BY: CLAIRE KIM
Even though more and more people are getting the Internet these days, there are still a few groups of people who cannot afford it.
In California itself, the digital divide doesn’t look as serious as before. In fact, it looks to be that the number of people with internet access have been increasing in the past few years. With that being said, there are still the remaining who cannot use the internet and that is an issue.
According to the article, they claim that the most prominent reason why internet usage has shot up is because more people have used their smartphones lately. Personally, I have to admit that I am on my phone a lot more than before, just because there have been lots of updates. It may be hard to believe but its more likely to find me reading the news on the New York Times app, rather than the newspaper. I know that spending too much time on my phone is not smart, so I do have a certain limit to prevent addiction.
However, even with the rising updates in smartphone usage, the article has claimed that smartphones have only so much they can do. It’s obvious that laptops have more functions and power than a smartphone, it’s just that people can’t afford it.
Surprisingly, the reason why the digital divide is noted as severe is because it lacks in the computer department. I guess it makes sense because smartphones are only being used. Honestly, I have never thought about the effects smartphones would have on computers, but in our current status, it is a rising problem.
I feel like the price range from a phone to a computer is an important reason why phones are more often owned than a laptop. People tend to think that having a phone is better than nothing and it is true.
As I was reading the research results on the Spanish-speaking Latinos, it really made me realize how smartphones are really being seen as people’s last resort for an opportunity to access the internet. Since they have no chance of owning a laptop or a desktop they look for the smartphone as their outlet for the internet.
This article has informed me of many options on how we can solve this problem, but I think that the most impactful one would be to start lowering prices for low-income households.
“It’s about equality — who gets access to information and opportunity that others take for granted. Those who are being left behind are doing their best to catch up by using smartphones.”
claire kim. 