Bridging the Digital Divide: Digital Inequality and Socioeconomic Outcomes in the United States

Abstract

The digital divide is no longer just a matter of access to the Internet, but rather a social stratification dimension that impacts education, employment, health and civic engagement in the United States. This review collates empirical and theoretical evidence concerning digital inequality and classifies the evidence in three common analytic approaches: the first level divide (access to infrastructure and devices), the second level divide (digital skills and use) and the third level divide (differences in tangible outcomes of technology use). The review is based on data from national surveys, epidemiological analyses of underserved communities at the county level, and qualitative studies of underserved populations, and shows that income, race and ethnicity, geography, age and education continue to be important factors in determining who is connected, who is digitally literate, and who can use connectivity to advance social and economic outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic is explored as a turning point that revealed and exacerbated these inequities in the learning environment, in telehealth and in working from home. The review concludes with a discussion of federal and state policy responses to the problem (subsidy and infrastructure programs) and a description of areas of longitudinal and causal research that are missing or inconclusive to evaluate whether current policy interventions can encourage longer-term socioeconomic mobility.