Study: Millions may lag as Internet grows in U.S.

In this story: Risk of being left behind RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- As many as 50 million U.S. adults are in danger of becoming functionally "illiterate" in coming years because they lack knowledge of or access to the Internet, a study released on Monday said.

Gartner Group Inc., a technology consulting firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, projected that 75 percent of U.S. households would be linked to the Internet by 2005, up from 50 percent today.

"The Internet will soon be so pervasive that not having access to the technology or not knowing how to use it will be the equivalent of not knowing how to read or write," Gartner Chief Executive Michael Fleisher said in remarks prepared for a House Government Reform subcommittee hearing at which the report was to be released.

"The fate of the 50 million adults who will suddenly find themselves functionally 'illiterate' in the new economy is an issue of profound importance," Fleisher said.

The study found only 35 percent of "lower-socioeconomic-status" Americans had access to the Internet, compared with 53 percent in the lower-middle bracket, 79 percent in the upper-middle bracket and 83 percent in the top bracket.

This "digital divide" -- uneven distribution of Internet access -- meant that large parts of the U.S. population were in danger of being left behind economically and socially, the 56-page report said.

"As more and more of the Internet haves harness the technology to gain better jobs, more educational opportunity and potentially an improved lifestyle, they become far better equipped to elevate themselves than those without Internet access or the ability to maximize its potential," it said.

Based on a survey of 40,000 U.S. adults over the age of 18 conducted by Gartner in February, the report cited not just one but three digital divides.

Beyond simple access, it said, an experience gap separates people savvy enough to tap the benefits of the Internet fully from those who are not.

The third divide was related to high-speed access through cable, digital subscriber lines and other broadband delivery systems, which typically cost $40 or so per month per household.

"As broadband access reaches higher penetration rates, we can expect to see a gap in broadband adoption that mirrors today's gaps in (personal computer) ownership," Fleisher said.

"This will be the equivalent of having the moderate and upper classes in IMAX theatres while the underprivileged are still watching silent movies," he said.

Gartner called on the government to narrow the digital divide through such things as tax credits to companies for providing Internet access to employees and incentives for telecommuting so employees could work from their homes.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

How the Internet is changing the fourth grade
September 25, 2000
Ethan Zuckerman on closing the digital divide
September 22, 2000
Clinton pushes to help disabled bridge 'digital divide'
September 21, 2000
Geekcorps on mission to wire the developing world
September 19, 2000
Report: Income, not ethnicity, determines access
August 7, 2000

Gartner Group Inc.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.