Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Fig. 2.9
U.S.
internet
penetration
rates,
1996-2010.
Source
Calculated
by
author
from
internetworldstats.com
2.4.1 North America
U.S. penetration rates have grown steadily over time (Fig.
2.9
), reaching 78 % in
2011. However, internet use was highly uneven across the country (Fig.
2.10
), and
was typically highest in wealthier, better educated states in the West and Northeast
and lower in the South. Although internet penetration rates in the U.S. are not as
high as Scandinavian nations, they remain higher than many other urbanized,
industrialized countries, and Americans as a whole still constitute the largest and
most influential national bloc of internet users in the planet. Several factors have
conspired to accelerate internet usage in the U.S. among and within different social
groups. Almost 80 % of Americans use a PC once or more per week either at work
or at home, the vast bulk of which are networked. Because the value of a network
rises proportional to the square of the number of users, the internet and the PC
made each other increasingly powerful and attractive. Simultaneously, the rise in
user-friendly graphics interfaces greatly facilitated internet access for the parts of
the population lacking in sophisticated computer skills. Moreover, as the number
of applications of the internet has grown, the hours of usage have increased
steadily to more than 9 per week. The rise in PC ownership has been a central
claim of those who argue the digital divide will disappear on its own accord.
Throughout the 1995-2011 period, growth in internet use among various socio-
demographic groups was rapid, often spectacular (Table
2.4
). Average internet
penetration rates—including access at home, work, or school—more than qua-
drupled, from 14 to 77 %; by 2011, 245 million Americans were using the internet
regularly. The innovation, the most rapidly diffused technology in world history,
went from a tool or toy of a minority to an essential implement used by the vast
majority. Every social group, as differentiated by age, gender, race/ethnicity,
educational level, or household income, experienced marked gains. Thus, to the
extent that the digital divide persists in the U.S. (and other economically advanced
countries), it must be understood within the context of this sustained and rapid
increase in the number of users and proportion of the population.
