Blog 2: Digital Divide

Recently, I was reading an article that shed some light on something many people aren't aware of. When I thought about the digital divide, I pictured third world countries that are unable to even stay fed and lack the proper technology to get online or even do everyday things. America tends to be a spoiled country and is much more fortunate than many others. After reading this article, it occurred to me that a digital divide exists in our own country. There are so many less fortunate people who live here.

Of the 311 million people who live in America, just over 200 million have access to a high speed wired internet at home. This is still a large number, but what about the remaining 111 million people without it? Well, smartphones allow internet access. In the last four years, the amount of people with smartphones has went from 10% to 34%. That makes up for a little, but with all the caps that cellphone companies require, you can do all the things online as you'd like.

The real shocking numbers are that 90% of people with a $75,000 income have high speed internet, where as 4 out of 10 households with an income below $25,000 income have high speed internet. The digital divide doesn't just exist economically, but it does racially as well. To quote the article, "Only slightly more than half of all African-American and Hispanic households (55 percent and 57 percent, respectively) have wired Internet access at home, compared with 72 percent of whites."

But enough with numbers, let's get to the real issue at hand. Besides our drastically receding economy, with all the others expenses that people have in their lives, internet is just too expensive for many to afford. Further reading, the author Susan Crawford makes a good point. The lack of competition and unregulated services is greatly effecting the divide. If you think about it, there are only a few companies who are providing internet services. Verizon, Comcast, Clearwire, and maybe a few more to count. They don't see the need to expand into less populated area, so they won't install the wiring. Companies that are providing a service are supposed to be considering their customers needs at hand.

While I don't agree than the content online should be regulated and I do agree that internet should be a purchased service and not a government responsibility, I believe that maybe there should be a government influence on costs of high speed internet. Corporations are continuously hiking the costs every day. Soon, majority of the middle and lower class will not be able to afford the service at all. A change needs to be taken into effect. Access to the internet and information from around the world should be a primary focus to everyone. The world has become ever changing. Without the technology we have readily available today, we're going to be stuck in a standstill.