Essay Instructions: Smartphones are rapidly becoming the technology of choice for a variety of functions beyond just making and receiving phone calls. Most notably, because of their relative inexpensiveness compared to desktop computers, laptops, and even tablets, many people are opting for a smartphone as their primary vehicle for accessing the Internet. In many cases, some people simply can't afford any kind of Internet-accessing device other than a smartphone. In Africa, for example, over 316 million people have become new mobile phone subscribers since 2000.
In the United States, smartphones offer a way for economically disadvantaged people to get connected to the Internet. In many respects, this may very well close the digital divide between the "haves" and "have-nots" with respect to technology. The following are some statistics from the Pew Research Center for you to consider.
? 83 percent of U.S. adults own a mobile phone. Of those, 42 percent own a smartphone. So, 35 percent of all adults in the United States own a smart phone.
? 59 percent of adults in households with earning income greater than $75,000 own a smartphone.
? 44 percent of African Americans and Latinos own a smartphone.
? 87 percent of smartphone owners access the Internet via their smartphones, while 68 percent do so on a daily basis.
? 25 percent of smartphone owners say they mostly go online using a smartphone instead of a computer.
? By Gender (for smartphone ownership):
o Men-39 percent
o Women-31 percent
? By Age (for smartphone ownership):
o 18-24-49 percent
o 25-34-58 percent
o 35-44--44 percent
o 45-54-28 percent
o 55-64-22 percent
o 65 + -11 percent
? By Race/Ethnicity (for smartphone ownership):
o White, non-Hispanic-30 percent
o African American, non-Hispanic-44 percent
o Hispanic-44 percent
? By Household Income (for smartphone ownership):
o <$10,000-21 percent
o $10,000-$20,000-20 percent
o $20,000-$30,000-26 percent
o $30,000-$40,000-36 percent
o $40,000-$50,000--44 percent
o $50,000-$75,000-38 percent
o $75,000-$100,000-53 percent
o $100,000-$150,000-57 percent
o $150,000 + -73 percent
? By Education Level (for smartphone ownership):
o No high school diploma-18 percent
o High school graduate-27 percent
o Some college-38 percent
o College + -48 percent
? By Geographic Location (for smartphone ownership):
o Urban-38 percent
o Suburban-38 percent
o Rural-21 percent
? Percentage of Smartphone Owners Who Also Own These Devices:
o Laptop computer-79 percent
o MP3 player-70 percent
o Desktop computer-68 percent
o E-book reader-20 percent
o Tablet PC-18 percent
? By Race/Ethnicity (percentage of owners who use their smartphone as the dominant means to access the Internet):
o White, non-Hispanic-17 percent
o African American/Latino-38 percent
From the Case above and answer the questions below. APA formatting guidelines require a title page, abstract page, and reference page in addition to the body of the paper.
In this final closing case study, we present some data regarding smartphone adoption and usage by ethnicity, gender, income, and education. It?s very interesting to see how different groups use smartphones in different ways.
1. Even though 44 percent of African Americans and Latinos own a smartphone while only 30 percent of White, non-Hispanics do, many people contend that this isn?t really closing the great digital divide because African Americans and Latinos use their smartphones more for entertainment than empowerment. Build an argument to support the previous statement.
2. When accessing the Internet, what can you do on a desktop or laptop computer that you can?t do on a smartphone? If smartphones have fewer Internet capabilities (than desktop and laptop computers), can you necessarily link an increase in smartphone ownership within a U.S.-based economically-disadvantaged group of people to closing the great digital divide? Why or why not?
3. How does an increase in smartphone ownership in a third-world geographic region like Africa close the digital divide for countries in that region? If you owned a U.S. business and wanted to start doing business in Africa, what would be an essential part of your marketing strategy?
4. If you look at smartphone ownership by household income, you?ll notice a fairly sizable dip for the category of $50,000-$75,000. To what do you attribute this? Justify your answer?
5. Finally, will greater access to the Internet cause a closing of the great digital divide? You can answer Yes, No, or Some. Whatever the case, build an argument for your answer.
