Digital Divide in Mobile News Interest

8/19/2011

Someone once joked that my wife and I, then still both working for Newsday, were bridging the digital divide all by ourselves. Between the two of us, we own an iMac, two MacBook Pros, an iPad and two iPhones.

As black journalists with relationships forged in newsrooms and media organizations, most of our friends and associates, like us, are news junkies – and use mobile devices to stay informed, connected and productive.

But a report released this week by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, “How Americans Use Their Cell Phones,” suggests that most African Americans don’t use their cell phones for similar reasons.

Click here to read my article, published online by the Poynter Institute, to learn ways that media companies and others can help to create greater appetites for accessing news and information among mobile device users.

10 Comments

Sarah

8/31/2011 02:01:20 am

This is really interesting to me, as it just further indicates the educational gap between particular groups of individuals, and not solely in terms of race. I Googled the linked article (the link wasn't working), so I could read the rest. I think overall, it's a great post that will unquestionably provoke discussion on how to approach and rectify the issue, especially for future generations.

Tessa Fox

8/31/2011 11:00:28 am

I found this article quite appealing to be due to the fact that diversity and race are very interesting to me. As Sarah said previously, this article seems to propose questions and issues that many people (of any race) don't typically think about.

Liz McGovern

8/31/2011 12:51:20 pm

While I found the educational difference between cell phone users was fairly predictable, I was really surprised to see the disparity between races. I found it interesting that African American and Latino people have all around higher rates of cell phone use, compared to Caucasians.

I also liked the linked article, because it talked about the challenges cell phones propose in a technology driven society. As cell phones connect us to the outside world, it can drive us apart from those who are physically present with us.

Erin Caughey

8/31/2011 02:56:59 pm

I had never previously thought about how race has contributed and affected social media input. Now noticing that differences, it is interesting to know what priorities come first within differing backgrounds.

Ben Stanley

8/31/2011 03:41:33 pm

It was an interesting article. I never thought about it before, but I do use my phone, almost compulsively, to alleviate boredom. I am also guilty of pretending I'm using my phone to avoid people. What have I become?

Ryan Ellerbusch

9/1/2011 02:32:04 am

I am quite addicted to my cell phone and participate in most of these functions but like Erin said, I have never thought about the similarities associated with race and social media before. I was surprised to notice in the study that Twitter use was not included. I would definitely be interested in finding out the cell phone use percentage of Twitter by race/ethnicity.

Heather Ronaldson

9/1/2011 04:12:44 am

It is interesting to see how different races use cellphones. As for you and your wife bridging the digital divide, I can't help but agree after reading the myriad of Apple products you own.

Marissa Evans

9/14/2011 10:21:02 pm

I was very pleased with the story you wrote about this. As a black journalism student, I consider my own self tech savvy but I all too quickly forget how many other black people are not. While this gap is daunting as I want to be able to reach diverse audiences in all platforms, perhaps though this is economic related? Data plans on many cell phone plans do not come cheap! However, maybe this emphasizes the depth and importance of posting stories and items of interest to Facebook and Twitter, items that people are not only liable to share but also people can see on their computer, on the newsfeed.

Brynne Ramella

1/18/2012 11:44:09 am

This is very interesting, I have never seen a survey like this before. I clicked the link to read your story but, unfortunately, the link was not working. Wasn't it Mrs. Lowe who told our classes to make sure that links to our stories always worked ;-) ?

Rebecca Hixson

1/18/2012 02:10:03 pm

I ditch my smartphone whenever I get the chance, but it is good that you both stay current with the world events! I also respect the Apple obsession. I named my dog, Macintosh, after the great technological empire.

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Digital Divide in Mobile News Interest

Leave a Reply.

Welcome

Archives

Categories