Falling Through the Net

The Digital Divide Network

Consider these facts reported by the National Telecommunication Information Administration in October 2000:

• Households with an average annual earned income of over $75,000 per year have a computer ownership rate of 86.3 percent, while only 19.2 percent of households earning less than $15,000 per year own computers.
• Over three-quarters of high income households have Internet access, while only 12.7 percent of low income households can connect to the Internet.
• Only one-third of African-American and Hispanic households own computers, far behind the national computer ownership average of 51 percent.
• Just 23 percent of African-American and Hispanic families have home Internet access.
• The Internet is available in more than 60 percent of all two-parent households, while only 32 percent of single parent households are connected to the Internet.
• In major cities, only 22.8 percent of single female-headed households have Internet access.
• Nearly 60 percent of Americans with disabilities have never used a computer.
• More than 64 percent of college graduates have used the Internet, compared to only 29 percent of those with just a high school diploma, and 11 percent of those not graduating high school.