Majority of Kentuckians Online But Divide Remains |
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CONTACT: Michael T. Childress FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY (August 23, 2000) — Statewide survey results suggest that for the first time in the state’s history a majority of Kentucky adults have access to a computer at home (55 percent) and have accessed the Internet (63 percent). Despite these findings, analysis of census data reveal a stark digital divide in Kentucky on the basis of income, education, race, and age. Because access to and use of information technology are fast becoming preconditions for social integration, political awareness, and economic success, the rate of use in Kentucky will likely be central to our future. Social scientists have found that individuals who use computers are better informed about political, community, and social issues than those who do not use computer-based communications. Research has also shown that the emergence of electronic networks, such as the Internet, facilitates the crumbling of “status-based social structures” and thus benefits the politically or economically disadvantaged. Moreover, ample evidence suggests that access to computers and information networks has broad economic benefits for workers. Several studies have found that workers in businesses who use computers earn 10 to 20 percent more than workers in comparable businesses who do not use computers. More than ever before, Kentuckians are embracing the technology of the information age. Indeed, a majority of Kentucky adults now have access to a computer in their homes. In 1996, we found that 32 percent of surveyed adults in Kentucky said they had a personal computer in their homes, and in a survey completed in the spring of 1998 we found that the share of adults with a computer at home had risen to 41 percent. In the most recent survey, which was completed for the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center in the spring of 2000, we found that a 55 percent majority of Kentuckians have access to a computer at home, and another 24 percent do not have a computer at home but have access at work, school, or elsewhere, raising the overall percentage to nearly 80 percent. Internet use in Kentucky also has increased significantly over the past four years. In 1996, we found that about 26 percent of adults in Kentucky had used the Internet. In 1998, rates of Internet access had increased to 42 percent. And in 2000 we find that an estimated 63 percent of surveyed Kentucky adults have accessed the Internet in the past year. Despite the rising use of computers and the Internet, our analysis shows a clear digital divide in Kentucky on the basis of income, education, race, and age. For example, our analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data, which is collected by the Census Bureau, shows that Kentuckians in the highest income quartile are 2.7 times more likely to have home computer access than those in the lowest income quartile and 2.9 times more likely to use network services, such as the Internet. The importance of education is illustrated by the estimate that individuals with a bachelor’s degree are 1.4 times more likely to have home computer access than those with a high school diploma or GED, and are 2.1 times more likely to use network services. Race also exerts an influence over who accesses and uses information technology in Kentucky. Non-Hispanic whites are 1.8 times more likely to have home computer access than non-Hispanic blacks, and are 1.5 times more likely to use network services. Finally, the youngest Kentuckians are much more likely to access and use these technologies. Thus, the bad news is that the “information haves” tend to be younger, better educated, wealthier, and white, while the “information have-nots” tend to be black, older, and have less education and income. The good news for Kentucky is that the digital divide narrowed considerably from 1993 to 1998 for nearly all socioeconomic and demographic categories. For example, the gap between the highest and lowest income groups narrowed from the wealthiest Kentuckians being 8 times more likely in 1993 to access a home computer to about 3 times more likely in 1998. We see this kind of reduction in the digital divide across education, age, and geographic lines, but not across race lines. In fact, the gap actually widened between blacks and whites with respect to network use. In 1993 whites were about as likely as blacks to use network services. However, by 1998 whites were 1.5 times more likely than blacks to use network services. We are therefore witnessing two major trends with respect to Kentuckians’ use of information technology. First, there are large differences in technology access and utilization between social, economic, and demographic groups. Second, most (but not all) of these differences have been getting smaller. These findings make a subtle yet powerful point: the people who are most vulnerable in today’s economy—the least educated—are far less inclined to own personal computers or access the Internet, which would enable them to acquire some of the skills demanded in higher-paying jobs. With the demand for high-skill workers rising rapidly, experts emphasize the importance of lifelong learning and continuous skill upgrading. Many workers will change jobs in the coming years, either by choice or by necessity. Those people with low incomes and low education levels will experience difficulties moving up the income ladder if they do not acquire some high-technology skills. Another troubling finding is the persistently wide gap between whites and blacks. In an effort to address these issues, the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center is partnering with the group “Kentucky Leaders for a New Century” to focus on the digital divide at its annual conference on November 13 and 14, 2000, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington. Information about the conference is available online at www.kltprc.net/conference2000.htm or by calling 800-853-2851, ext. 10. The Center will release its final report on the digital divide in December 2000. A note on the data: The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey has been conducted for more than 50 years. The University of Kentucky Survey Research Center survey was conducted from May 18 until June 26, 2000. Households were selected using random-digit dialings, a procedure giving every residential telephone line in Kentucky an equal probability of being called. The sample includes 1,070 noninstitutionalized Kentuckians, 18 years of age or older. The margin of error is approximately ± 3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Charts and DataFigure 1: Estimated Percent of Individuals with Home Computer Access in 1998, for Selected States Figure 2: Estimated Percent of Individuals Using Network Services in 1998, for Selected States Figure 5: Percent of Kentucky Adults with Access to a Computer at Home, Work, School, or Elsewhere Figure 7: Percentage of Adults in Kentucky Who Have Accessed the Internet, by Region Figure 8: Internet Use by Kentucky Adults by Education Level |
