In 2007, there were arguments that the world is divided between people who own computers and internet and those who do not. Now, the "digital divide" is between people who use their smart phone for main internet usage and people who still mainly use their home computers.
As we innovate, are more people left out of the “dark”?
I find it interesting that in Kevin Guidry’s (of Indiana University) article from 2007, the data collected showed that nearly a third of college campus students do not own a computer, respectively taking in factors. I would find that same statistic hard to believe today at UMD.
I guess in a day like today where lives revolve around the internet, more people live life in the light of their technological screen(s). So the new debate on a digital divide is who uses each technology for what. A statistical analysis done most recently claims that 31% of smart phone owners say that they mostly go online via their phone and not via computer- these people are called “cell-mostly internet users”.
As in Guidry’s piece, those who did not have internet access at home were grouped as black or hispanic. In the new “digital divide” study, the same ethic groups are the highest cell owners who go online on their phones because they do not have an internet source at home.
The future to come
I think if these patterns persist, eventually we as people will have a digital divide between those with the latest tech gadget (such as Google glasses) and those with solely smart phones. Keeping with the trends, it doesn’t seem that computers will around much longer. Maybe a more tangible future is the divide between people with desktops and people with laptops.
Digital divides will always be a conflict in the U.S. as long as there are multiple options and people who can’t afford those other options.
I was shocked to find the large number of websites dedicated to the digital divide. Get informed!
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