The E-volution of the Digital Divide in the US : A Mayhem of Competing Metrics

The ‘digital divide’ between information and technology ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in the USA has been the topic of considerable academic, journalistic, business and political discourse since the federal government published its first report on information technology inequities in 1995. This article traces the trajectory of this issue by focusing on different areas of research that are competing to shape the public policy agenda. One benchmarks computer and internet consumption patterns and argues that the divide is disappearing. The other focuses more on continuing barriers to access and use. The author’s perspective is that policy should focus at least as much on the context and content of technology use as it has thus far on the increased distribution of computing resources