Comparing internet and mobile phone usage: digital divides of usage, adoption, and dropouts

Abstract

Results from a national representative telephone survey of Americans in 2000 show that Internet and mobile phone usage was very similar, and that several digital divides exist with respect to both Internet and mobile phone usage. The study identifies and analyzes three kinds of digital divides for both the Internet and mobile phones—users/nonuser, veteran/recent, and continuing/dropout—and similarities and differences among those digital divides based on demographic variables. The gap between Internet users and nonusers is associated with income and age, but no longer with gender and race, once other variables are controlled. The gap between mobile phone users and nonusers is associated with income, work status, and marital status. The veteran/recent Internet gap is predicted by income, age, education, phone user, membership in community religious organizations, having children, and gender; for mobile phones, age, work status and marital status are predictors. The gap between continuing and dropout users is predicted by education for Internet usage and income for mobile phone usage. Finally, cross-categorization of Internet and mobile phone usage/nonusage is distinguished (significantly though weakly) primarily by income and education. Thus, there are several digital divides, each predicted by somewhat different variables; and while Internet and mobile phone usage levels in 2000 were about the same, their users overlap but do not constitute completely equivalent populations.

Introduction

Access is the major public policy arena for those who see the Internet and other new media as a universal service and a significant component of political and economic equity concerning access to information and resources (Rice, McCreadie, & Chang, 2001). The usual term for this differential access to and use of the Internet in particular and new media in general according to gender, income, race and location is the digital divide (Cooper & Kimmelman, 1999; Hoffman & Novak, 1998; Hoffman, Kalsbeek, & Novak, 1996; Katz, 2002; Katz & Aspden, 1997; McConnaughey & Lader, 1998). Precisely because access and usage differs by socioeconomic status, and not because of personal preferences, and because many crucial social and economic benefits may accrue from greater access to and usage of communication technologies, such communication disparities constitute a serious “divide” between segments of society. Because much of this new technology involves computers as either processors, network switching, or digital packets, it is referred to as a “digital” divide. Overcoming the digital divide is a particular manifestation of the general universal service tradition of US telecommunications policy (Napoli, 2001). The question of the digital divide commands great attention worldwide, and fits neatly within perennial rhetorical schemata addressing enduring social and economic development and equity issues.

US Department of Commerce statistics show that information technology in general provides significant economic benefits, such as reducing inflation and increasing productivity, and constitutes a major section of the economy (McConnaughey, 2001). The Internet and other communication and information technologies can enhance human capital by increasing access to education and training. Information-intensive labor markets prefer individuals who have experience with—and upgradeable skills for continuing to perform in—a communication network-based environment. For instance, employees who used computers in their jobs are paid typically 10–15% higher than non-computer users who hold similar positions (Bikson & Panis, 1999, p. 156). Besides economic benefits, communication technologies have the potential to increase participation in decision-making and use of resources at work (Carrier, 1998), in communities (McNutt, 1998), and with government representatives and agencies (Neu, Anderson, & Bikson, 1999). Thus, those who have insufficient resources from or experience with new communication technology will be further excluded from human and social capital (McNutt, 1998). Some also contend that even if those currently without access later become users, their disadvantage will remain (Carrier, 1998).

Although there has been detailed national research on the Internet covering social aspects of users compared to nonusers beginning in 1995 (Katz & Rice, 2002; Katz, Rice, & Aspden, 2001) and the field has been joined recently by a host of others (Haythornthwaite & Wellman, 2001), only quite recently has much attention been given to mobile phone users. The first international comparative forum on mobile phone use occurred at the “Perpetual Contact” conference at Rutgers University in 1999 (Katz & Aakhus, 2001), followed by other regional meetings and publications (Brown, Green, & Harper, 2001; Katz (2002), Katz (2003); Ling & Helmersen, 2000). It seems appropriate to analyze mobile phone usage with vigor comparable to that given to the Internet. Mobile phone adoption appears to be surpassing, on a worldwide basis, the popularity of TV sets. It is a technology that has been given credit for—inter alia—saving lives, organizing terrorist efforts, and overthrowing dictators (Katz & Aakhus, 2001). In the latter instance, the ouster of the Philippines’ President Estrada is often chalked up to “People Power” demonstrations organized via mobile phones (Ramilo, 2001).

Thus, in light of an obvious digital divide among Internet users, but also a divide between the attention applied to the two media, the present research identifies salient characteristics of the Internet and mobile phone digital divides in the United States as of 2000, as well as extending the conceptualization of the digital divide to include three kinds of differences in usage. It looks at the characteristics of each technology's digital divides as well as compare between them. The following section summarizes recent research on the extent and distinctions of the Internet and mobile phone digital divides. The subsequent section analyzes differences, separately and jointly, in the kinds of digital divides for both the Internet and the mobile phone.