Consumer groups say 'digital divide' puts millions in U.S. at a disadvantage

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly half of those who responded to a recent nationwide survey said they do not have access to the Internet at home.

Of those who are "disconnected," more than half said they don't have a clue what the Internet is or how it could help them. Forty percent said they do not intend to get connected in the next four years.

And the disconnected are much more likely than those who do have Internet access to live in lower income, older and minority households, according to a report released Wednesday by the Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union.

The two advocacy groups say these statistics demonstrate the existence of a "digital divide" in the United States that is likely to grow wider in the near future.

"The Internet is already an important avenue for participation in society," said Dr. Mark Cooper, the CFA's director of research and principal author of the report.

"As it becomes the main avenue of commerce and communications, people not connected to the Internet could become a new category of the disenfranchised," Cooper said in a news release.

The report was based on a national survey of 1,900 respondents, but does not say how they were selected. Cooper could not be reached for comment.

'Disadvantaged and disenfranchised'

Gene Kimmelman, co-director of the CU's Washington office, said the report shows that "vulnerable groups are harmed by their lack of access to technology" and policymakers "should begin to seek cost-effective avenues to address this deprivation."

However, Kimmelman criticized a bill currently before Congress which, if passed, would be known as The Broadband Internet Access Act of 2000. That bill is misguided, Kimmelman said, because it is aimed at bridging the gap by giving tax breaks to corporations instead of directing tax dollars or subsidies to the people who cannot afford technology.

The report contends that the disconnected are "disadvantaged and disenfranchised" by their lack of Internet access.

"They cannot shop as effectively or conveniently, are not offered attractive pricing plans, cannot gather information or contact public officials and other people as effectively," the report says. "They become less effective consumers and citizens relative to their fellow citizens who have access."

Disconnected don't see value of Internet

Some of the report's findings include:

  •  Forty-seven percent of survey respondents said they do not have Internet access at home. Fifty-eight percent said they don't have a clue what the Internet is about or what it can do for them.

  • Lower income respondents are "lagging behind" upper income respondents by five years and 40 percent of respondents do not plan to get connected in the next four years.

  • Eighty-one percent of those who own a computer have full or partial Internet access. Once people have computers, they tend to get online.

  • Income is lowest in the disconnected group and highest in the fully connected group. Those who are fully and partially connected are much more likely to have at least a college degree and be employed in managerial or professional occupations. The fully and partially connected are less likely to be black. Disconnected households are older and tend to be smaller.

  • The disconnected fully appreciate the value of technology and computers but are less likely to see the value of the Internet to them.

The report concludes that public policy should aim to close the digital divide "by giving people the capital skills to use information age technologies, the experience to make them comfortable with these technologies and the resources to obtain the necessary hardware at home, where they conduct their daily activities."

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Closing the Digital Divide (official Government Site)
Consumers Union
Consumer Federation of America

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