The most common measurements used to describe the digital divide between network haves and have not are just too simple, according to Karine Barzilai-Nahon, an assistant professor at the University of Washington Information School.
She says that measuring the number of Internet access points in an area, for example, can be misleading because just the fact that someone can reach the Internet doesn’t mean they do.
“Ten years ago, when someone had a connection, it was enough,” she says in a statement. “Today, in some places it’s nothing. The idea is what do you do with the content?”
Students might have access to computers at school, but not at home. Barzilai-Nahon cites Department of Education research showing that 37% of students from families with incomes below $20K use computers at home, but more than twice as many students from families with incomes over $75K do.
She says researchers in this area too often settle for analyzing existing data instead of figuring out what sort of data is really needed to dissect this issue.
Barzilai-Nahon is calling on policymakers to use a different set of measurements going forward. She says the U.S. government is spending less to close the digital divide than it used to, so it needs to at least be spending it in the right places. Her case is outlined in a paper in The Information Society journal.
