April 16, 1998
Contact:
Lew Harris, (615) 343-6866
[email protected]
Racial Divide on Internet Greatest Among Students, Vanderbilt Researchers Find
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A whopping 73 percent of white college and high school students own a home computer, while only 32 percent of African American students have access to a computer at home, according to a survey by two professors at Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management.
The difference in computer ownership among students persisted even when the numbers were adjusted for students' reported household income, according to Internet marketing authorities Donna L. Hoffman and Thomas P. Novak.
"This is the most disturbing instance yet of when race matters in Internet access," the researchers said.
Hoffman and Novak based their analysis on data provided by Nielsen Media Research. The data is part of the spring 1997 CommerceNet/Nielsen Internet Demographic Study conducted from December 1996 to January 1997. Hoffman and Novak's study is published in the latest issue of Science Magazine.
While the survey found overall differences between whites' and African Americans' ownership of home computers and access to computers at work, the researchers said they found the difference in computer access and use between white and African American students particularly troubling.
The professors' analysis revealed that white students were significantly more likely than African American students to have used the Web in the last week. There were no differences in use, however, when students had a computer at home.
White students without a computer in the home were more than twice as likely to have used the Web in the last six months compared to African American students without a computer at home.
The researchers concluded that white students lacking a home computer were far more likely to be accessing the Internet from locations such as homes of friends and relatives, libraries and community centers.
"Thus, it is important to create access points for African Americans in libraries, community centers and other nontraditional places where individuals may access the Internet and to encourage use at these locations," the authors said. "The policy implication is obvious: To ensure the participation of all Americans in the information revolution, it is critical to improve educational opportunities for African Americans
The survey found that overall whites were significantly more likely than African Americans to have a computer in their household.
"Access to a computer translates into usage," the Vanderbilt professors said. "Whites were more likely than African Americans to have used the Web because they were more likely to have access, whereas African Americans in our survey were more likely to want access. This may explain in part the recent commercial success of computers priced below $1,000."
Hoffman and Novak used the national median household income of $40,000 to differentiate among respondents. For household incomes under $40,000, whites were proportionately twice as likely as African Americans to own a home computer and slightly more likely to have computer access at work.
For household incomes of $40,000 or more, however, a slightly greater proportion of African Americans owned a home computer and a significantly greater proportion had computer access at work.
"African Americans with incomes of $40,000 or more in our sample were more likely to have completed college, were younger, and were also more likely to be working in computer-related occupations that whites," the Vanderbilt professors said. "These factors led to a greater computer access at work."
Hoffman and Novak said their study indicated a higher estimate of African American had used the Web by 1997 than reported in the popular press. They estimated African American usage at 5 million, rather than 1 million.
This means that African Americans are already online in impressive numbers and that continued effort to develop online content targeted to African Americans, commercial or otherwise are likely to be met with success."
-VU-
RSS