Given the breadth and persistence of digital divides, researchers are working to define and measure them. This work has been ongoing for years — decades, even. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed digital inequalities and raised awareness of digital inclusion among researchers, policy-makers, and organizations.
Efforts to measure digital divides include work done by the U.S.-based Pew Internet & American Life Project, which first released data that highlighted the digital divide in their report in 2013 called Broadband Adoption: The Next Mile.
The Pew Project has been conducting national surveys of Internet use and broadband adoption since early 2000. Among other topics, researchers look at digital divides and the factors that prevent people from adopting broadband. In October 2013 the organization presented some of its research findings on this topic during public hearings before the U.S. Senate. The purpose of these hearings was to examine how to increase broadband adoption in U.S., explore challenges to broadband adoption and come up with strategies to overcome those barriers.
- You can watch the hearings here
In his presentation to the Senate Committee, researcher Aaron Smith outlined how in the year 2000, just 3% of American adults could access broadband at home. This figure has drastically increased since then: for example, by May 2013, almost three-quarters of the population could do so.
However, the rate of growth for broadband adoption in the U.S. has slowed significantly in recent years. Rates of adoption are also lower among certain population groups – in particular, older adults, people with low levels of education, and people with low household incomes. Others facing digital divides include rural residents, African Americans and Latinos, and people with physical disabilities or chronic health conditions.
Global Pandemic and the Digital Divide
According to the Pew Research Center, in 2021 there is still a digital divide in the United States. The reasons people do not use broadband Internet at home persist, including challenges in using the technologies, price and affordability, and a belief that the Internet is a waste of time, the importance of having a fast internet connection to participate in many aspects of modern life has increased substantially since 2013, partly through a steady expansion of infrastructure, access and familiarity and partly due to the effects of stay-at-home measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. Roughly half of Americans said the internet was essential to them during the outbreak of corona virus. Many people were suddenly expected to begin working and studying online, putting people with slower or no internet connection, lacking a suitable internet-ready device at a significant disadvantage.
The data collected over the years by the Pew Research Center highlights some persistent digital divides. Can you think of others?
Canada’s Digital Divide
As discussed in Topic 5, the CRTC has announced its goal of bridging the digital divide in Canada by improving infrastructure to give all Canadians access to 50Mbps Download/10Mbps Upload speed by 2030 with funding programs like the CRTC Broadband Fund, with a portion of the money set aside for projects that directly benefit Indigenous communities. The results of the 2019 Communications Monitoring Report show a decreasing but still substantial digital divide, with 87.4% of Canadian households having access to internet at the 50/10 standard, compared to 45.6% of rural households. An even greater divide is seen on First Nations reserves, where only 34.8% of households have access to 50Mbps/10Mbps internet – the download and upload internet speed standards that the CRTC has defined as necessary to take part in the digital economy on their page What you should know about internet speeds.