Progressive America…Doesn’t everybody have internet?? Digital Redlining/Digital Redlining?
It would seem that America, the icon of progression, wealth, opportunity [you get the idea], would have internet or equal access to digital resources for everyone, but this is not the case. Instead there is about “20 % of the nation that is two generations behind” in regards to technology. Can anybody guess what class or even the races that are represented in this statistic…I will answer it for you. Mostly, lower income, people of color are being effected by the lack of technological access aka digital divide.
What is digital divide? Digital divide is a fancier way of saying that there is a gap in access or proper connection to digital and technological resources such as the internet. The internet allows people to do many things such as apply for jobs, make international calls, study for school, and search for information. The internet, in many way, is a source of knowledge.
One may ask, is this a deliberate attempt to keep people of color, the poor, and rural people from having access to technology or keep them from advancing. Which if you didn’t know, is a violation of people’s human rights. BUT before we go on about this being a human rights issue, digital redlining has to be defined.
Digital redlining was coined in the 1960s, and it simply describes the act of co-operations denying or over-charging certain communities for digital services that are often sub-par. For example, a great deal of Black inner-city communities in the 80s and 90s were being over-charged for phone services that had a poor landline connection. This effected upper and lower income, Black individuals. This is still an issue happening in the US!!! Digital redlining is, very much so, apart of US history. Some call it “sociopolitical apartheid”. Various acts in regards to the Equal Opportunity clause in the 14th amendment has be enacted in order to combat issues of digital redlining.
Digital redlining excludes lower income people, and because the inaccessibility of technology resources, some people do not see a need in the internet. This is a problem!! This is a problem because the internet provides information that could help advance lower income communities that are not properly invested in and are already lacking in basic resources. The internet is a source of knowledge. People can know their rights, seek educational and job opportunities and grants that could help improve their neighborhood by just searching on the internet. The lack of investment and pricey digital services further hinders the prosperity of lower income communities. It also adds to the vicious cycle of poverty.
The internet provides opportunities. It holds knowledge. There are people of color and people in lower income and people in rural communities that are talented and just as capable of learning, but their problem is lack resources and opportunity. I agree with Peter Drucker when he says, “Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement”.
This is the case for many developing countries. The people on the bottom of the totem pole are at a disadvantage. The UN has tried to argue that the digital divide is a violation of human rights and international law. This is a plausible conclusion because there were acts established to ensure equitable resources and access to them for all people.
I would like to end my blog with this quote from Thomas Perez, “Our workforce and our entire economy are strongest when we embrace diversity to its fullest, and that means opening doors of opportunity to everyone and recognizing that the American Dream excludes no one”. I believe this quote sums up what I want to say about why the digital divide and digital redlining is not good and how it is a disadvantage to the US as a whole.
