Digital divide in America

AS tech evangelists, we might assume that, given the opportunity, everyone would want to embrace the changes brought about by the digital revolution.

But the reality check is that apart from the digital divide brought about by the fact that many poor people can’t afford technology, we also have to contend with the mindset of those who are unwilling or afraid to have anything to do with technology.

Consider the results of the Pew Internet & American Life Project report “A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users.” You can check out the PDF of the report here and of the questionnaire they used here.

What’s interesting to note is that, based on the survey, 15% of American adults are actually off the network, with no cell phones or Internet connectivity. You can check out the press release that accompanied the report.

Moreover, even when Americans own gadgets and have an Internet connection, not all of them take full advantage of the possibilities — or are even enthusiastic about using the technology.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

WASHINGTON, DC – Fully 85% of American adults use the internet or cell phones – and most use both. Many also have broadband connections, digital cameras and video game systems. Yet the proportion of adults who exploit the connectivity, the capacity for self expression, and the interactivity of modern information technology is a modest 8%.

Fully half of adults have a more distant or non-existent relationship to modern information technology. Some of this diffidence is driven by people’s concerns about information overload; some is related to people’s sense that their gadgets have more capacity than users can master; some is connected to people’s sense that things like blogging and creating home-brew videos for YouTube is not for them; and some is rooted in people’s inability to afford or their unwillingness to buy the gear that would bring them into the digital age.

It’s somewhat ironic that in a developing country like the Philippines, many of us strive hard to save up for gadgets and Internet connections just to enjoy access to technology, which makes this kind of indifference in the US somewhat baffling. Then again, even here in the Philippines, those who have the most money aren’t necessarily those who are most enthusiastic about embracing ICT — or the changes it’s supposed to bring about in our society.

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