I am ready for real 'news' about the Digital Divide...the same studies from the Pew Internet and American Life Project keep popping up in newspapers (as filler, I suppose). One of the more recent comes from IndyStar.com: "Many hurt by digital divide want to be there, study says". If we depend solely upon the Pew statistics, "32% of american adults remain unconnected from the Internet (narrowly defining what digital divide means)." Let's expand that 32% of americans to see who is missing out:
1. 15% of non-internet users live in a household with an internet connection
2. 78% of people 70 years old and older are not using the internet
3. Blacks and those without high school education seem to lag behind
4. There is a group that is simply not interested (too busy)
5. Approximately 30% of the non-connected simply do not have access available to them.
From all of that, I believe that it is time to either re-define what "Digital Divide" means in a broader ICT context or that we abandon the abused term and headline grabber altogether. Of the 5 groups identified above, only group number 5 can truly claim isolation due to unavailability of internet connection, meaning that in reality by the Pew definition, approximately 10% of americans are "victims" of the Digital Divide (i.e. the lack of infrastructure to provide connectivity). Those who chose not to be connected, aren't interested, are too busy, are afraid, and/or are unmotivated should NOT be included in the digital-divide statistics.
We do need new categories to define the connected and the unconnected, there are social problems, economic issues, and educational challenges that need to be addressed in both groups. And, there are still people and places in america that experience Internet Infrastructure Isolation (III). I would contend that the III group should be the focus of whatever is left of the now archaic, abused, and narrowly defined term, Digital Divide, particularly in the US.