The Current Status of Contributing Factors to the Digital Divide

This study provides a current examination of the contributing factors to the Digital Divide. Breaking this divide down into three distinctly separate models –home computer ownership, home Internet access, and home broadband Internet access – provides the opportunity to see the effect of numerous independent variables on each aspect of the divide. Data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) for 2000, 2001, and 2003 further provides the opportunity to see if, and how, the divide changes over time. The results show that the divide has decreased with respect to computer ownership and shows little improvement with respect to home internet access. Meanwhile, the results provide no conclusive evidence in any shifts to the digital divide with respect to home broadband Internet access.