Blog Post #2 COM 305

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/29319470/detail.html

The Digital Divide is the term that refers to the gap between the members of society who have access to the internet and other communication technologies, and those who do not. In today’s world, access to the internet is vital in everything from keeping up with school work, to connecting with employers and business partners. The digital divide poses a serious problem, those member of society who do not have access to the internet are being left behind by those who do, further securing their position in poverty.

There are two areas of the digital divide, the first being the Global Divide. The Global Divide is the divide between technology uses in different areas of the planet. The second area, the Social Divide, is the divide between technology use of the citizens of a single nation, and the area that my article is concerned with.

Throughout the years, various attempts have been made to bridge the social divide that exists in the United States. In this article, Comcast, a major internet service provider, announced plans to help 250 Maryland families bridge the digital divide. Comcast is offering a program that will make internet service available to these families for a new low cost of just $9.95 per month. They are also offering computers for $149 to Maryland families who have a child eligible for school lunches.

Although this plan is a solid step in the right direction, I feel that it is going to take a lot more than this to make a noticeable impact on the digital divide that exists in Maryland. As discussed in the article, there is a serious shortage of fiber optic, or FIOS in Baltimore City. FIOS in the newer internet technology that offers faster speed and superior quality compared to the old technology. It is clear that there is an enormous gap existing in this area, due largely to the fact that there in a high poverty level in Baltimore City, in 2009 21% of Baltimore City residents were living below the poverty level compared to 9.1% statewide, according to city-data.com.

If the digital divide is going to be closed in Maryland, particularly in Baltimore City, it is going to take a lot more than 250 families being offered discounted prices. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the 2011 poverty guidelines for a family of four are $22,350 a year. Considering that this figure amounts to $5,588 per person per year, which affords someone about $15 to live on per day, not even accounting for the fact that many people in poverty have even less than this, $149 is a lot of money to come up with for a computer, and an extra $9.95 per month would easily be a struggle.

As discussed in class, bridging this gap will also require an aggressive increase in FIOS technology, and the implementation of educational programs in order to teach people how to properly utilize the technology. Although this program is a start, the bottom line is there is a need for many more similar programs. Also, there is a need for programs that donate computers, rather than simply offering them at a discounted price. Maryland, along with the rest of the states in this nation have a lot of work to be done before it can be said that there is no social divide in the United States. Hopefully the continuation of programs aimed at closing the gap will allow for more and more "have-nots" to become "haves."