COVID-19 school closure has caused a worldwide shift towards technology-aided home schooling. Given widespread poverty in developing countries, this has raised concerns over new forms of learning inequalities.
Lack of access to the Internet and digital technologies could exacerbate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through multiple pathways. Two years into the pandemic, U.S. counties with lower levels of home Internet or computer access are seeing higher COVID-19 case and death rates.
Wealth and education establish a cycle of intergenerational inequality. Wealthier households can provide more educational opportunities for their children, who then will have more chances to build wealth for themselves.
One of the most daunting unintended consequences of the digital revolution is the digital divide (DD), a pervasive social and information inequality. It negatively affects all sectors of society, and exerts compounding influences on other social inequities.
When the emerging COVID pandemic ended in-person appointments, clinics and patients rapidly shifted to telehealth visits. For Cynthia Gonzalez, a patient at the Venice Family Clinic, being able to talk with her therapist by phone, and later via video, was a lifeline.
California has $6 billion in federal COVID relief funds with which to close the digital divide, but advocates argue that telecom industry proposals could sabotage the state’s high stakes experiment in online democracy.
Most folks have internet access, right? If not a desktop setup, at least a phone that can connect you to the internet. When it comes to finding a job, a phone may be enough to fill out an application at McDonald’s or Home Depot if you have a reliable internet connection.
The Federal Communications Commission started a temporary program to help eligible families pay for Home Internet service during the COVID-19 Pandemic.