The digital divide in the U.S. and how the mobile phone problem trends highlight the divide

While opening an internet page may be as second nature to some of us as walking, many people in the United States still do not have regular access to the internet or even a computer in their homes. The main groups of people with this problem are "disproportionately underemployed, less educated, and Black or Hispanic (U.S. Census, 2009b)" according to Kevin Guirdy's research. The division is evident not only in people's homes but also in college institutions. And the division is quite clear when some citizens use a mobile device, library, or school for their main connection to the web while others surround themselves with the latest Apple technology and use multiple devices in addition to a personal computer or laptop. The socioeconomic divide among American citizens extends to their use of the internet and personal computers. Many people cannot afford their own computer or cannot afford multiple devices and so decide to combine their primary internet source with their mobile device to save money. An article from the American Medical Informatics Association states “The 2000 Census found that although about half of all United States homes had computers, households with lower incomes were much less likely to own computers than were higher income households.”

The trend in mobile device problems doesn’t change the digital divide, but more shows the effects of the divide. 

 Often those without access to personal computers and internet in their homes will invest in a smartphone and use that device as their primary source of web connection. This correlates with the Pew Research Center's findings that Hispanics and Blacks experience more of the mobile phone problems including dropped calls, unwanted sales calls, unwanted texts, and slow download speeds. Because the people without regular access to the internet at home are most likely Black or Hispanic, they are more likely to rely on a smartphone for internet connection in place of a personal computer. Statistics show that non-white cell owners are more likely to experience mobile phone problems on a weekly basis such as 53% of Hispanics experiencing slow download times frequently and only 44% of Whites experiencing slow download times frequently. I don’t think that the statistics shown for these mobile trends affect the digital divide, but they highlight the issues and different experiences of mobile devices that lower class people and minorities experience. 

However, perhaps the shift to smartphones will put most people on the same mobile device level in the future.

Smartphones are blatantly on the rise in the U.S. society with over fifty percent of Americans using and owning a smartphone. Though I do not have a smartphone, I feel that if I owned one, I would replace time on my laptop with time accessing the internet on my phone. There is a definite shift in using smartphones for internet access due to accessibility and mobility, so maybe in the future, even those in higher classes who do own a personal computer and have internet access in their homes will use their smartphones for the majority of their web surfing like the lower socioeconomic classes who rely on their cells for internet.