THE DIGITAL DIVIDE digitally-disadvantaged residents also are the most economically-disadvantaged living in concentrated , persistent poverty rooted in institutionalized racism . Thus , closing the Digital Divide must address the inter-related factors and forces — constituting a ‘ Wall of Poverty ’ — that make it very difficult for low-income residents to escape oppressive economic conditions to succeed in school or get a good job .”
Who Lacks Home Broadband ?
Since 2008 , CETF has conducted the Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption to assess California ’ s progress toward closing the divide in broadband connectivity across the state and among key demographics .
A new partnership between CETF and the University of Southern California , the 2021 Statewide Survey was completed this spring by researchers led by USC Associate Professor Hernán Galperin , Ph . D . The 2021 Statewide Survey of 1,650 California adults was conducted between February 10 and March 22 , 2021 via interviews in English , Spanish , Mandarin and Vietnamese by mobile phone and landline .
The findings show that the share of California households with internet access at home continues to rise , with overall adoption surpassing the 90 % mark for the first time . While this represents an important milestone for the state , the findings also show that progress is uneven and many continue to be on the wrong side of the divide . And it reveals how the pandemic has created both new opportunities as well as new
76 comstocksmag . com | June 2021