Citizens, Computers, and Connectivity

A Review of Trends

Tora K. Bikson, Constantijn (Stan) Panis

ResearchPublished 1999

As computer and Internet use have grown dramatically, access gaps have widened rather than narrowed in the United States. This report uses Current Population Survey data from 1997 to update trends in computers and connectivity since an earlier 1995 study. It finds that there is a continuing “digital divide” between those who do and do not have access to computers and communication technologies. The division is significantly predicted by income, education, race/ethnicity, and — to a lesser extent — age, location, and possibly gender. The disparities have persisted over a period in which the technologies of interest have decreased dramatically in price (relative to what they can do) and increased markedly in user friendliness. Sizable demographic subgroups that remain on the wrong side of the digital divide may be deprived of the benefits associated with citizenship in an information society.

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  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 1999
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 58
  • Paperback Price: $7.50
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-2778-8
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/MR1109
  • Document Number: MR-1109-MF

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Bikson, Tora K. and Constantijn (Stan) Panis, Citizens, Computers, and Connectivity: A Review of Trends, RAND Corporation, MR-1109-MF, 1999. As of October 5, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1109.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Bikson, Tora K. and Constantijn (Stan) Panis, Citizens, Computers, and Connectivity: A Review of Trends. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1999. https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1109.html. Also available in print form.
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The research described in this report was supported by the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation and performed under the auspices of RAND’s Science and Technology unit.

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