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Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, profile picture
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Digital Divides, a talk by Lee Rainie for Washington Post Live

This document summarizes key findings about digital divides in the United States: 1) There remain divides in internet access and broadband adoption based on factors like age, income, education level, ethnicity, disability status, and whether people live in urban, suburban, or rural areas. 2) While home broadband adoption has increased overall, smartphone ownership has grown significantly and additional people now have internet access through smartphones even if they lack home broadband. 3) The main barriers for those who do not use the internet include lack of interest, not having a computer or access, difficulty using the technology, and not seeing its relevance to them.

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The State of Digital Divides Lee Rainie - @lrainie Director - PRC’s Internet Project Washington Post Live: “Bridging the Digital Divides” 11.5.13
Divide factors Age Income and educational attainment Community type Disability Spanish-speaking preference
Internet adoption 100% 79% 73% 80% 61% 60% 63% 80% 85% 75% 74% 68% 50% 36% 40% 46% 23% 20% 14% (Jun) 0% 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Broadband at home Dial-up Broadband 100% 70% 80% 60% 40% Broadband at home 3% 20% Dial-up at home 0% June 2000 April 2001 March March 2002 2003 April 2004 March March March 2005 2006 2007 April 2008 April 2009 May 2010 Aug 2011 April 2012 May 2013
Internet use & broadband by income 100% 90% 92% 60% 50% 40% 85% access 80% 70% 94% 70% 84% 84% 70% access bb @ home 54% 96% 85% $50,000 $74,999 $75,000 $99,999 97% 96% 90% 90% $100,000 $149,999 $150k or more 77% 64% 63% $20,000 $29,999 $30,000 $39,999 42% 30% 20% 10% 0% <$10k $10,000 $19,999 $40,000 $49,999 Broadband at home Use the internet
Changes in smartphone ownership 80% May 2011 February 2012 May 2013 56% 60% 46% 48% 41% 40% 35% 35% 17% 20% 12% 9% 0% Smartphone Other cell phone No cell phone
Have broadband at home All adults Have home broadband or smartphone Change from adding smartphones 70% 80% +10 a Men 71 81 +10 b Women 69 78 +9 Race/ethnicity a White, Non-Hispanic 74bc 80 +6 b Black, Non-Hispanic 64c 79 +15 c Hispanic 53 75 +22 Age a 18-29 80cd 95bcd +15 b 30-49 78cd 89cd +11 c 50-64 69d 77d +11 d 65+ 43 46 +3
Have broadband at home All adults Have home broadband or smartphone Change from adding smartphones 70% 80% +10 Education attainment a No high school diploma 37 52 +15 b High school grad 57a 70a +13 c Some College 78ab 87ab +9 d College + 89abc 93abc +4 Urbanity a Urban 70c 80c +10 b Suburban 73c 83c +10 c Rural 62 70 +8
Disability and language preference Those with disabilities All adults 100% Spanish preferers 100% 86% 81% 80% 60% All adults 69% 54% 80% 71% 70% 60% 41% 40% 20% 20% 0% 38% 40% 0% Use internet Broadband at home Sept. 2010 - http://bit.ly/1b2G69P Use internet Broadband at home Sept. 2013 - unpublished
Reasons why they don’t use internet Just not interested Don’t have a computer Too difficult/frustrating Don’t know how/Don’t have skills Too old to learn Don’t have access Too expensive Don’t need it / Don’t want it Think it’s a waste of time Physically unable (e.g. poor eyesight or disabled) Too busy/Just don’t have the time Worried about privacy / viruses / spam / spyware / hackers Other (SPECIFY) Summary of reasons Relevance (not interested + waste of time + too busy + don’t need/want) Usability (difficult/frustrating + too old + don’t know how + physically unable + worried about virus/spam/hackers/etc. Price (too expensive + don’t have computer) Lack of availability / Access 21% 13 10 8 8 7 6 6 4 4 3 3 7 34% 32 19 7
Most newcomers would need assistance DK/Ref 6% Would not want to start using internet (VOL.) 13% Know enough to go online on my own 17% Would need someone to help me 63%
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