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14. Narrowing the digital divide: thepotential and limits of the UScommunity technology movementLisa J. Servon and Randal D. PinkettInformation technology (IT) has wrought fundamental changes throughoutsociety. IT has been instrumental in the shift from an industrial age to anetwork age. We now live in a society in which the production, acquisition,and flow of knowledge drive the economy and in which global informationnetworks represent key infrastructure. How have these changes affected existingpower relations and patterns of inequality? Does IT benefit or hinderprogress toward social and economic justice?Clearly, it has the power to do both. In addition to altering commerce,education, government, and communications, IT affects the construction ofand response to social problems such as poverty and inequality. The very existenceof the “digital divide” – or lack of access to IT for certain segments ofthe population – is evidence of the ability of technology to exacerbate existinginequality. At the same time, technology can bring education to people livingfar from good schools. It can promote organizing efforts in disadvantagedcommunities and it can connect people to a wide range of opportunities. Thecommunity technology movement – a grassroots social movement thatemploys IT to empower historically disadvantaged individuals and communities– demonstrates the potential of IT to serve as a tool of social change.The digital divide is now recognized as an international issue. High-incomeOECD countries account for over three-quarters of the world’s Internet users(United Nations Development Programme, 2001). In virtually all countries,Internet users tend to be young, urban, male, and relatively well educated andwealthy. In short, the diffusion of technology both within and between countrieshas been extremely uneven. Current and historical patterns of access toIT illustrate a significant separation between information “haves” and information“have-nots” along lines of race, socioeconomic status, education level,household type, and geographic location (Doctor, 1994; US Department ofCommerce, 2000). Why has the technology gap emerged as such a prominentissue nationally and internationally? Does it warrant this recent attention?319

320 Lisa J. Servon and Randal D. PinkettUndoubtedly. IT affects how we work and what we work toward, how weconnect with each other and with whom we connect, and how we make decisionsand with what information. Living on the wrong side of the digitaldivide, as do the persistent poor, means being cut off from these changes anddisconnected from the information society.This chapter makes two arguments. First, that in order to narrow the digitaldivide we must redefine it. And, second, that we must look to community technologycenters (CTCs) as key innovators. In the process of making these twoarguments, we will discuss the importance of technology literacy and lay outthe context in which CTCs work. This chapter is based on a literature reviewof the community technology field, a 1999 survey of the 336 affiliates of theCommunity Technology Centers Network (CTCNet), and extensive fieldworkat CTCs in East Palo Alto, Seattle, Austin, Pittsburgh, and New York City.WHY TECHNOLOGY?When community technology activists talk about the need to narrow the digitaldivide, they are often met with skepticism. Is IT something people reallyneed, or is it more accurate to think of it as a luxury? Why would people onlow incomes use computers to contact elected officials? They can write lettersnow, but they seldom do. They can vote now, but the poor are one of thegroups with the lowest voter turnout rates. Was the cable access movement notsupposed to give people a voice? Why has it not made the kind of impact manyhoped that it would make? Perhaps the Internet, the IT medium of communication,is just the next in a long succession of over-hyped media.These questions and doubts are legitimate. However, the Internet possesseskey attributes that make it differ from these other media in significant ways.First, the Internet is an open medium that allows broad participation: the shorthandfor this characteristic is “many to many.” Unlike other media used todeliver information – television and newspapers, for example – the Internetallows users both to respond to what exists and to produce their own materialrelatively inexpensively if they possess the skills and access necessary to doso. This “many-to-many” aspect of the Internet is one of its key culturalfeatures. The Internet’s interactive nature creates the conditions necessary “forlearning, confidence-building, and self-empowerment” (Sanyal, 2000: 146). Inshort, the Internet provides “the capacity for anyone to find his/her own destinationin the net, and if not found, to create and post his/her own information”(Castells, 2001: 19).Second, the Internet enables the creation and support of networks. Thesenetworks are organized and maintained for social and economic purposes. Thevalue of networks increases as the number of people who belong to and

14. Narrowing the digital divide: thepotential and limits of the UScommunity technology movementLisa J. Servon and Randal D. PinkettInformation technology (IT) has wrought fundamental chan<strong>ge</strong>s throughoutsociety. IT has been instrumental in the shift from an industrial a<strong>ge</strong> to anetwork a<strong>ge</strong>. We now live in a society in which the production, acquisition,and flow of knowled<strong>ge</strong> drive the economy and in which global informationnetworks represent key infrastructure. How have these chan<strong>ge</strong>s affected existingpower relations and patterns of inequality? Does IT benefit or hinderprogress toward social and economic justice?Clearly, it has the power to do both. In addition to altering commerce,education, government, and communications, IT affects the construction ofand response to social problems such as poverty and inequality. The very existenceof the “digital divide” – or lack of access to IT for certain segments ofthe population – is evidence of the ability of technology to exacerbate existinginequality. At the same time, technology can bring education to people livingfar from good schools. It can promote organizing efforts in disadvanta<strong>ge</strong>dcommunities and it can connect people to a wide ran<strong>ge</strong> of opportunities. Thecommunity technology movement – a grassroots social movement thatemploys IT to empower historically disadvanta<strong>ge</strong>d individuals and communities– demonstrates the potential of IT to serve as a tool of social chan<strong>ge</strong>.The digital divide is now recognized as an international issue. High-incomeOECD countries account for over three-quarters of the world’s Internet users(United Nations Development Programme, 2001). In virtually all countries,Internet users tend to be young, urban, male, and relatively well educated andwealthy. In short, the diffusion of technology both within and between countrieshas been extremely uneven. Current and historical patterns of access toIT illustrate a significant separation between information “haves” and information“have-nots” along lines of race, socioeconomic status, education level,household type, and <strong>ge</strong>ographic location (Doctor, 1994; US Department ofCommerce, 2000). Why has the technology gap emer<strong>ge</strong>d as such a prominentissue nationally and internationally? Does it warrant this recent attention?319

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