GOOD MORNING
DIVINE BARRIENTOS
KAREN LUCERO
THE DIGITAL DIVIDE:
THE CHALLENGE OF
TECHNOLOGY AND EQUITY
(1):
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME DEEPLY INTEGRATED INTO DAILY LIFE. PEOPLE NOW RELY ON
THE INTERNET AND COMPUTERS FOR MANY PURPOSES, SUCH AS SEARCHING AND APPLYING FOR JOBS,
SHOPPING FOR GOODS, CONDUCTING RESEARCH, BOOKING FLIGHTS, AND EXPLORING THEIR
INTERESTS. EMAIL AND ONLINE COMMUNICATION ALSO ALLOW INSTANT CONNECTIONS WITH FRIENDS,
FAMILIES, AND COLLEAGUES ACROSS THE GLOBE. BECAUSE OF THESE USES, COMPUTERS HAVE BECOME
A NORMAL PRESENCE BOTH AT HOME AND IN THE WORKPLACE, SHAPING HOW SOCIETY FUNCTIONS.
(2) :
EVEN THOUGH THE NUMBER OF INTERNET USERS IS INCREASING RAPIDLY EACH YEAR, MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD STILL
LACK ACCESS TO BASIC TECHNOLOGY. IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE EVEN HAVE
TELEPHONES, LET ALONE COMPUTERS OR INTERNET ACCESS. FOR EXAMPLE, ONLY 6% OF PEOPLE IN DEVELOPING NATIONS
ARE CONNECTED TO TELEPHONES. IN THE UNITED STATES, THE SITUATION IS BETTER, BUT NOT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS—
WHILE 94% OF HOUSEHOLDS OWN TELEPHONES, JUST 56% HAVE COMPUTERS AT HOME AND ABOUT 50% HAVE INTERNET.
SOME NATIVE AMERICAN RESERVATIONS ALSO SHOW THE STRUGGLE,
WHERE ONLY 60% OF RESIDENTS HAVE TELEPHONES. WHILE WIRELESS
TECHNOLOGY MAY REDUCE THE NEED FOR PHYSICAL TELEPHONE
LINES, THE HIGH COST OF EQUIPMENT CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR
BARRIER FOR MANY FAMILIES.
(3) :
THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IS STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS SUCH AS INCOME, EDUCATION, RACE, FAMILY TYPE, AND LOCATION. WEALTHIER
FAMILIES ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO HAVE INTERNET ACCESS COMPARED TO LOWER-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. FOR INSTANCE, 85% OF HOUSEHOLDS EARNING MORE THAN
$75,000 HAVE INTERNET ACCESS, WHILE FEWER THAN 20% OF HOUSEHOLDS EARNING UNDER $15,000 ARE CONNECTED. EDUCATION ALSO MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE:
OVER 80% OF COLLEGE GRADUATES USE THE INTERNET COMPARED TO ONLY 40% OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES AND JUST 13% OF DROPOUTS. FAMILY STRUCTURE PLAYS
A ROLE TOO—72% OF TWO-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS HAVE INTERNET ACCESS, COMPARED TO ONLY 40% OF SINGLE-MOTHER HOUSEHOLDS.
RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES ARE CLEAR AS WELL: 55% OF WHITE HOUSEHOLDS HAVE
ACCESS, BUT ONLY 31% OF BLACK AND 32% OF LATINO HOUSEHOLDS DO. ASIAN OR PACIFIC
ISLANDER HOUSEHOLDS ARE HIGHER AT 68%, WHILE AMERICAN INDIAN, ESKIMO, OR ALEUT
HOUSEHOLDS ARE AT 39%. ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, INTERNET USE AMONG CHILDREN UNDER NINE
YEARS OLD AND PEOPLE OVER FIFTY HAS MORE THAN TRIPLED SINCE 1997. IN TERMS OF
GEOGRAPHY, HOUSEHOLDS IN INNER CITIES ARE SLIGHTLY LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ACCESS COMPARED
TO THOSE IN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS, BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS SMALL (AROUND 6%).
(4) :
INEQUALITY IN TECHNOLOGY IS NOT ONLY ABOUT ACCESS TO THE INTERNET BUT ALSO ABOUT JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FIELD. MINORITY GROUPS SUCH AS AFRICAN AMERICANS, LATINOS, AND NATIVE AMERICANS HOLD VERY FEW POSITIONS IN IT-RELATED CAREERS. WOMEN ARE ALSO UNDERREPRESENTED,
MAKING UP ONLY ABOUT 20% OF TECHNOLOGY JOBS AND EARNING FEWER THAN 30% OF COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES. THIS LACK OF REPRESENTATION MEANS THAT WOMEN AND OPPRESSED ETHNIC GROUPS OFTEN MISS OUT ON HIGH-PAYING CAREERS, SINCE COMPUTER SCIENCE GRADUATES RECEIVE SOME OF THE HIGHEST STARTING
SALARIES AMONG ALL COLLEGE GRADUATES.
AS A RESULT, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE ALSO EXTENDS TO
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, PREVENTING MANY
FROM ACHIEVING FINANCIAL GROWTH AND SUCCESS IN
THE TECHNOLOGY SECTOR.
(5) :
SCHOOLS ALSO SHOW SIGNS OF INEQUALITY WHEN IT COMES TO INTERNET ACCESS. WHILE NEARLY ALL SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES (98%) HAVE AT LEAST ONE INTERNET CONNECTION, THE QUALITY AND SPREAD OF ACCESS DIFFER GREATLY. SCHOOLS WITH MORE AFFLUENT STUDENTS
USUALLY HAVE MANY CLASSROOMS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET, GIVING STUDENTS MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO USE TECHNOLOGY. ON THE OTHER HAND, SCHOOLS WITH A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS—MEASURED BY HOW MANY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR FREE LUNCHES—TEND TO
HAVE FEWER CLASSROOMS WITH INTERNET ACCESS. THIS MEANS STUDENTS FROM POORER FAMILIES ARE AT A DISADVANTAGE COMPARED TO THEIR WEALTHIER PEERS, SINCE THEY DO NOT GET THE SAME LEVEL OF EXPOSURE TO TECHNOLOGY IN THEIR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
(6) :
IMPROVING ACCESS TO COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET IS ESSENTIAL TO REDUCING INEQUALITY AMONG DIFFERENT GROUPS IN SOCIETY. HOWEVER, ACCESS ALONE IS NOT
ENOUGH—STUDENTS NEED MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN REAL AND PRACTICAL WAYS. AT PRESENT, THE TECHNOLOGY FIELD IS DOMINATED BY
WHITE MALES, WHICH LEAVES WOMEN AND MINORITY GROUPS UNDERREPRESENTED. SCHOOLS FACE CHALLENGES BECAUSE COMPUTERS AND EQUIPMENT MUST BE
UPDATED REGULARLY, AND MANY CANNOT AFFORD THE COSTS. DESPITE THIS, INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT CAN BE A TOOL FOR
LEARNING ACROSS ALL SUBJECTS.
IF USED IN CULTURALLY RELEVANT AND ENGAGING WAYS, STUDENTS WILL SEE
TECHNOLOGY NOT AS THE END GOAL, BUT AS A TOOL TO ACHIEVE BROADER
LEARNING. THIS APPROACH CAN HELP ALL STUDENTS GAIN VALUABLE SKILLS,
PREPARING THEM FOR FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES AND ENSURING THAT TECHNOLOGY
BECOMES A WAY TO PROMOTE EQUALITY RATHER THAN DEEPEN DIVISIONS.
THANK YOU