesis; and The implications for an increasingly networked world. Online Communication

3. informacy: an extension of literacy; a universal right to information digital divide: a statistical difference in access to computer technology between various demographic groups

4. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) In 2002, the NTIA released A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet. The report showed: – Access to the Internet had grown significantly among all demographic categories – Some disparities still existed among racial and income demographic groups. Online Communication

5. Internet Use Percentages by Race, 1998-2001 Online Communication National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (2002). A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet.

6. Critiques of the Digital Divide snapshot critique: the statistics used to argue a disparity in Internet access between demographic groups do not reflect historical trends place, not race critique: disparities in geographic access to the Internet are more significant than comparisons among demographic groups Online Communication

7. Implications of a Networked World Decentralization versus recentralization Fragmentation versus integration Diversity versus homogenization Online Communication United Nations Development Report. (1999). Human development report.

8. A Brief Review 1.What are informacy and the digital divide? 2.To which groups is the digital divide most prominent? 3.How have usage levels changed among demographic groups in recent years? 4.What two arguments counter the digital divide thesis? 5.What are three implications for a networked world? Online Communication