Privilege and the Digital Divide

Wednesday, March 6, 2013
I live an extremely privileged life, let me count the ways: I'm white; I'm reasonably well-educated; I'm firmly in the upper middle class; I'm straight; I'm married; I have access to top quality health care; on and on and on.

But recently I've come to realize how privileged I am in another way: I am absolutely on the right side of the Digital Divide.

A recent report on Moyers & Company entitled "Who's Widening America's Digital Divide?" A synopsis:
America has a wide digital divide — high-speed Internet access is available only to those who can afford it, at prices much higher and speeds much slower in the U.S. than they are around the world. But neither has to be the case, says Susan Crawford, former special assistant to President Obama for science, technology and innovation, and author of Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age. Crawford joins Bill to discuss how our government has allowed a few powerful media conglomerates to put profit ahead of the public interest — rigging the rules, raising prices, and stifling competition. As a result, Crawford says, all of us are at the mercy of the biggest business monopoly since Standard Oil in the first Gilded Age a hundred years ago.
So, is there anyone out there who is shocked in any way that media conglomerates such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T are gouging the American public on the one hand and denying the poor essential services on the other in the name of profits? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Yeah. Me, neither.

In my mind, having access to the Internet - and all that that entails - is an essential service. Leaving aside the ways in which the Internet lends itself to time-wasting idiocy, it really is an essential service in the area of education and professional life. I can't think of single job that pays decently that does not require an on-line presence in order to get hired, whether that's an on-line application process or job search engines such as Monster or LinkedIn. I can't think of a single secondary educational institution that doesn't require access to the Internet for research, communication, and collaboration. In this country, you simply cannot get a decent education or a decent job without on-line access.

And yet, this essential service, this mechanism that allows people to get out of poverty and get ahead, isn't treated like the utility it is. It's treated like a luxury, and only those who can pay the price of admission are allowed the benefits. So over a third of Americans don't have regular access to the Internet because they can't afford it, and many rural residents can't get high-speed Internet at any price because the infrastructure simply isn't there.

How in the name of all that's holy does this country expect to excel in the STEM fields when such a large percentage of our young people are forced to go in search of open hot spots simply to get a chance to do their homework? How much potential is lost due to this lack of access that is forcing an even deeper divide between the haves and have-nots? What the fuck is wrong with us as a society that we continue to marginalize such a large percentage of our citizenry in order to line the pockets of corporate giants?

Welcome to the Gilded Age, indeed. I hope you're on the right side of the divide.

6 comments:

mom in northern said...

Remember that the rural parts of this state has acces to fiber optics connectivity and we don't.
Mandated by the Gov't.

Random Michelle K said...

It's a huge problem here in rural, poor, West (by God) Virginia.

When I taught web design in-house, I would always remind people that if they are trying to reach rural areas, they should assume their audience is using dial-up.

Getting DSL or cable to sparsely populated hollers is a cost most companies won't take on. So many people have access to fast internet access only at places like public libraries.

Never mind the costs inherent in having access: Monthly DSL or cable bills and a decent computer.

And there are plenty of areas that don't have cell phone coverage--period--so older model smart phones aren't even an option.

Anne C. said...

My parents live in rural Oklahoma and the only internet option they have is satellite, which is incredibly slow, weather dependent, and has data caps. They get around the caps by downloading software updates during the wee hours of the morning (when restrictions are removed), but they don't download anything that is data intensive, like video. In order to see YouTube videos and the like, they drive down to the coffee shop in town, where there is free WiFi. We cannot Skype with them (Aileen lamented about this just the other day on Alex's birthday).

So yes, I feel lucky. Paying for my privilege, but lucky.

mom in northern said...

India bypassed the telephone all together and went digital..

We a are way behind that is for sure.

Laura = ^.^ = said...

Are you going to the National Conference for Media Reform on April 5, 6, and 7 in Denver?

http://conference.freepress.net/schedule?source=sti%2Ffacebook

Janiece said...

Laura, I'm not.