Hope for the Digitally Distant

The FCC late last year did a phone survey of 5,000 Americans and they now estimate that 93 million Americans are not yet on the high-speed Web train. That lack of “digital relevance” many feel is holding this country back and is one of the reasons the agency will be pushing for a new broadband access strategy that will be publicly unveiled on March 17. And why are so many people still offline? Well here are the FCC survey categories of those who do not yet have broadband according to an article called FCC Aims to Haul Digital Have-Nots Across the Divide. Obviously there is a lot of work left to be done to create digital equal access in this country:

• Near Converts (30 percent of non-adopters) are the closest to making the leap -- they own computers and aren't intimidated by the Web but simply can't afford the cost. Their median age is 45.
• Digital Hopefuls (22 percent) wouldn't mind being online but don't own a computer, can't afford broadband and aren't confident in their digital skills. Nearly half of this category cites affordability as their main obstacle; most in this group make up the so-called "digital divide," populated mostly by African-Americans and Latinos.
• Digitally Uncomfortable (20 percent) can afford computers and access, but aren't sold yet on the idea of being online as a good thing for their lives. They wonder what relevance high-speed access brings them, so they haven't developed the skills to navigate the Web.
• Digitally Distant (28 percent) have the most negative attitudes of all the groups towards the Internet. They see it as a threat to kids and don't grasp its educational opportunities. Most are retired Americans with a median age of 63.

Defacing of Memorial Sites on Facebook

Defacement of Facebook pages, set up as tributes to two murdered children in Australia, has prompted the Queensland government there to ask Facebook to step in to prevent similar situations. Although Facebook has not yet issued an official response as of this writing, a Facebook spokesperson has said that while they are quick to respond to reports from users of offensive materials and cause their removal, "it is simply not possible to 'prevent' a person with a sinister agenda from undertaking offensive activity anywhere on the Internet where people can post content. Nor is it really possible in real life." The Queensland police have told people that they need to think twice about putting up a memorial site as they seem to attract unsavory people. Perhaps good advice to those of us Stateside as well.