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Press
Release Contact:
Mark Cooper of CFA: 301.384.2204
Gene Kimmelman of CU: 202.462.6262
Consumers
Union's Washington, DC Office
(Washington, D.C. - October 11, 2000) - While
computer ownership and Internet use continue to grow, the "digital
divide" that separates those Americans connected to the Internet from
those who are not persists and is not likely to disappear any time
soon, according to a report released today by the Consumer Federation
of America and Consumers Union. The gap puts millions of Americans
at a disadvantage in our increasingly "online" society. The more
important the Internet becomes, the more serious the problem will be,
unless steps are taken to close the gap.
"By presenting the first direct comparison of a
broad range of commercial, informational, educational, civic and
political activities of individuals in physical space to those in
cyberspace, we have demonstrated a troubling, new source of
inequality in our society," Dr. Mark Cooper, CFA's Director of
Research and principle author of the report, said.
The report, entitled Disconnected,
Disadvantaged and Disenfranchised, is
based on a detailed national survey of 1900 respondents and finds
that 47% of the respondents do not have access to the Internet at
home. The "disconnected" are much more likely to be lower income,
older and minority households.
"Once policymakers understand that these
vulnerable groups are harmed by their lack of access to technology,
they should begin to seek cost effective avenues to address this
deprivation," said Gene Kimmelman, Co-director of CU's Washington
Office. "People of every age, income and race are concerned that
technological advances are widening the gap between rich and poor and
fear that the information revolution will leave many behind."
The report pinpoints the steps to be taken to
overcome the digital divide by exploring attitudes toward and
experience with information-age technologies. The digital divide is
not the result of a failure of those without access to appreciate the
importance of technology, the report finds. Approximately 93% of
those without access believe that computer skills are vital, 83%
believe that understanding technology is critical to success, and 84%
believe that children learn more when they have access to
technology.
At the same time, those without access have
much less confidence in their ability to use these technologies.
Only 21% of the "disconnected" consider themselves computer savvy
(compared to 57% of the "fully connected"). Half say they do not
know what the Internet is or how it could help them, compared to
one-eight of the "fully connected." Two-thirds of the disconnected
say the Internet is too expensive.
"The Internet is already an important avenue
for participation in society." Cooper said. "As it becomes the main
avenue of commerce and communications, people not connected to the
Internet could become a new category of the disenfranchised. Public
policy to close the digital divide must give people the skills to use
technology, the experience to make them comfortable with it, and the
resources to bring it into their homes, where they conduct their
personal business."
"Bills currently before Congress, like S. 2698
(The Broadband Internet Access Act of 2000), which aim to bridge the
digital divide by giving tax breaks to corporations for building
infrastructure are misguided," Kimmelman concluded. "We should
direct tax dollars or subsidies to the people who cannot afford
technology, not to corporations."
Consumers Union,
publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, is an independent nonprofit
testing, educational and information organization serving only the
consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about
products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition and other
consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test
products, inform the public and protect consumers.
The Consumer Federation of America is the nation's largest consumer advocacy group, composed of over two hundred and forty state and local affiliates representing consumer, senior, citizen, low-income, labor, farm, public power an cooperative organizations, with more than fifty million individual members.
