Who’s off the Internet — and why

If the gap between technology rich and technology poor was primarily physical in the 1990s, the gap in this decade is increasingly skills-based.

To be “left behind” in the 21st century now means something completely different compared with what it meant at the end of the 20th. Then, Washington worried about getting enough telephones and personal computers into U.S. households. Although that challenge may seem like a distant memory, it has since been replaced by others. Today, access to high-speed Internet — and the know-how to use it — have become regulators’ chief worry. They not only pose new problems for society but also, in subtle ways, change who needs the most help. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that only 19 percent of the 51 million people without Internet access blame high prices, and only 7 percent cite the availability of broadband. Those who aren’t on the Internet today are saying they lack something else: the guidance that would make it an object of value to them. Far more, 34 percent, told Pew that the Internet simply isn’t relevant to their lives. And 32 percent said it is too hard to use.

In other words, adding more connectivity won’t close the digital divide if those who stand to benefit aren’t interested in what the Internet has to offer.