The New Digital Divide

The New Digital DivideLIS 768 Group ProjectFall 2009
by
Toni Gzehoviak
Kasia Grabowska
Dan McPhillips
Sheila Cody

What is the Digital Divide?
The term digital divide refers to the gap between people who have access to digital technology – such as computers, Internet, mobile phones, etc. – and those who have very limited access or no access at all.

Source: http://maps.maplecroft.com/loadmap?template=map&issueID=17

Source: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/ict/graphs/internet.jpg

1 in 5 Households Worldwide has Broadband Internet Access
2008 – 382 million households
Source: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1189323

Old vs. New
“Old” digital divide -- divide between those who have access to technology and those who do not
New digital divide – divide between those who use technology and those who do not

The New Digital Divide
digital divide = circumstance
new digital divide = choice

Source: http://www.librarybytes.com/2008/05/csmc-libraries-and-new-digital-divide.html

Reasons
21st century literacy / social media literacy
Access and restrictions
Socioeconomic barriers
Fear, resistance, privacy, security
Awareness, visibility, relevance

Digitally Excluded and ‘E-solated’
Digital natives
Digital immigrants
People lacking opportunities
Conscientious objectors

Socioeconomic Barriers to Information Access
Bridging the Gap

Internet Statistics
79% of American adults used the internet in 2009, up from 67% in Feb. 2005
Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/Infographics/Growth-in-Adult-SNS-Use-20052009.aspx

Using the Internet as a Tool
Some 69% of all Americans have used the internet to cope with the recession as they hunt for bargains, jobs, ways to upgrade their skills, better investment strategies, housing options, and government benefits. That amounts to 88% of internet users.
Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/11-The-Internet-and-the-Recession.aspx

Poverty
1 in 10 Americans are unemployed
1 in 5 seniors are poor
These are people that desperately need access to the internet, the ones that would benefit most from the resources available online (e.g. Medicare, Social Security information, job searching …)
Source: http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/1_in_5_elderly_are_poor

E-Government
Bridge or barrier?

Internet Access as a Human Right
Estonia, France, and most recently Finland have made internet access a human right

Government
Countries are adopting legal measures to ensure internet access
The government has allocated $7.2 billion for broadband development as part of the stimulus package. The money will be distributed in January (Source: http://bit.ly/8OMCNt)
The U.S. Government is moving towards reaching people electronically – and getting people more involved

Government
Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/USGovernment#p

Government

Government
Source: http://bit.ly/65BB3h

Homelessness

Homeless Patrons
They can be some of our best patrons considering their informational needs: law, justice, and citizenship (http://bit.ly/546p66)

Homeless

Homeless Bloggers
Daniel Suelo
Eric Sheptock
http://bit.ly/19cg72
http://bit.ly/4r4W0G

Homeless bloggers
http://www.clickhomeless.com/bloggers/

Libraries with policies that deter homeless
Manatee County Library System (http://bit.ly/4NuvOq)
Schaumburg Township District Library (http://bit.ly/5gaipO)
Libraries that require a permanent address to get a library card

Bridging the Gap

Chicago Public Library System
A model example
74 locations, ~ 1100 computers

Chicago Poverty Statistics
Residents with income below the poverty level in 2007:
Chicago: 20.5%
Whole state: 11.9%
Source: http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Chicago-Illinois.html

N.C. Digital Initiative
$3.1 million John and James Knight Foundation grant will go to 12 communities across the U.S. to build better digital library centers
$804,100 Grant will go to create a career lab where people can search for jobs, build skills, and create resumes
Will also help increase bandwidth and purchasing new computers for libraries in Charlotte and Mecklenburg Counties
Source: http://www.knightfoundation.org/news/press_room/knight_press_releases/detail.dot?id=352422

Here are some examples of the New Digital Divide …

The Divide Among Digital Natives
Access to Technology through Schools
Nearly universal in the U.S.
• No Child Left Behind
• Telecommunications Act of 1996
Nationwide average of four students per computer in schools

The Divide Among Digital Natives
Access to Technology at Home
70% of individuals aged 3 – 17
live in households with internet access.
— U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 population report (released online in 2009)

Lack of Home Internet Access
Creates a Divide when Using Technology at School
“Children who have access to home computers demonstrate more positive attitudes towards computers and show greater ease when using computers than those who do not…
More often than not, those youth who have developed the most comfort with the online world are the ones who dominate classroom use of computers, pushing aside less technically skilled classmates.”
(Jenkins 8; 13)

The NEW Divide = a Division in Knowledge
We must “shift the focus of the conversation about the digital divide from questions of technological access to those of opportunities to participate and to develop the cultural competencies and skills needed for full involvement” in society.
“Access to today’s participatory culture functions as a new form of the hidden curriculum, shaping which youth will succeed and which will be left behind as they enter school and the workplace.”
(Jenkins 3)

Media Literacy - knowledge
Media Literacy Education
All states have adopted educational standards detailing what students should know and be able to do with technology.
But…
(Hightower)

Media Literacy - knowledge
Only 5 states actually test students’ knowledge and skills with technology (Hightower).
The focus of technology education must shift to the “new media literacies: a set of skills that young people need in the new media landscape…The new literacies almost all involve social skills developed through collaboration and networking” (Jenkins 4).

Participatory Culture
A study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project suggests that “we are moving away from a world in which some produce and many consume media, toward one in which everyone has a more active stake in the culture that is produced”
(Lenhardt & Madden)

Participatory Divide
More than half of American teens could be considered media creators
Created a blog or webpage
Posted original artwork, photos, stories, videos
Remixed online content into a new creation
What about the other half ? ? ?
(Lenhardt & Madden)

Participatory Divide
Benefits of this participatory culture:
Opportunities for peer-to-peer learning
A changed attitude toward intellectual property
Diversification of cultural expression
Development of skills valued in the modern workplace
A more empowered concept of citizenship
(Jenkins 3)

The NEW Divide = Denial of Access
Blocking and Filtering
21 states have Internet filtering laws for public schools or libraries
Internet Use Policies
Filtering Software
(National Council of State Legislators)

Denial of Access
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
Requires the use of filtering software to block access to websites with offensive photos or materials (In order to participate in the E-Rate program)
(Federal Communications Commission)

Denial of Access
National Coalition Against Censorship
Filtering: Limits the free exchange of ideas
Filtering operates by keywords, so studies show frequent examples of “egregious overblocking”
(Heins & Cho)

Closing the Divide for Youth
Media Literacy Education — in school libraries and public libraries
Access to participatory technologies — in school libraries and public libraries
Expanded access to computers in general
Advocate against filtering laws or requirements

Digital Immigrants
People who “were not born into the digital world but have, at some later point in their lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology.” (Prensky, 2001)

Reasons
Skills and education
Awareness and relevance
Fear, privacy and security

21st Century Literacy
“No prior technological advance has had such a profound cognitive impact as computing.”
Source: http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/JALArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=44004

Example: Pete Taylor
Pete had been considering using the internet but feared it would be complicated.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/oct/25/internet-uk-martha-lane-fox

Builidng 21st Century Literacy Skills
“Far worse than the economic divide is the fact that technology remains so complicated that many people couldn't use a computer even if they got one for free.”
Source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/digital-divide.html

Awareness and Relevance
“Pew survey indicates that about 65 million Americans don’t go online. Of this group, only five percent cite money as the reason; 39 percent say only that they’re not interested or it’s a waste of time.”
Source: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1395/1313

Example: My Mom
My Mom has been around computers for years, but she never found much use in them.

Creating Awareness and Relevance
“As the old familiar formats become less available and more information and entertainment goes digital, those in their 50s, 60s and beyond can become marginalized if they don’t pick up computer skills. They must learn!”
Source: http://www.nypl.org/blogs/subject/digital-immigrants

Fear – Privacy – Security
“It is often fear, however, as much as absence of opportunity that holds people back.”
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/oct/25/internet-uk-martha-lane-fox

Facing Technology Fears
What are libraries doing to help digital immigrants learn about privacy and security online?

Digital Inclusion
Lead by example
Build awareness
Educate
Empower

The “Conscientious Objectors (COs)”
Of the nearly 65 million Americans who don’t go online, 39% say they’re “not interested.” –Pew Internet Life Statistics, qtd. in Green.
Why?
Learning habits
Demonization of technology
Ideas about technology users/early adopters
Nonusers’ social networks are narrow
Sources: Green, R. Michelle. “Unpacking ‘I Don’t Want It’” – why novices and non-users don’t use the Internet.” First Monday 11(9). 9 September 2006. Via http://firstmonday.org/htbin/
cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1395/1313

“Permission to Speak, Sir”
New media guru Clay Shirky: Those who choose not to engage with social media “don’t sense they have permission to speak in public.”
How can we enfranchise this
population?
Source: Clay Shirky, “Social Media’s Growing Influence.” National Public Radio interview. Via www.npr.org/templates/story/
story.php?storyId=112779080

COs: An Intergenerational Perspective
Boomers:
Learning new literacies takes too much time
Feel guilty using social media at work
Embarrassed to ask Millennials for help
Gen X:
Uncomfortable with homogenization
Technological burnout
Time demands
Sources: Lynne Lancaster, “Social Media: Jumping In or Opting Out?” Twin Cities Business Magazine via http://tinyurl.com/yfn6mkb
Michael Martin, “’Refuseniks’ Say They’ll Pass on Facebook, Twitter” National Public Radio Interview. Via http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113928457

COs: An Intergenerational Perspective, Continued
Millennials:
View overlapping social media as “redundant”
Disdain a “me, me, me” mentality
Josh Friedman, “Twitter for Business? Call Me Dr. Jekyll…” Central Desktop Blog via http://tinyurl.com/yh22fp4

“Call me an 80s Hangover, but…”
“…[I]f there’s a choice to be made, I choose life – fresh air and actual human contact.” –Quoted by commenter Rod on The Shifting Conversation About the Digital Divide, via Chieftech's Blog
IS there even a choice to be made?
Is there a middle ground between these two extremes?

What if they JUST DON’T WANNA!?
Since “I’m not interested” can be verbal shorthand for a variety of issues, how can librarians determine pure disinterest?
How much should we push those who are purely disinterested?

Selling COs on Social Media
Understand their concerns: fear of change? Lack of skills?
Educate your audience on each tool and how others are using it
Do your homework: research tools; anticipate questions
Use pilot projects: stage small, successful demos
Explain benefits
Be honest about pros and cons; don’t oversell social media
Source: Adapted from Marie Ulysse, Health and Human Resources Health and Services Administration. “Social media – To be or not to be…How to get management ‘to be.’ Via http://govsocmed.blogspot.com/

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The New Digital Divide

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