Some people choose to avoid technology!

Don Jason
Dj320306@ohio.edu


In my research paper about the digital divide I will focus primarily on the people who want to be connected to the internet and new technology but for what ever reason are not. However, to be fair and present both sides of the issue I want to talk about people who could have access to the internet and technology and for whatever reason do not take advantage of it.


In the article “A third of adults without internet don’t want it: Cost of broadband also is a barrier,” Jack Gillum says that “One in four American adults don’t use the Internet. And may of them couldn’t care less about getting online. A report last month by the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds that although price is a barrier for dial-up users in switching to broadband, one-third of those without a Net connection simply aren’t interested in e-mailing or exploring the Web.


This information is not that startling to me because I have many people in my family who do not believe in the internet because they hear stories of people’s identities being stolen and their lives being ruined. Some people might expect only older people to feel this way, but this is not always true. I have friend who is 20 years old and she feel the same way. She doesn’t use email, facebook, or research for classes online. Two years ago she made the transition to college and it was hard for her since most colleges rely so heavily on e-mail communication.


This article does raise another good, but somewhat related, point. People with dial-up internet sometimes don’t switch because the price is often too high. I had that situation myself. In a way having dial-up in today’s world is like having most of the internet censored. When I had dial-up I could not listen to music watch video or even view complicated Web sites, without everything taking an hour to load or without my computer crashing. The dial-up internet would barely allow me to send an email. I explained this to my mother, however she did not understand. She thought the internet was the internet and she was pleased just to be able to log on to it. She didn’t understand that it shouldn’t take two hours for a 3 minute news video from ABC or CNN to load and play.


However, broadband recently became available in our area and we managed to get a discount on it. So she agreed to let us try it. Now that we have broadband and a new Mac computer to go wit it, my mother is hooked. She stays online all the time. Videos load and play instantly. We can watch movies online and listen to online radio without fear of the computer freezing up or crashing. I feel that a program should be developed to let everyone have access to broadband for a discount; maybe the government could subsidize it.