The digital divide still exists in Durham

To a savvy user, services like Internet banking, online job searching and e-mail can make your life very easy -- but for someone who is just learning, they can be frustrating, time-consuming and costly. In some ways, our Internet - the great equalizer - has isolated a large group of people.

Our world has changed fast, much faster than the people living on it. The “digital divide” is a term used to illustrate the differences between those who have access to technology and those who do not. Many believe that the digital divide has disappeared as technology costs have gone down, but many still do not own a computer or have Internet access. While Durham County has 99 percent broadband availability, some cannot afford it and many do not have the computer literacy skills required to utilize the resources the Internet brings to their doorstep.

Click here to read the rest of this Herald-Sun article by DLC AmeriCorps Member Nick Patten.

Note: If you lack access to the Herald-Sun archive, you can read a related article by Nick here: http://nclc.web.unc.edu/2015/12/18/the-digital-divide-in-your-backyard/