Week 4 - Thoughts On the US Digital Divide

I think that Sharon Stover does an excellent job at introducing today’s issues surrounding the digital divide in the US. I was surprised to learn that it was only in the 21^st century that people started becoming more aware that the digital divide was not just a result of access issues but also a result of individuals not having the necessary skills to use digital technologies. While there have been many efforts by different groups to address the lack of computer skills that individuals possess, I don’t believe that public institutions such as libraries are always providing as much training and guidance as they could. I think the primary reason for this is that there is not enough funding for libraries to offer adequate training sessions or workshops on computer literacy lead by computer technology professionals. If the library could offer more services like this, then I think we could get closer to diminishing the digital divide. An important question though, is how can we convince the government and society that it is important for libraries and other public institutions to receive more funding to teach computer literacy?    

References

Strover, Sharon (2014). The US digital divide: A call for a new philosophy. Critical Studies in Media Communication 31(2): 114-122.

- Alicja