‘The Internet Is Everything'. What It’s Like To Parent When You Don’t Have Basic Computer Skills

Up until last year, Nancy Navarro didn’t know how to check her kids’ grades or schedule online appointments. She had Wi-Fi at home so her 15 and 11-year-old kids could do their homework on their school-issued laptops, but she wasn’t online herself very often. But then she noticed that her kids’ school was offering free digital training classes through the local nonprofit EveryoneOn, which aims to connect as many underserved people as possible on the internet. Navarro took the class and learned how to identify spam, use Google docs and other basic computer tasks. She was also given a free Chromebook from the organization, which will allow her to keep practicing at home. Navarro's experience is reflected in a new pilot study conducted by EveryOne CEO Norma Fernandez. The research explores what’s motivating underserved Latina and Black women in L.A., along with women from Milwaukee and the Bay Area, to pursue digital skills training, and details some of the challenges they face along the way. It was published by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Fernandez says very little is known about the intimate experiences of women, and specially women of color, who don’t have access to the internet or personal devices. “I really wanted to glean a more layered understanding of the digital divide from their perspective,” Fernandez said. “They’re the folks who are sitting at the center of the [the issue] and therefore experts on how to solve it,” she said.