Digital divide, the gap between those with access to information technology and those without it, is a major concern of the country. In the latest research funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement, many children from low income families now have access to a variety of technology to help aid in learning.
Specifically, nearly 75 percent of caregivers at the federal poverty level (annual household income of less than $25,000) report they subscribe to cable television, two-thirds have DVD players, more than half have mobile telephones, more than one-third have computers and more than one-quarter have home access to the Internet.
Most notably, while television took nearly three decades to become universal, nearly 40 percent of low income families now have computers and almost a third have Internet access at home in just the last five to seven years.
This new research suggests that given the proliferation of media across the socioeconomic spectrum, although significant differences do exist by income level, a stark digital divide no longer captures the relationship between income and technology ownership and that technology is integrated into children’s lives, regardless of their families’ income.
Originally posted on October 24, 2007 @ 3:30 am
i’ll be interested to see what mitt romney says on the issue coming up. he agreed to speak on this topic.
Just 11% of households with incomes below $30,000 subscribe to high speed broadband at home. There is also still a huge rural/urban digital divide. When comared to other countries it becomes apparent that we are not even close to reaching our potential. The Communications Workers Of America’s project, Speed Matters addresses this issue. Check out their website at http://www.speedmatters.org