Midterm 2

Some last minute stuff I found that might help elaborate on a few things.

Warschauer notes that it is necessary for people to leap across the divide from the old reality to the new one in order to suceed. Though many people may see the digital divide as irrelevant and there is cynicism in regards to it, Warschauer is adament that ICT have contributed to the profound change in the real world we live in.

In terms of the three new categories of workers, (routine production, in-person service, and symbolic analysts) there is a different structure of class. Where before there were just two levels (blue collar and white collar) technology has breached the class structure in the United States and it has infultrated every aspect of work. Though it is different, the fundametals have stayed the same. Just like white collar workers of the past, to be a symbolic analyst, it is essential that you have the training. Where before it was skill training, now it is skill training using technology.

Regarding access...Access is not defined just by ownership of ICT or a computer/device. Device ownership does not constitute complete access because full ICT access in current times requires access to the internet as well as the skills necessary to use the internet and computer in socially valued ways.

Normalization is the idea that people will be able to catch up, though there is evidence out there to suggest that they will remain behind, as indicated by the digital divide, and that the groups who are already networked will maintain their edge.

In Social Inequalities, it was noted that two-thirds of the younger generation are online compared to one in ten of senior citizens. I found this to be striking, and that it says a lot about the so-called "normalized" diffusion of technology. It is clear from this statistic that those who did not grow up with computer access are more or less unwilling, or unable, to pick it up. So what does this say about minorities who do not have access to computers? It is likely that because they are allready technologically behind, due to poverty and unequal access, they will continue to be behind and that those who have access to the technologies will retain their edge.
The aryicle goes further to note that supporters of the normalization theory see the internet following the pattern of that of television infultration in the US. I found some key problems with this theory, in that internet use requires skills and training. You must know how to type, how to navigate the internet, how to use programs, and how to communicate in an online sphere. Television requires you to program a remote at best. They are just incomparable.