Mind the Gap: The Digital Divide as the civil Rights Issue of the New Millennium (Response)

Reading about the 500 channels of content reminded me of cable TV, which for years has been a wasteland. Many of the channels are non-stop advertising, religious pandering, or simply reruns of old shows. Hardly quality content. For a time, USENET provided a wide variety of quality content, but the last time I checked it was all phishing and spam. Honestly, the best current analog we have that is represented by quality of any kind is probably Reddit. There is likely a forum that aligns with your specific interests.

As with the previous reading on the digital divide, I see a prime concern being the ability to critically use the resources available. I have friends and relatives with good internet access, yet they lack the ability to critically source information and make logical decisions, and are instead taken in by targeted propaganda and echo chamber group-think.

I'm really curious to learn how the demographics and associated access discussed in "Mind the Gap" have changed over the past 20 years. Sure, mobile has improved access, but I suspect that the quality of information obtained or acted on may not have improved. Even so, in the rural communities where some of my family members live, internet access is still slow and expensive, and even cell signal is not ubiquitous. This also makes me think about marginalized folks, specifically the LGBT community in small towns. The internet makes this community less isolated, yet poor internet access leaves folks cut off, and I suspect the desire to move to larger towns or cities continues.

The focus on the five pieces of this puzzle, "access, content, literacy, pedagogy and community" sums up the challenge very well. I especially appreciate this passage: "no computer lab or training room should sit idly during evening and weekend hours." I think we should focus on multi-use and off-business hours use of all public spaces and buildings. We should maximize the return on our investment and make the best use of those spaces for everyone. 

http://www.infotoday.com/mmschools/jan00/carvin.htm