We discussed the digital divide several times in New Media Class. For this blog post I did some more research on the digital divide and how it is influencing children in today's society. This article shows some hope for this children whose families cannot afford the monthly internet bill, or even a laptop. The article tells how many teachers require internet research for nightly homework assignments and the kids that do not have internet are stuck at school or in a library late at night working on these assignments or even worse...not doing the assignments. The article says that you cannot blame the teachers for wanting the children to get exposed to the internet because the internet is the future of our generation. I was shocked with some of the statistics that I read regarding how many homes function (or do not function) without the internet. Here is a quote from the article...
"Nearly 69 percent of households in the United States have Internet access (including about 5 percent of homes with slower dial-up access), up from 44.5 percent in 2000, according to the U.S. Census. In Maryland, nearly 79 percent of individuals live in a household with Internet access."
I really liked the way the article ended. Since it was written for a local paper in Southern Maryland it gave some suggestions for children who still have yet to get internet access in their homes. For example, it gave a list of all the local libraries and told the audience how many computers each library had with available internet access. It also said that many public schools are extending their media lab hours so that no child feels rushed for time when trying to complete an assignment. Lastly, it encourages the students to go to libraries with free internet access, since most libraries offer free internet to their members.
To go along with this same topic of this digital divide I also read this article that I found informative. It tells how typically a family that has one or more college student or graduate have an 84% likelihood that they will have high-speed internet. A family without a college student or graduate is only 28% likely to be connected to the net. This article has more of a negative view of the digital divide because the author finds it rather annoying that our culture is "ALWAYS ON." By this he means that people are constantly texting or using their cell phones in some way. He even says how our generation cannot sit through an entire movie without looking at their phone. I found that statement to be rather funny because I know I most certainly cannot get through a movie with sending a text or checking my phone. I do not know if thats a good or a bad thing..I have not really decided yet. I just know that my addiction to my phone and other social media devices will most likely never change.
Liz, I was interested in the last paragraph you wrote. I disagree with the author and feel that our generation's addiction to connectivity isn't a good or bad thing, it's just the way it is. I can't usually go the length of a movie without checking my phone either, but who cares? I'm actively communicating instead of just sitting and watching.
ReplyDeletePlenty of critics said 75 years ago kids were putting down books for movies, which seemed bad at the time, but look how much has been accomplished by that first "movie-watching" generation. Perhaps our attention span is less than our grandparent's, but the things we'll gain from our fast paced society will def have its advantages