Digital Divide Diaries

Closing the digital divide is about more than policymaking—it’s about storytelling. The soul of the digital divide is not zeros and ones; it has a human face.

These multimedia narratives shed light on the everyday experiences of those grappling with digital inequity—be it access to broadband networks, digital literacy, or affordable internet-connected devices.

 

 

 

 

 

"A Very Rude Culture Shock"

How one homebuyer found herself working remotely, without internet.

Barbara Drӧher Kline wasn’t scared by a rural lifestyle. The plot twist was something even HGTV had not prepared her for: slow internet.

 

 

 

The Hoopa Valley Versus the Digital Divide

Along the California-Oregon border, the Hoopa Valley tribe struggles to connect residents to each other and the outside world. A series of major grants offer the possibility of fiber-to-the home internet, but the barriers are high. ALSO: Listen to "Hoopa Valley Tribe and the digital divide" from Capital Public Radio.

 

 

 

 

The Wires that Bind

A group of residents are working to create their own internet network in one neighborhood of Detroit. Why? Because the internet service is too slow or too expensive for many families.

Imprisoned by the Digital Divide: A Podcast from Unincarcerated Productions

The last time Eugene Youngblood was free, CDs had just surpassed vinyl, and the first website was being made. Thirty years later, in 2021, he was released from prison in the state of Washington. He walked free into a world where online job applications, Zoom meetings, and telehealth appointments are a given. It's a world that prison didn't prepare him for.

Unincarcerated Special Report: The Digital Divide Part One

Unincarcerated Special Report: The Digital Divide Part Two

 

 

Adam Echelman is a journalist and long-time practitioner of digital equity. He is the former Executive Director of Libraries Without Borders US and the founder of Baltimore's Digital Equity Coalition. At Libraries Without Borders US, Echelman advocated for dynamic programs that increase access to information by meeting people where they are—whether through digital literacy classes in laundromats or health workshops in churches. During his tenure, he tripled the size and scope of the organization as libraries shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, he works in Central California, covering issues of equity for the Modesto Bee. He is a graduate of Yale University and is fluent in French, Spanish, and Chinese.