Digital divide: We must end the struggle of being 'under-connected'

As President Biden and Congress debate a $1.2 [tr]illion infrastructure bill that includes a historic investment in broadband, it’s an important moment to question what we mean by digital equity and what it will take to achieve it. Pandemic disruptions to school and work made the quest for affordable “broadband for all” a more urgent matter, and  recognition that digital infrastructure is essential has never been more bipartisan. All this means that achieving digital equity may be more possible right now than ever before. But to achieve that goal, we have to retire old ways of defining the problem. Too many families struggle when they have to rely on malfunctioning devices or their internet is cut off because they have more pressing bills to pay. If we do not account for whether families’ digital access actually meets their needs, we cannot fully assess their virtual learning experiences or develop adequate support for students as they return to in-person school this fall. School leaders and policymakers need to reckon with the realities of being under-connected, but so do content creators. Many parents relied on educational TV, videos and games during the pandemic to keep their children learning and growing, and the lowest-income families and families of color relied on these media most of all. Designing with the dynamic needs of under-connected students and families in mind will require content creators to think about accessibility in more nuanced and creative ways. There are three steps that policymakers, local school districts and content creators can take right now to resolve the challenges of being under-connected:

1. Policymakers must prioritize under-connected families to better support them.
2. We need local solutions to end the struggle of being under-connected.
3. Media and tech companies must ensure that families can fully participate in digital learning, even at times when they are under-connected.

[Vikki S. Katz, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. Michael H. Levine, Ph.D., is senior vice president of Nickelodeon’s early learning service, Noggin, which creates educational media for children and families.]