After reading the articles by Kevin Guidry and Aaron Smith,
I believe there is a larger participation gap than digital divide in the United
States. The “participation gap” expands beyond the simplistic view of the “digital
divide” because nearly every American has some form of access to the Internet
and other media devices. However, Americans have differing experiences with the
Internet, and that shapes people’s understanding and perspective of the
Internet. For example, if an individual has instant access to the Internet on
their mobile device, they will have a very different understanding of the
Internet than an individual who just owns a computer, or has to go to the
library to use the Internet. The use of
the Internet with someone’s own device is much more personal and occurs on a
more consistent basis. These experiences will greatly affect the way an individual
illustrates the Internet and other media devices.
Mobile Trends and the Participation Gap
The growing use of mobile devices to access the Internet in
the next 3-5 years will likely shrink the digital divide and the participation
gap. With more people having access to the Internet than ever before, it is
inevitable that the participation gap will decrease to the point where it is
nonexistent. With 88% of US adults owning a cell phone, and 49% of all US
adults using their cell phones for the Internet, the participation gap between
cell phone Internet users and non-cell phone Internet users is become less
definitive. While the digital divide still exists for individuals without
Internet access at home, the number of people with mobile devices with Internet
access is increasing, and thus the way people experience the Internet is changing
to be more mobile.
The Mobile Audiences of the Future
Mobile audiences are growing and becoming a greater factor
in the way companies and people present media to the public. Now, every website
must ensure that it is accessible on a mobile device because that is many
people’s preferred way of accessing the Internet. Eventually, I believe that
mobile devices will greatly outnumber laptops and desktops. People prefer to be
able to access the Internet whenever they possibly can, and mobile devices
allow them to do just that. I predict the mobile audience to continue
increasing over the next couple of years, and then it will eventually level off
because everyone will have a mobile device.