Community Informatics Multimedia Archive

Monday afternoon, February 23rd, a group of about 20 students and staff braved the chilly midwestern weather to attend a lecture for the co-sponsored by Information in Society Speaker Series and the Community Informatics Initiative. Karen Mossberger, Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago, presented a lecture on her recent book, Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society and Participation co-authored by Caroline J. Tolbert and Ramona S. McNeal. The book demonstrates the effects of technology disparities on the equality of opportunity.

Mossberger defined Digital Citizenship as full participation in society online. A digital citizen is someone who is a full member of society online. Mossberger defines a full user as a person who uses the internet on a daily basis. Using data already collected, Digital Citizenship reported findings that suggest internet use at work increases wages, and that less-educated workers and minorities can benefit the most from technology use at work. It is clear that disparities remain in online participation despite the growth of the population of digital citizens, as shown by an in-depth analysis of gaps among minorities, the poor, and the less educated. Mossberger noted that even in people under the age of 32, race is still a factor affecting disparities to internet access. Further, more in depth study of internet use is needed to drive public policy, which is needed to address educational, and technology disparities to attain full online participation for all.

I think that Digital Citizenship provides a good overview of how people use the internet but I feel that more in-depth qualitative studies might help to answer more questions about particular user groups, especially since there can be overlap between groups. I was not surprised that the findings found gaps among minorities, the poor, and the less educated. However, I was surprised to find out that when controlling for other factors that race is still a factor affecting disparities to internet access for people under the age of 32. The passage of time alone is not enough to remedy the issue. Proactive advocacy for change is needed, and progressive activism over neutrality is the charge facing current and future librarians.

Written by IMLS fellow Kristin Palmer