Smartphones and the great Digital Divide Smartphones and the great Digital Divide

Q1: Even thought 44 percent of African Americans and Latinos own a smartphone while only 30 percent of white, non-Hispanics do, many people contend that this isn’t really closing the great digital divide because African Americans and Latinos use their smartphones more for entertainment then empowerment. Build an argument to support the previous statement.

When a person only uses smartphone for entertainment, the smartphone is actually not function as a smartphone but only act as a game player or a television. This could not help to closing the great digital divide as many people now have a television and game player in their house. To closing the great digital divide, African Americans and Lat shall be teach to use the smartphone smart enough, such as as a GPS, phone, tablet, working tool and etc. only when the smartphone is function as what it should, the great digital divide cab be closed.

Q2: When accessing the Internet, what can you do on a desktop or laptop computer that you can’t do on a smart phone? If smartphone have fever Internet capabilities (than desktop and laptop computers), can you necessarily link an increase in smartphone ownership within a U.S. based economically disadvantaged group of people to closing the great digital divide? Why or why not?

Smartphone have a similar function as laptop and destop. The only thing that I can think of that smartphone cannot support is those program with JAVA version and smartphone do not have a physical keyboard. However, even smartphone yet to complete as laptop, as long as most of the disadvantage group owned and use smartphone, they still can learn a lot of thing thru online at anytime any place, the great digital divide surely can be closer.

Q3: How does an increase in smartphone ownership in a third-world geographic region like Africa close the digital divide for contries in that region? If you owned a U.S. business and wanted to start doing business in Africa, what would be essential part of your marketing stretagy.

Smart phone is much cheaper and smaller the normal laptop or destop, this make poor people have a chance to use this device. However, without internet, smartphone will become not smart enough. If I would be doing business in such region, I will target to provide cheaper online provider which come with cheap smartphone so that they can owned a smartphone which can online.

Q4: If you look at smartphone ownership by household income, you’ll notice a fairly sizable dip for the category of $ 50,000.00 - $ 75,000. To what do you attribute this? Justify your answer?

This is mainly because category of $ 50,000.00 - $ 75,000 considers a middle low income range where people with this range are more concern on buying house and property. Their income is enough to support only for basic living with having a house or property. In such, technology device become secondary important or luxury thing for such group.

Q5: Finally, will greater access to the internet case a closing of the great digital divide? You can answer Yes, No or same. Whatever the case, build an argument for your answer.

The answer can be yes or no. theoretically, greater access to the internet can close the great digital divide. However, it is much depend on what you have use internet for. If you use it for knowledge purpose, then the gap can be closed but if only for entertainment, the gap will not close much. But having greater access to the internet is a very important step to close the gap.