"A Pew Internet & American Life Project study last year showed 43 percent of blacks in the United States using the Internet compared with 67 percent of whites." This quote appears in the article, AP Black technology campaign brings awareness to communities as well as Events bring awareness of technology divide by race. Both articles speak of a seven year campaign to raise the level of awareness of the technology gap within the black community...and that is a good thing. But why the emphasis on only one comparison of white population vs black population?
- Consider the following information from the very same Pew Internet studies:
- Hispanics on the Internet: "Fully 50% of Hispanics who are 18 and older have used the Internet...43% of African-Americans have been online."
- Asian Americans and the Internet: "Fully 75% of English-speaking Asian-American adults have used the Internet... 43% of African- Americans, and 50% of English-speaking Hispanics are online."
- America's online pursuits: "English-speaking Hispanic users report high levels of instant messaging and downloading music compared to African-Americans and whites...African-Americans and seniors are among least likely to go online."
- The Internet Life Report: "The survey does show that African- Americans are coming online at a faster pace than whites. Of all African-American Internet users, 30% have come online within the last six months compared with 16% of the white Internet population. Put differently, fully 14% of those who started going online in the last six months are African-American.
There are technology gaps within the US due to geography (rural vs urban), age, socio-economic conditions, training/education levels, personal choice, gender, disability, and race. Black history month provides a terrific opportunity to emphasize the importance of Internet connectivity within the black community...but in terms of reporting, this is not an issue of discrimination of one race over another and the very hint of such in the exclusive black vs white comparison in the articles only propagates stereotypical cultural differences and historical prejudice. Internet connectivity is not a race to the finish line between two cultures any more than it is an effort of one race to become more technologically superior over another. Internet connectivity is a societal and cultural challenge that crosses many boundaries, and race is perhaps one of the least of those.