The New Digital Divide

Rod Carveth
Rochester Institute of Technology
email: docrod99@hotmail.com

In April, the Pew Internet and American Life project released a report that reveals another type of digital divide. This divide is not the usual suspects citizens who live in rural areas, who have low incomes, who are minority group members, who are less educated, who are elderly or who are disabled. While this new digital divide contains members of all these groups, those who choose NOT to be wired create this digital divide. There are a myriad of reasons why citizens who could get on the information superhighway prefer to travel the limited access highway of traditional media: financial, social, psychological and physical.

First, I will report on the groups that the Pew Report identifies as this self-selected digital divide. Second, drawing from Laura Stanley’s research on computer non-users in San Diego, I will note some of the social and psychological reasons that need to be overcome to try to get these people back on right road. Finally, I will offer a couple suggestions as to how that can be accomplished.

Evaders, Dropouts and the Unconnected
The Pew Report identifies several groups of people currently offline (Pew reports that the number as 42%; however, a substantial number of them either have been previous Internet users or live in a household with an Internet user.) The first group is Net Evaders. This group (20% of non-Internet users) lives in a household with someone who uses the Internet. Some net evaders avoid the Internet altogether. Others experience the Net indirectly as other family members share information about information searches or email from friends and family.

Net evaders eschew their opportunities to go online for a number of reasons. Over one-quarter of them (28%) has used the Internet in the past, but did not find it salient to their lives. Another group of Net evaders (14%) had computer access problems (including an inability to get on the Internet because another household member was hogging the time). Other reasons that Net evaders reported for being offline included the fear of becoming addicted to feeling technologically challenged. Some evaders were very content not being part of the online world.

Demographically Net evaders are roughly even in terms of sex (48% male, 52% female). Interestingly, they tend to be between 30 to 50 years old, live in urban and suburban areas, and reside in the Northeast. They are well educated and have comfortable incomes. (50% of Net evaders are from households earning $75,000 or more per year.)

The most interesting finding is that Net evaders tend to be parents. In fact, two-thirds of Net evaders are parents of online children. The can be problematic for two reasons. First, Net evading parents are not in a position to help children use the Internet for homework. Second, by avoiding the Internet, these parents are not sharing the experience with their children, nor monitoring what their children are doing on the Internet. One hopeful sign -- almost half of Net Evaders indicate they will go online some day. Since their households are already wired, cost and access are not issues motivation is.

The report also found that 17% of non-Internet users were once users. This group was classified as Dropouts (this number has increased from 13% since 2000). The vast majority of dropouts have experienced major problems with their computer hardware/software, or with Internet Service Provider.

Demographically, Dropouts mirror some of the characteristics as other members of the digital divide. Many are minority group members, and many come from lower income households (so that paying for a computer and Internet access is an issue for them). On the other hand, many Dropouts are young, are parents, are employed and are urban residents.

The number one reason cited by this group as to why they were dropouts is that they no longer had a computer. A second (and related) reason was that they lost access because they moved, changed jobs or became unemployed. Consequently, online access became a luxury they could no longer afford. In addition, some dropped out because they accessed the Internet outside of home (such as a library), and they could no longer easily access the computer at that location. Among Dropouts, 1829 year olds, high school graduates, and women tended to go offline due Internet access problems.

Just as with Net evaders, many dropouts found the Internet unhelpful and uninteresting, a viewpoint most often expressed by minorities, older former users, those in high-income households and with high levels of education, and men. Finally, some Dropouts cited online content and design issues as reasons for leaving. This group tended to be comprised of white, male suburban residents between the ages of 30 and 49.

One of the troublesome aspects of Dropouts is that they tend to report a more negative outlook on society compared to Internet users. Roughly half of Dropouts believe that most people would take advantage of others given the opportunity, and are dissatisfied with the way things are going in this country today. Many Dropouts indicate they have hardly any people they could turn to for support when they need help and most feel like they have less control over their lives than they desire.

What is hopeful about Net Dropouts is that most do use computers and know other people who are online. Over half (57%) say that they use a computer on at least an occasional basis, and 90% have close friends or family who use the Internet. Twenty-five percent of current Internet users are online now but have dropped off in the past for a lengthy period of time. Sixty-three percent of Net Dropouts think that they are probably or definitely likely to start using the Internet or email again someday. So, while the Dropouts may not be currently using the Internet, they are still socially connected to it. They just tend to see the Internet see as a tool for specific needs, rather than as a resource with wide applicability.

The Truly Unconnected
The Pew Report identified an estimated 24% of U.S. citizens who have never tried the Internet, do not live in wired households, and who generally dont know many people who have ever gone online. This group is labeled the Truly Unconnected, and its members often lack the resources and social support to know where and how to access the Information Superhighway.
Demographically, more than half (59%) of the Truly Unconnected are women, and come from low-income homes (43% live in households that earn under $30,000 yearly, and 29% earn under $20,000). Slightly under two-thirds (62%) are over the age of 50. and nearly three-quarters of them (74%) have a high school education or less.

Despite the fact that over half (56%) of Unconencteds know of easy-to-reach public Internet access spots, many lack the social networks that would encourage them to build use of the Internet into their lives. Over half (56%) say that either they know of no friends or family who online.

The Truly Unconnecteds also see no relevance to using the Internet. While they do believe that email helps people keep in touch and that the Internet would help them to find out about things that interest them more, a substantial number see the online world as a dangerous place 44% are worried about pornography or fraud on the Internet. About one-third (33%) lack the financial resources to obtain Internet access, while over one-quarter (28%) perceive that they dont have time for the Internet. Finally, over one-quarter are technologically challenged 27% believe the Internet is too complicated to navigate.

If there is good news about this group, it is that only about one-sixth (17%) are totally disconnected they have no family or friends who go online, and have never used the Net themselves, so the Internet is not even a part of their social reality.

There is no question that the cost of a computer and Internet access is the chief reason that people are not online. About a third (33%) of non-Internet users say the cost of computers and Internet access is a crucial obstacle for them. Yet, providing access to non-users is not enough.
Stanley (2002) conducted personal interviews of computer-users and non-users in San Diego County. Her study revealed that there were three major non-cost related obstacles to taking that on-ramp to the information superhighway: relevance, comfort zone, and self-concept.

Stanley found that many would-be users of the Internet dont see the point of the medium. Forty percent of Stanley’s respondents claimed they saw no economic, social or informative use for computer and Internet literacy. In most cases, perceiving computer technology as having no salience to ones life demonstrates a lack of knowledge about what computers have to offer. Before they became new computer users, for example, the majority of Stanleys respondents were mostly did not care to acquire computer skills until friends, family, or job-related circumstances convinced them that the computer was more than an expensive toy or luxury.

Even for those who see the relevance in being wired, there are other psychological obstacles to be overcome, particularly threats to ones personal comfort zone. Some people are concerned about the effort involved in being online. Will their time on the computer and the Net interfere with their jobs, their family obligations or even their relaxation time? Others are concerned that they can’t master the technology, and will thus fail to become a 21st century citizen. Still others are just afraid of what they dont know.

Finally, Stanley noted that respondents who saw themselves as someone who uses computers was related to a persons computer use. In other words, if being a person who uses a computer was part of that person’s self-concept, then she would use a computer. Stanley’s data revealed that nearly 70% of her respondents initially thought of themselves as someone who is NOT part of the computer world. The trick for this group is to make the concept computer user part of their social identity.

So, what is to be done?
The good news is that about 40% of non-users say they think they will go online some day. This group is younger than the group that says it has no plans to go online. These prospective Internet users are evenly divided between men and women, and more likely to be urban dwellers and parents. They are also more likely to be black or Hispanic than to be white.

The bad news is that not all of them are going to enter the online world by being provided with access along. Pew Internet Project tracking data show a leveling of the overall growth of the Internet population since late 2001. One possible explanation may be that the number of users dropping offline roughly equals the number of newcomers who come online each month. The increase in dropouts may also be tied to an economy that has been in the doldrums for two years. Or, it may be something more important that the reasons for becoming part of the online world are not compelling enough for many people.

There are several solutions. First, more easily accessible and user-friendly Internet training needs to be made available to help conquer technical fears about the Internet. Second, and most importantly, public and private entities related to the Internet need to spread the word about the benefits of the Internet.

I am struck by the Sprint, mLife and T-Mobile TV ads that show clearly the benefits of using their communication services users can send pictures, play games, access information about how to pick up Italian-speaking strangers while computer and Internet ads are largely about speed and cost. There is no use racing on the Information Superhighway unless you have got a destination. And, the destination is where computer makers and ISPs need to focus in their ads.