Chapter 8 Accessing the Machine Online Communication.

Chapter 8

Accessing the Machine

Online Communication

In this chapter you will learn:

A definition of informacy and the digital divide; How race and income affect Internet access; Statistics on the increase of Internet use across

racial groups; Critiques offered against the digital divide thesis;

and The implications for an increasingly networked

world.



informacy: an extension of literacy; a universal right to information

digital divide:a statistical difference in access to computer technology between various demographic groups

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)

In 2002, the NTIA released A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet.

The report showed: – Access to the Internet had grown significantly

among all demographic categories – Some disparities still existed among racial and

income demographic groups.


Internet Use Percentages by Race, 1998-2001


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

White Black Asian Hispanic

1998

2000

2001

National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (2002). A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet. <http://ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/nationonline_020502.htm>

Critiques of the Digital Divide

snapshot critique: the statistics used to argue a disparity in Internet access between demographic groups do not reflect historical trends

place, not race critique: disparities in geographic access to the Internet are more significant than comparisons among demographic groups


Implications of a Networked World

Decentralization versus recentralization

Fragmentation versus integration

Diversity versus homogenization


United Nations Development Report. (1999). Human development report. <http://www.undp.org/hdro/99.htm>

A Brief Review

1. What are informacy and the digital divide?

2. To which groups is the digital divide most prominent?

3. How have usage levels changed among

demographic groups in recent years?

4. What two arguments counter the digital divide

thesis?

5. What are three implications for a networked world?


Chapter 8 Accessing the Machine Online Communication.

Documents

Transcript of Chapter 8 Accessing the Machine Online Communication.