For many people, it’s hard to imagine life without the Internet.
Sure, having web access lets us update our Instagram feeds or look up Oreo cheesecake recipes — nothing too vital there. But it also lets us file taxes electronically, book flights, check our bank accounts, do homework and participate in popular culture. Futurists have been telling us for years how amazing it’s going to be when the Internet goes even further, too — when our cars order lattes and our phones tell us when the dryer’s done.
And yet, many people still live without Internet access. Their reasons are varied — for some, low income makes an Internet bill too much to handle, while others say they wouldn’t know how to use the web even if they had access. There’s a growing concern that these disconnected individuals are falling further behind economically and socially, creating an ever-wider “digital divide.”
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The percent of teachers who said that “all or almost all” of their students have the digital resources available to complete assignments at home, according to a 2013 Pew survey. A full 84 percent agreed that technology was contributing to disparities between affluent and disadvantaged school systems. Many schools, for example, continue to adopt online systems that allow parents to check their child’s grades at any time — so long as they have an Internet connection.
The percent of American adults without a high school diploma who have either a smartphone or broadband access, according to a 2013 Pew report. This represents a sharp divide from college-educated Americans — 93 percent of whom have either a smartphone or broadband access. Some have noted that the digital divide could help fuel education and income disparity in America.
