Conquering Inequality Through Students and the Digital Divide

From September through November 2016, Lee Rainie, director of Internet, Science and Technology research at the Pew Research Center, researched accessibility of the Internet and other technology based on a number of demographic measures. In the study, Rainie found that 53% of households with an income below $30,000 per year had broadband Internet access within their homes, as opposed to 94% of households with an income above $100,000 per year. 

From The Pew Research Center Digital Divides Study

Educational attainment, race, and age also played a major role in predicting who has access to the Internet. As you can imagine, in addition to household income being a predictor of Internet access, older, nonwhite, individuals with less educational achievement tend to have less access to the Internet as well. 

The digital divide (differences in access to technology) is a marker for so many different forms of inequality in the United States. It extends to the urban vs. rural divide as well. Students without access to the Internet at home face difficulties completing online homework assignments, and find themselves in a disadvantaged position when compared with their peers. As we can see, people with less educational achievement are already less likely to have access to broadband Internet, making it increasingly difficult for individuals to break out of the cycle of low income and educational achievement. 

From The Pew Research Center Digital Divides Study

With just 34% of people with less than a high school diploma having home broadband, children of parents with low educational achievement are less likely to have Internet at home, putting those children at a further disadvantage. 

It isn't just home broadband access that perpetuates the digital divide for students. EducationSuperHighway CEO Evan Marwell told the educational news website The 74 that "more than 2,000 schools, mostly in rural areas and small towns, lack the fiber optics needed for high-speed Internet, which the Federal Communications Commission defines as a minimum of 100 kilobits per second for each student." Given that rural areas already tend to have lower per capita income and educational achievement, the lack of access to high-speed Internet in schools further disadvantages students when compared with their peers in more urban areas. 

In American society, school serves as such an important agent of socialization. The skills needed to be successful in life are so often taught in school. With our increasing reliance on the Internet, skills associated with digital literacy are more important than ever when it comes to being prepared for the job market and life beyond school. Students who make it through the public school system without having acquired digital literacy are not properly equipped to live and work in our society. Solving the overall issue of home broadband access and inequality is a difficult task, but if there is one area of the digital divide that can be addressed it's Internet access in schools. We do students a disservice by not providing equal access and education about the digital world to them. Taking steps towards conquering educational, racial and wealth inequality starts with our schools, and providing broadband Internet access for all students is a step towards ensuring students of all backgrounds receive a quality education.  


-Maddie Caron