BBC NEWS | Education | Digital divide 'hits black families'
Warwick University researcher Dr David Owen said: "Some people are being left behind, with our increasing reliance on information technology.
"We need further research into this, so we can conquer what has become known as the digital divide."
The survey, of 1,585 households in deprived areas, found that 37% of white families owned computers, compared with 31% of black families.
The figure among Asian families was 42%, but this group was less likely than others to use the internet.
The overall proportion of UK families owning a computer was 50% in 2001, according to government figures.
The report, commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills, comes as the government is encouraging more people to learn how to use computers.
Technology as in other areas, suffers from division in society. Inequality in terms of access to PCs, the Internet (and presumably broadband although its not mentioned) and to online government services. In some respects the eGovernment initiative is looking to target just this segment of the population. Its quite clearly failing and hopefully this survey will be a step to addressing such issues. I wonder how many have access to digital interactive TV or Mobile phones?
Posted by Paul Goodison at October 16, 2003 09:27 PM | TrackBack