Americans depend more than ever on high-speed internet to connect to jobs, get health care and socialize. What policies really work to close the rural-urban digital divide?
Most Christian churches were relying heavily on ‘collection plates’ to pay their bills before the pandemic struck. And less than half were doing any online fundraising as of 2018.
Galleries and musuems are rapidly moving online in response to social distancing measures, but the digital divide means regional and remote organisations could be left behind.
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing people to study and work online. It’s also sparked a need for news and information. That’s a challenge for the 24 million Americans who lack broadband internet access.
Encouraging kids to complete their work can be tough for families managing full-time work and family obligations on a tight budget. And that’s true even when schools are operating normally.
Technology experts have long worried about a ‘digital divide’ between those who could use computers and those who could not. Artificial intelligence algorithms are widening the gulf.
Mexico made internet connectivity a constitutional right in 2013, but most poor people still aren’t online. Research shows that internet access would give these residents more economic mobility.