Digital divide,

Digital Divide

The term "digital divide" is used to refer to a gap between those people and communities who can effectively use new information and communication tools, such as a computer or the Internet, and those who cannot. The digital divide is affected by race, income, location, age, and gender. As educators, we need to help bridge the digital divide.

Race is the first factor contributing to the digital divide. Black and Hispanic groups still trail considerably behind the national average for PC (personal computer) ownership. Of white households, 55.7 percent own a computer (NTIA). That's more than the number of black households (32.6 percent) or Hispanic (33.7 percent) households. The households with computers, White (46.1%) and Asian American & Pacific Islander (56.8%) households continued to have Internet access at levels more than double those of Black (23.5%) and Hispanic (23.6%) households (DDN).

Income is the second factor contributing to the digital divide.

This image was selected as a picture of the week o...

English: Graph of internet users per 100 inhabitan...

XO with Internet connection, Khairat (India)

86.3% of households earning $75,000 and above per year have computer access compared to 19.2% of households earning less than $15,000 per year (DDN). Of the households with computers earning $75,000 and above per year, 86.3% of the households had Internet access compared to 12.7% of households earning less than $15,000 per year.

White (89.6%) and Asian American & Pacific Islander (91.4%) households earning $75,000 and above per year have computer access at levels more than to those of Black (83.1%) and Hispanic (81.6%) households earning $75,000 and above per year. White (26.9%) and Asian American & Pacific Islander (52.5%) households earning less than $15,000 per year have computer access at levels more that those of Black (13.3%) and Hispanic (18.1%) households earning less than $15,000 per year.

The third factor contributing to the digital divide is gender. In December 1998, 34.2% of men and...