2004 University of Michigan Poverty Research Grants
Funded research
Salvador Rivas, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, and Kate Williams, Doctoral Student, School of Information, University of Michigan.
Computer and Internet Use Among So-Called "Technology Have-Nots" in a Latino Community
Description
The proposed study aims to answer the following research question: How do low-income Latinos in one rust belt U.S. city “bridge the digital divide” and use computers and the Internet? Survey data confirms that Latinos are using computers and the internet at an increasing rate, but one that lags well behind Whites, Asians, and higher income, better educated population strata.
Non-use excludes Latinos from a great deal of commercial, job-related, government, and educational activity that is particularly critical for disadvantaged communities. Further, the social and cultural activity that takes place online has been shown to extend one’s social networks and thus increase one’s social capital.
We will investigate the extent, causes, and consequences of computer/internet use, and the social networks of computer and internet users, in a predominantly Latino section of a U.S. city. Interviews will allow us to develop a ‘bottom up’ portrait of computer and internet use among low-income Latinos. Our approach will investigate the following topics:
• What prompted them to become computer/internet users?
• What do they accomplish with computers/the internet?
• Who or what helped them do this?
• In what ways, if any, has computer/internet use changed their social network?
Scholars and policy makers have asserted that low-income internet use is held up by lack of meaningful online content, and that connectivity, capability, and content are the three factors for bridging the digital divide. Our study will shed light on whether and how that is true for Latinos and may also suggest realities for other immigrant communities in the U.S.
Barr | Dinzey-Flores | Garcia | Rivas| Index
