The Origin And Evolution Of The Digital Divide

[Commentary] Things have improved in the last 20-plus years: We’ve gone from 15 million people on the internet when I joined the Clinton Administration to 3.5 billion on the internet today worldwide and, in the U.S., we’re 80 to 85 percent connected. The numbers are moving in the right direction, but we won’t be done until there is no gap, until every person who wants access has access to the information and opportunities the internet provides. We’re still hammering away at the problem of the connectivity gap, but the face of the problem has changed as well. Once we’ve gotten kids connected to the internet we need to make sure they have the appropriate physical tools, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, to wield that power effectively. Verizon’s new documentary on the subject, Without A Net: The Digital Divide in America, posits that we need a three-pronged approach: connectivity, hardware access and teacher training.

[Larry Irving is the CEO of The Irving Group. This post was presented by Verizon]