[LINK] Australia's digital divide is narrowing, but getting deeper

[David Boxall]

<http://www.sbs.com.au/news/thefeed/article/2016/02/25/comment-australias-digital-divide-narrowing-getting-deeper>
> ... as more and more Australians are online, the disadvantage of being 
> offline grows. So as the divide narrrows, it gets deeper.
>
> Meanwhile, teachers assume their students have unrestricted access to 
> the internet and set homework accordingly; businesses assume their 
> customers are internet users and shape their offerings online; and 
> governments shift resources to digital provision of information and 
> opportunities to interact.
...
> While two thirds of low-income households have access, 98% of the 
> highest-income households have an internet connection. And it’s not 
> just access that is affected by income.
>
> Of the lowest-income households, 44% have a tablet in the home, 
> compared to 76% of the highest-income households. The mean number of 
> devices used to access the internet in the lowest-income households is 
> four compared to seven in the highest.
>
> This is important because these devices enable individuals in the 
> household to access the internet simultaneously. Homework can be done 
> while someone else plays games while that night’s cook looks up 
> recipes online.

-- 
David Boxall                    |  When a distinguished but elderly
                                |  scientist states that something is
http://david.boxall.id.au       |  possible, he is almost certainly
                                |  right. When he states that
                                |  something is impossible, he is
                                |  very probably wrong.
                                                  --Arthur C. Clarke