Supplemental reading: Digital Inequality

“Digital Inequality: Differences in Young Adults’ use of the Internet” by Eszter Hargittai and Amanda Hinnant

Summary:

Many people may be familiar with the concept of the “digital divide” – the gap of knowledge and skills between people with access to digital and information technology (ie. the Internet) and those without such access. Eszter Hargittai and Amanda Hinnant, the authors of “Digital Inequality: Differences in Young Adults’ Use of the Internet,” explore in their article the existence of a “second-level digital divide” or differences in Web use within Internet users.

Background:

A good example of this secondary digital divide concept is a study of the “Sesame Effect” held in the 1970s that the authors reference. In the study, children from “privileged” backgrounds were found to be more likely viewers of educational programming. The implication is that children from non-privileged backgrounds who also have television access are not watching as much educational programming (Sesame Street) and aren’t receiving the same educational benefits. Even though both groups of children have equal access to the technology, their usage is different as well as their derived benefits. The authors propose exploring if a similar difference exists among Internet users.

The study:

The authors looked for differences in Internet usage based on users’

1) education level

2) access to the Internet

3) experience using the Internet

4) speed of Internet access.

Their Hypothesis were that

1)  Higher-educated users would visit more “capital-enhancing” sites (ie: Web sites that can improve one’s life such as job research or health care research)

2) Users with greater access to the Web would visit more “capital-enhancing” sites

3) Users with high-speed access would visit more “capital-enhancing” sites

4) Users with higher levels of self-reported skill would have visited more “capital-enhancing” sites than users with lower levels of self-reported skills

Methods:

The authors had a firm conduct a national telephone survey of 18-26 year olds (because they are the most common Internet users). The 2004 study attempted to draw a stratified representative sample similar to the 2003 Bureau of Labor Statistics on Internet users. 270 users completed the survey with a 21 percent response rate, although the sample’s users tended to be better educated and more likely to be male.

Participants answered questions about their Internet use and also their familiarity with Internet terms including “jpg,” “frames” and “preference settings” on a five-point Likert scale. Research has shown that high self-reported knowledge highly correlates with high skill.

Results:

1) Users reporting less education were statistically signifiantly less knowledgeable about the Internet than those who had completed college.

2) Users able to use work computers for non-work Internet use were more familiar with Internet terms.

3) Less frequent users were less knowledgeable about the Internet.

4) No relationship between quality of Internet access and self-reported skill.

Web use:

5) The less education a user has, the less likely he or she will look at “capital-enhancing sites.” (Agreeing with the Sesame Street effect)

6) Freedom of Internet access also had correlation with “capital-enhancing” sites.

7) Veteran net users, or “netizens” were not more likely to use “capital-enhancing” sites.

8) Internet connection also did not have a relationship with use of “capital-enhancing” sites

9) Internet savvy users were more likely to use “capital-enhancing” sites.

Concerns:

1) Self-reported tests may not be accurate. People may have listed their “capital-enhancing” site visits from the last month from memory.

2) Correlation is not causation. Other factors may be influencing the outcome beyond the indpendent variables listed.

3) Sample was not representative of Internet users. Conclusions may not generalize.

Takeaway:

The implication is that different people use the Internet for different purposes, which may yield different benefits. It’s not a breathtaking conclusion, but it does raise the question of how each group is different, and how their Internet use shapes the way they benefit from that use. For example, a person’s education level and  Internet knowledge may predict how that person uses the Internet. Think about that when planning appropriate news products for your group.

-Matt Marquez