The Digital Divide in Race and Gender (Assigned Blog not Iran-related)

I read about the role of technology and its relationship to gender and race in the article "Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, Gender, Race, and Information Technology Use." I wasn't too surprised by some of its findings while some that really stood out.

First, the article argued that technology has its positives and negatives. For instance, it stated, like my parents did, that video games may fry brain cells; or as the article more eloquently put it, lowered GPAs. But on the other hand a connection between the video games and math skills was found. They found that Internet usage could solidify social relationships in certain users while for other, more reticent users it could exacerbate isolation.


The article also pointed out a growing issue: cyberbullying. I've heard about it before and did a little background research. Cyberbullying is just what it sounds like: being mean online. The article noted it is occurring more frequently as youths connect more--through IMs, texts, facebook posts, etc. There is an anti-cyberbullying site and in it there is a description about what needs to be done to fight cyberbullying. It reads, "If [children] don’t allow the cyberbullies to use them...cyberbullying will quickly stop...and in the end, our children will be safer online and offline. We will have helped create a generation of good cybercitizens, controlling the technology instead of being controlled by it" (the Italics are mine). This addressed an issue we confronted earlier this semester in class. I think it is remarkable that the question of who-leads-who goes beyond innovation, and is starting to seep into the social world. It is also very scary.

Another thing that caught my eye was the racial divide in the use of technology. The article says, “even within income levels, there are race differences in home Internet access favoring Caucasian Americans” (Jackson et al. 438). The article specifically highlights the difference between races in the United States, as it reads:

Comparing African American and Caucasian American youth on global measures of self-esteem generally find no differences. However, when specific dimensions of self-concept are considered, Caucasian American youth score higher … on social and academic self-concept…whereas African American youth score higher on physical appearance self-concept (438)

The article also notes a disparity between dial-up and broadband users. It says that broadband users access more diverse sites and participate in more online activites. Moreover the authors say, “the rate of information and online literacy skills and uses will continue to accumulate differentially” (438). This means that a new digital divide will arise, one that isn’t based on access but instead is based on use.

As the article mentions in the discussion there are differences between race and gender in regard to technology use and self-perception, but not in “overall self-esteem” (439). The largest indicators were household-income and gender. Higher income youths had more access to technology; boys played more video games then girls and were more likely make purchases online. I can’t say I find these conclusions shocking, as they match what my previous ideas of technology use were. If one had access to a computer, one would use it; and the same goes for an X-Box 360.