Understanding the significance of the digital divide

The term "digital divide" refers to the discrepancies in computer access between different groups of people. These distinctions are important because the Internet is an important tool for learning, commerce, and communication. For example, low-income families are less likely to own and utilize Internet-connected computers in comparison to middle-income families. Recent research has also shown that disparities in computer ownership exist by race and ethnicity. White and Asian families are more likely to have home access to the Internet than Black and Latino families. The lack of computer access at home affects educational and job opportunities for these already disadvantaged groups. These differences can seem doubly troubling when paired with the notion that low-income people of color are also less likely to have computer and/or Internet access at work.

Though local, state, and federal agencies have enacted programs that include computer training, free Internet access and other on-line related services over the past ten years, the division between the computer-owning "have" and "have-nots" has continued to grow. Basic programs and services have provided more computer and Internet access, but they have not been able to keep pace with increasingly complicated web-based interfaces and technological knowledge needed to complete commerce, education, and government-related tasks. This chasm of access to information and opportunity may widen further as more aspects of daily life-such as banking, job searches, and access to federal financial aid become available only via the Internet.

A recent study of low-income, urban high school students by Venegas (in press) found that, while such students increasingly have access to financial aid information on school computers, students lack the practical knowledge needed to complete the application process. Problems with beginning, completing, and following up on web-based application processes were common. Because of little to no training of college counseling staff and/or students at the high school site, many students engage in financial aid processes on-line without a clear understanding of how to be a proactive advocate for one's own financial aid needs. As more and more colleges and universities move to web-based financial aid applications, all students, especially low-income students and their families need to understand the procedure from the beginning to the end as an on-line and on-going process.

References:
Venegas, K. (in press). Internet inequalities: Financial aid, the internet, and low-income students. In W.G. Tierney, K. Venegas, & M. Luna De La Rosa (Eds.). Financial aid and access to college: The public policy challenges. American Behavioral Scientist.