Unequal Access in the Global Information Society

   Media and information technologies are increasingly important social elements in the global information economy. A significant portion of our daily activities involves the use of media, including television, movies, cell phones, computers, and the Internet. In the workplace, computer technology plays a central role in personal and organizational communication. Today, most of the economic activity in the United States involves the production, processing, or distribution of information. As a result, information workers make up the majority of the workforce. The impact of a shift in the workplace from industrial workers to information workers has led to the formation of an information society.

   The spread of the Internet and global communications media has expanded our information society into a global information society, a central feature of which is the use of computer networks. The United States was the first country to make the transition from an industrial to an information society. Other nations, including Singapore, France, and Japan, have also made the transition. Working in the new information economy requires people to develop effective communication skills. Estabrooks (1988) points out, "A computer-mediated society draws on the highest levels of human intellect, intelligence, and skills". New types of information products made available through the network require effective communication, reasoning, and analytical skills.

   As described in the previous chapter, there is unequal access to the Internet in the United States, but the United States is only one of many nations facing the issue of unequal access to information technology. In his book Disconnected: Haves and Have-nots in the Information Age (1996), Wresch vividly illustrates the inequality of access to information around the world. He refers to some groups as "information exiles," people who are totally removed from the information infrastructure. "For example, no one expects Bushmen of the Kalahari to walk around with cellular phones". Wresch argues that access to new technology generally breaks down along traditional class lines. Upper-middle-class and wealthy American families form the bulk of the population that owns computers. Similarly, wealthier school districts tend to have more computers than poorer ones. According to Ratan (1995), "All this disparity comes to a head in this statistic: a working person who is able to use a computer earns 15% more than someone in a similar job who cannot.". Thus, the widespread use of computers in an information society further paves the way for the growth of social stratification. Kroker (1993) describes these emerging social groups as the dispossessed, or the homeless on the information highway; the traditional working class who are forced to retrain; the technical specialists who are the "theorists of digital reality"; and the Commanders or presidents of corporations that lead the digital revolution. Unequal access to technology can lead to social stratification in the new global information society and technology skills are used to define these new social groupings.