DiMaggio and Hargittai identify the Internet as an important resource in access to content and services ranging from education and government to health and "deliberative spaces for political discussion," and therefore conclude that Internet access is a "significant public policy issue" (p.1).
But they cite several studies that showed that "groups with higher levels of access to the Internet were the same groups (whites, men, residents of urban areas) that had greater access to education, income, and other resources that help people get ahead" (p. 1).
Internet access has been measured as a binary (have/have not), but DiMaggio and Hargittai suggest a redefinition of access "in social as well as technological terms: As the technology penetrates into every crevice of society, the pressing question will be not 'who can find a network connection at home, work, or in a library or community center from which to log on?', but instead, 'what are people doing, and what are they able to do, when they go on-line.’ (p. 3-4) They suggest that "patterns of inequality will reflect not just differences in individual resources, but also the way in which economic and political factors make such differences matter" (p. 4).
DiMaggio and Hargitai define five dimensions of inequality of access that offer a richer picture than the binary terms of have/have not. These are: technical means by which people access the Web, extent to which people exercise autonomy in accessing the Web, inequality in skill of use, inequality in social support, and inequality in purpose for which people use the Internet (p. 8-9).
There are two other forms of inequality that merit attention: cross-national variation in Internet access and the availability of suitable content (DiMaggio and Hargittai, p. 14). "Corporate strategies ... must be taken into systematic account because they continually alter individual-level incentives and constraints that produce inequality of access to the technology" (DiMaggio and Hargittai, p. 15). The example given in the paper, which is somewhat outdated, is whether or not a web site offers a low-graphics or text-only option for users with less advanced equipment. A more modern interpretation of this constraint would be the availability of the website (or app) on a mobile device, as "groups that have traditionally been on the other side of the digital divide in basic Internet access are using wireless connections to go online. Among smartphone owners, young adults, minorities, those with no college experience, and those with lower household income levels are more likely than other groups to say that their phone is their main source of Internet access" (Digital Differences, Pew Internet & American Life Project).
Another aspect of digital inequality that extends organically from the control of corporate strategies in determining content is the nature of the content provided. "Upper-to-middle classes have high-quality access to digital technology because the “80/20 factor” (in which eighty percent of profit is made by serving the most affluent 20%) causes technology designers to work hard at creating 'solutions' specifically for the affluent. ... The result is that even where the poor are provided access to digital technology, they receive mere “localized” versions of products and services intended for the rich" (Smith).
What does all of this mean to us as educators? It's important to realize that our Internet experience might be a very different one from the experience our students have. Their access is likely to be from a mobile device or a public computer that is restricted by security measures that limit viewable content. Mobile devices provide certain apps for free (e.g. Facebook), but other content might be difficult or impossible to access (e.g. any Flash-dependent technology on an iDevice). They might not have social support or skills in using the applications that will help them with school and ultimately employment success. And when they are using our applications, they are our applications, designed for the most affluent 20% of the population.
Are we handing our students "the master's tools" when we teach them to use the Internet? Do we have any other responsible choice?
Digital differences
Kathryn Sickuhr and Aaron Smith
Craig Warren Smith
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