More demographics

US Department of Commerce: US digital divide narrows

More Americans are using computers and the Internet than ever before,
according to a new report by the US Department of Commerce.

Half of US households now have a computer, while 41.5 percent have
Internet access, up 15 percent from last year. The report puts the US
online population at 116.5 million.

The findings of the reports show that President Clinton's aim of
bridging the digital divide is meeting with some success.

Internet access among rural households has risen by 75 percent in the
past two years, and the number of black and Hispanic people connected
to the Web has increased significantly. The age divide also seems to be
gradually narrowing-of all age groups surveyed, Americans of 50 years
and older experienced the highest rate of growth in Internet use.

However, a disparity in Internet use still exists between able-bodied
people and the disabled. The survey revealed that 28.4 percent of
disabled people have Internet access, half the rate of those without a
disability. People with visual impairment and problems using their
hands are even less likely to use the Internet.

Other findings of the report show that almost twice as many two-parent
households have Internet access as single-parent households, while
rural areas are falling behind cities in terms of broadband
penetration.

From:
http://osecnt13.osec.doc.gov/public.nsf/docs/fttn-tdi-executive-summary
(Long url - may wrap)


~ Kathleen Anderson
Spider Web Woman Designs
mailto:kathleen@spiderwebwoman.com
http://www.spiderwebwoman.com/
AWARE:  http://aware.hwg.org/

Received on Monday, 23 October 2000 19:51:53 UTC