Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Digital Divide

What is the Digital Divide?

The "digital divide" is a term that refers to the gap between those who currently benefit from computers and Internet resources and those who cannot. The digital divide includes not only the lack of access to technology and the training to use it, but also the lack of information online that meets the literacy and life-needs of underserved communities.

Why Does the Digital Divide Matter?

Research has found that workers who use computers can earn significantly more income than those who do not. Increasingly students use the Internet as the primary source of information in completing school assignments. Lower-income Americans often cannot reap the benefits computers and the Internet offer because of the lack of technology access in their communities. Making computers and the Internet available through schools, libraries, and community technology centers is one important way to provide lower-income Americans the ability to share in the benefits offered by the technological revolution, including better paying jobs, easier access to public benefits, and vast amounts of information not easily available otherwise.

How Do We Know There is a Digital Divide?

• Unequal Access by Income
  79% of households earning $75,000 and above per year have Internet access at any location compared to 25% of households earning less than $15,000 per year.
• Unequal Access by Race and Ethnicity
  68% of Hispanics and 60% of Blacks do not have access to the Internet. An estimated 50 million Americans face a "content gap" online. These individuals face literacy barriers, language barriers, lack of cultural diversity, and lack of local information.
• Unequal Access by Location
  47% of rural households do not have access to the Internet.

Why Does the Digital Divide Matter to Children and Their Families?

• The Internet and information technologies are valuable tools for educational advancement and to promote self-sufficiency. When very low-income Americans are able to access the Internet, 37% of individuals earning less than $15,000 annually, and 27% of individuals earning between $15,000 and $24,999 use the Internet to complete school assignments; approximately 22% of Americans earning less than $24,999 use the Internet to search for jobs.
• 60% of jobs today require skills in technology, and those jobs pay considerably higher than jobs that do not involve technology. People who use computers on the job earn 43% more than workers not using computers.
• Increasingly, the Internet is the way families are expected to receive government benefits for which they qualify? Food Stamps, Medicaid and Medicare information, or Social Security.
• Of Internet users in the U.S., 77% say that having Internet access has improved their lives.
• Of U.S. parents, 75% believe that the Internet is a positive learning tool.

What Goals Should We Work for in Addressing the Digital Divide?

1. Prepare all young people with the technology literacy skills needed for today's jobs and civic life.
2. Ensure that our schools and communities equip individuals with the technology skills they will need to be contributing members of society.
3. Ensure adequate funding is provided for schools and communities that will allow them to offer technology resources.
4. Put technology to work to address the needs of low-income and underserved communities.

See "What Can You Do to Help Bridge the Digital Divide?" below for further information.

What Resources Are Available?

• Benton Foundation
• The Children's Partnership
• Digital Divide Network
• Nat'l Telecommunications and Information Admin.

What Can You Do to Help Bridge the Digital Divide?

1. Gather the facts about the Digital Divide in your community. Digital Divide statistics for your state can be found at The Children's Partnership's (TCP) Web site.
2. Develop briefing materials tailored to your community to educate elected officials along with civic and corporate leaders. Studies and reports you can base your briefing materials on can be found on numerous sites, including TCP, Benton's Digital Divide Network, and the Morino Institute. Also, visit http://www.digitalempowerment.org/devel/ for current news and briefing materials on the Digital Divide, and learn the role the federal government has played in supporting digital empowerment in your state.
3. Set out an action agenda with milestones you want to accomplish for children in the digital age.
4. Join forces with community technology advocates in your city or state. Community technology centers operating within your community can be found at the Digital Divide Network.
5. Educate the media and public about the Digital Divide and why it matters to children and families. Help them understand the link between technology and youth opportunity. Give examples of the difference technology access can make in your local community.
6. Work with elected officials in your city, county or state to promote legislation and budget items that help achieve your agenda for children in the digital age.
7. Track policy proposals that affect the Digital Divide and inform your elected official about your views. OMB Watch, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and your own state or city government's Web site provide ways for you to keep current on policy proposals under consideration.
8. Mobilize civic groups to raise the visibility of this new children's issue. Ask organizations, places of worship, and other community groups you work with to take this agenda to their group and join the organizing effort.
9. Help establish a technology component in after-school and other community-based programs. Examples of how to build a technology program can be found at the Community Technology Centers' Network, Computers in Our Future, and the PowerUp.
10. Encourage local groups to build their own online content. Information produced to meet your community's needs -- whether an online resource of summer youth employment opportunities or child care slots available by neighborhood -- can provide a great training ground for young people to learn information technology skills as well as provide a service for your local community. Visit the Contentbank.

Copyright 2002 The Children's Partnership. Permission to copy, disseminate, or otherwise use this work is normally granted as long as ownership is properly attributed to The Children's Partnership.