Digital Divide

COVID-19 may yet do what years of advocacy have failed to: Make telework a benefit available to more than a relative handful of U.S. workers.

As schools close and classes and assignments shift online, some students do not have reliable access to the internet at home.

A majority of U.S. adults can answer fewer than half the questions correctly on a digital knowledge quiz, and many struggle with certain cybersecurity and privacy questions

A median of 65% across 11 emerging economies say it is the government’s responsibility to ensure equal access to reliable internet service.

Whether in advanced or emerging economies, younger people, those with higher levels of education and those with higher incomes are more likely to be digitally connected.

Some 15% of U.S. households with school-age children do not have a high-speed internet connection at home. Some teens are more likely to face digital hurdles when trying to complete their homework.

Fast, reliable internet service has become broadly essential. But 24% of rural U.S. adults say access to high-speed internet is a major problem in their community.

The politically aware, digitally savvy and those more trusting of the news media fare better in differentiating factual statements from opinions.

At the same time, the contours of connectivity are shifting: One-in-five Americans (20%) are now ‘smartphone only’ internet users at home.

A global median of 75% want their news media to be unbiased when covering political issues, yet many say the news media do a poor job of reporting on political issues fairly.