Resolving to Close the Digital Divide

In November 1999, the National Communication Association (NCA)—the largest organization of communication academics in the United States—drafted and approved a Resolution on the Digital Divide. As one of only three recognized Resolutions in the organization’s history, this was seen as an important step in the increasing importance of the issue at hand: more and more Americans were finding themselves divided by technology access—those who could afford digital content were enjoying the benefits of the emerging information economy far more than those without digital access. The original resolution called for greater awareness as to issues of technology access—the “economic divide” specified by Nielsen. However, and as Nielsen specified in his own writings, members of the NCA recognized that there was more to closing the digital divide than merely giving people computers and plugging them into the internet. After deliberating, in November 2013 (in Washington, DC) the NCA approved the following amendments to the Resolution on the Digital Divide:

 

   “The National Communication Association (NCA) reaffirms its commitment to urge the development of free and low-cost ways of accessing the means for processing and distributing information in electronic forms. Moreover, NCA continues to urge the development of communication technologies that require minimal training but that still allow wide use of worldwide electronic resources. Additionally, as electronic resources continue to become increasingly demanding in terms of bandwidth, NCA asks that service providers ensure connection speeds necessary to competently utilize said resources. Moreover, while many argue that economic barriers to technology have been greatly reduced, technology and information literacy barriers must be addressed with equal attention so that those with access to technology are able to use it effectively. Given these commitments, NCA resolves to take a leadership role in closing the Digital Divide through scholarship highlighting access, usability, and empowerment issues. NCA officers and staff will support legislation aimed at providing universal access to electronic means of communication. NCA will work with other organizations to ensure that communities in the U.S. and elsewhere have adequate electronic communication resources available to all. NCA members have a responsibility to increase awareness of the Digital Divide as a comprehensive social issue that considers socio-economic as well as literacy and empowerment dimensions. NCA urges its members to take an active role in increasing awareness of the Digital Divide through research, education, incorporating material on this problem into courses, through community consultation and education, and by advocating for appropriate policies at all levels of government, as well as supporting the production and distribution of open source software, as well as continued education on using said software.”

Reviewing the new resolution, what elements of the digital divide to you see covered? Are there aspects of the resolution that do not address the digital divide?

The article highlights the existence of the digital divide, and the some of the reasons the digital divide exists, such as education and socioeconomic status. Both of these prove to be true in my own experience. Thinking back to high school, I attended a very small high school of only 250 students total. While many schools had access to laptops, a large array of computers, and tablets, my school did not have access to these aspects. Additionally, there were no classes that taught on the aspects of technology, or how to use recent technology that was recently advancing. On one scale, this was large pieces of hardware or equipment such as computers and tablets. However, other aspects that were not used were softwares, such as spss, and excel which were primarily unused until I reached college and my employment. While the resolution highlights the existence of the divide, it does not highlight many of the key aspects that make this divide so important. What does this divide mean and how does it impact the individuals that suffer from the negative end of the divide?

Once again, speaking from a personal perspective, one of the largest barriers to individuals obtaining employment is their lack of ability in regards to technology. Microsoft word, excel and powerpoint are all seen now as a basic skill despite many individuals, especially elderly individuals do not have these skills and many are unwilling to learn these skills. Additionally, individuals who have greater technology skills are given employment opportunities that other individuals will never be able to obtain without those skills. As previously mentioned, skills such as being able to use statistical analysis software are highly valued and can lead to some of the highest paid positions. However, individuals who struggle with the technology gap will have a difficult time obtaining these skills without actions in place to reduce the gap or assist with education. If individuals do not possess the technology to learn these skills, they will struggle to be able to obtain the technologies that help them.

The first item addressed is the NCA asking service providers to allow for an increase of bandwidth available to allow for message traffic to flow smoothly. They also intend to make technology more readily available for people, regardless of social standing or class. This is an issue that must be pushed, and they seem to understand that. The NCA is encouraging other organizations and individuals to get involved. Finally, they want to make freeware accessible to everyone and want to educate people on it to form a technologically literate society.

This resolution does great things for the community but one thing that was not addressed was how do we make technology accessible for the individual. One strange topic stood out to me while the family was discussing my niece’s new middle school class: smartphones are almost mandatory. I asked what would happen if someone didn’t have the means to give their child a smartphone and my niece replied they have to stay late and use the school computers to make up the work missed. Personally, I don’t like the idea of punishing a kid with longer hours at school on top of homework and studying just because they don’t have access to a piece of technology. I would like to see computers moved into the classroom permanently in that case. All in all, it simply isn’t fair.