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The Digital Divide

Jacquelyn Berry
EDU352 (CVJ537DS)
Professor Cannon
October 12, 2015

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The digital divide is the gap between students with access to the internet or the tools to
connect to it and those students without the access and the tools. The digital divide is a pressing
issue because everyone should have the same access to technology in order to best prepare them
for the future. It is important to make efforts to close this gap or at least lessen it as much as
possible. This is also the main issue that has become the responsibility of educators.
Children whose families cannot afford the hardware, software and internet service are
bound to fall behind with the technology that will be needed in their future academic,
professional, and personal lives. The world is increasingly flooded with technology and the three
aforementioned sectors of our lives require at the very least, a minimum level of technological
knowledge. This is why it is so important to teach it to our students, all of our students. As of
2007, Only 37% of poverty-level families have computers at home, compared to 88% of
families with incomes above $75,000 a year (Lewis, pg71). These numbers show quite a bit of
difference; therefore, the schools have been tasked with bridging this gap and providing access to
those who will not otherwise have it. The access provided by schools must be thorough enough
to make up for the fact that it will be the only time students are experiencing the internet and the
devices used to connect to it.
Some disagree and think that the only computer time that is relevant is the time spent
with them at school. They take this stand because of the belief that overuse eventually bores the
student. Other issues that the opponents stand on are statics of home use. A majority of
students (56%) use home computers mostly to play games, while 47% use them to complete
school assignments, and 45% use them to connect to the Internet (Lewis, pg 71, 2007). Others
may suggest that there are libraries and recreational centers that lower income students and their
families can take advantage of to ensure that the students do not fall behind. To those people I

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have to say that the 47% of kids who use the internet to complete their homework have an
advantage over the students who do not have the option. To respond to those suggesting that
there are other options for access such as community libraries and recreational centers, some
students might live too far to walk and cannot get a ride or afford to take the bus to or from these
places. Also those who are familiar with kids also know that most kids will not go out of their
way to get computer access for school work. They would be more likely to use the technology if
it was readily available in the home rather than a walk, bus ride, or drive down the street. For
more information on this subject you can check out these three sites.
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/09/22/digital-divides-2015/
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/bridging-the-new-digital-divide-lori-day
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/wh_digital_divide_issue_brief.pdf

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References

Lewis, A. C. (2007). Digital Divides the Poor. Education Digest, 72(5), 71-72.