Emerging Media

MENU

360
EMERGING MEDIA

Smartphones Aiding in
Digital Divide
With the continuing advancement in
technology, minorities are using
smartphones as an alternative way other
than home broadband to connect with the
online world - with African American
millennials leading the pack. Smartphones
are aiding in the digital divide, but with
some challenges. Sixty-eight percent of
Americans now own a smartphone, that’s
an increase from 55 percent two years ago.
The increase in smartphone-only users
reflects the slow decline in home
broadband use. This shift is mostly due to
the rising cost of home broadband
subscriptions, expensive costs of
computers, having other options for
internet access outside of home and lack of
utility available in rural areas.

African Americans and Hispanics are the

fastest group that exhibit the sharpest
increase in smartphone-only for online
access at home. In 2013, ten percent of
African Americans and 16 percent of
Hispanics depended on a smartphone for
home internet connectivity. In 2015,
Africans Americans increased to 19 percent
and Hispanics to 23 percent. Out of the 19
percent of African Americans, 91 percent
(Nielsen 2016 report: black millennials close
the digital divide) say they access the
internet on a mobile device.
This adoption of smartphone-only to
access the internet does not come without
its challenges. According to the Pew
Research Center’s 2015 report, “Although
smartphones help those without home
broadband to access the internet, this
group frequently encounters a number of
constraints with data caps. Additionally,
smartphone-dependent internet users are
more likely to cancel or suspend their
service because of financial constraints.
There are other challenges. For example,
28% of adults have used a smartphone as
part of their employment search, and half
of those have filled out a job application
using a smartphone. But mobile job seekers
often encounter difficulties like accessing
and reading content, as well as trouble
submitting files and documents.”

Even though more African Americans and

Hispanics can access online information via
their smartphone, they view the lack of
home broadband keeps them at a
disadvantage. Some reasons cited as a
disadvantage are finding out about job
opportunities or gaining new career skills,
learning about or accessing government
services, learning new things that may
improve their lives and getting health
information.

Granted, there are hurdles for smartphone-

dependent internet users to overcome by
not having home broadband. The good
news is that great efforts in technology are
being made to close the digital divide, but
we still have a way to go. Considering
technology continues to improve and
advance, these barriers that smartphone-
dependent users encounter will hopefully
become a thing of the past.

Melvin Bogard, Graduate Student

Master of Arts in Emerging Media

Loyola University Maryland

A L SO OF INTE R E S T:

Emerging Media Program

Tuition & Financial Aid

Loyola University Maryland | 4501 N.

Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21210
410-617-2000 | Weather Line: 410-617-
2223