The Participation Gap is Affecting How US Citizens Use Cell Phones

As technology continues to progress, the idea of a digital divide and a participation gap have began to develop.  Kevin Guidry from Indiana University writes an article discussing this topic.  According to his article, the digital divide is basically the gap between the number of Americans that own computers and have Internet access in their homes and the number of Americans that do not own computers and have Internet access in their homes.  Those who tended not to have Internet in their homes were underemployed, less educated, and Black or Hispanic. The participation gap refers to how those two groups mentioned previously use the Internet differently.  Those who do not have Internet access in their homes and have to use the computer in a public place obviously have many limitations.  For example, according to the National Education Association (NEA), they have limited times when they can use the Internet and limited websites they can visit because public places block certain sites.  Also, they do not have the ability to download, store, and upload material.

Personally, I believe that there is a participation gap and not a digital divide.  It is especially evident in a survey conducted by Pew Research Center regarding how registered voters use their cell phones to keep up with the upcoming 2012 election.  In the article “The State of the 2012 Election --- Mobile Politics”, eighty-eight percent of registered voters own a cell phone.  Twenty-seven percent of these voters used their cellphone to keep up with the election.  Nineteen percent have sent text messages to family and friends regarding the election and only five percent have signed up to receive text messages directly form a candidate or other group involved in the campaign.  Because three fourths of registered voters have the capability to send and receive text messages, it seems as it they just do not use their cell phones to its fullest capabilities.  It could be a result of not knowing how to work the cell phone or not wanting to.  Also, a little less than half of voters own smartphones.  Most of those who own smartphones use their smartphone to read other people’s comments on social networking sites regarding a certain candidate or about the campaign in general.  However, only eighteen percent of smartphone owners post their own comments on those type of websites.

The digital divide has lessened over the years in my opinion.  In three to five years, I can see the participation gap doing the same thing.  Right now, as the election is concerned, television is a major tool for reaching audiences.  The debates, commercials, and news stations give the voters a lot of information regarding the campaigns.  In turn, it causes voters not to turn their cell phones to obtain this information.  As technology continues to grow, I believe that in future elections the use of mobile phones will become more prevalent.  Apps and text messages will become common ways to reach voters especially the new generation of voters.  I believe this will be possible especially with the rise of smartphones.