Digital Divide

As the iPhone turns 10 years old this week, take a look back at the broader story about the ways mobile devices have changed how people interact.

Lee Rainie spoke on May 10, 2017, to the American Bar Association’s Section of Science and Technology Law about the rise of the Internet of Things and its implications for privacy and cybersecurity.

Nearly two-thirds of those age 65 and older go online and a record share now own smartphones – although many seniors remain relatively divorced from digital life.

As robots, automation and artificial intelligence perform more tasks and there is massive disruption of jobs, experts say a wider array of education and skills-building programs will be created to meet new demands.

In each of 14 countries surveyed in 2016, nearly all people reported owning a mobile phone. But the shares who own a smartphone vary considerably.

Even as a growing share of disabled Americans report going online or owning a smartphone, the digital divide between those who have a disability and those who don’t remains large.

India and China have long had a competitive relationship and have emerged as major economic powers. But in the digital space, China has a clear advantage.

Lee Rainie, director of Internet, Science and Technology research at the Pew Research Center, discussed the Center’s latest findings on digital divides based a survey conducted from Sept. 29 to Nov. 6, 2016. The presentation was to the board of Feeding America. Rainie looked at differences tied to internet access, home broadband ownership, and smartphone ownership by several demographic measures, including household income, educational attainment, race and ethnicity, age, and community type. He also discussed the Center’s research related to “digital readiness gaps” among technology users.

Despite experiences and concerns involving digital privacy, many Americans are not following digital security best practices in their own personal lives.

Pew Research Center President Michael Dimock examines the changes – some profound, some subtle – that the U.S. experienced during Barack Obama’s presidency.