Paul DiMaggio and Eszter Hargittai
ABSTRACT
The authors of this paper contend that as Internet penetration increases, students
of inequality of access to the new information technologies should shift their
attention from the "digital divide" - inequality between "haves"
and "have-nots" differentiated by dichotomous measures of access to
or use of the new technologies - to digital inequality, by which we refer not
just to differences in access, but also to inequality among persons with formal
access to the Internet. After reviewing data on Internet penetration, the paper
describes five dimensions of digital inequality - in equipment, autonomy of
use, skill, social support, and the purposes for which the technology is employed
- that deserve additional attention. In each case, hypotheses are developed
to guide research, with the goal of developing a testable model of the relationship
between individual characteristics, dimensions of inequality, and positive outcomes
of technology use. Finally, because the rapidity of organizational as well as
technical change means that it is difficult to presume that current patterns
of inequality will persist into the future, the authors call on students of
digital inequality to study institutional issues in order to understand patterns
of inequality as evolving consequences of interactions among firms' strategic
choices, consumers' responses, and government policies.