|
[ Access ] The primary arguments about access involve everyone, from school children through adults, and across all races. It seems that the media and politicians see Internet access as an absolute necessity without considering that it is not - perhaps more a matter of convenience that anything else. The arguments extend further than that, however, to the point that computers and Internet access should be available in everyone's home. Look at cable television access for a moment. Arguments concerning the lack of cable availability in rural areas, and how the expense is prohibitive to the poor, are non-existent in the media. It is not profitable for companies to start providing cable service in areas where homes may be miles apart. Arguments for nationwide broadband access are no more appropriate, while the media would portray it as paramount. As the case may be, access to the Internet by any means has been increasing among all races, though the rhetoric of the media would make it seem otherwise. Take David Boaz' critique found on
IntellectualCapital.com. The data would seem to indicate that the
"divide" between whites and blacks in home computer ownership has
grown from 16.8% to 23.4%. What it does not say is that computer ownership for
whites has increased 72% from 1994 to 1998, while increasing for blacks by 125%.
The two curves, if they continue to follow their own trends without
interference, will converge in only a few years. Is the Digital Divide really
the "racial ravine" the NTIA would have us believe?
|