EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University researcher Eszter Hargittai, an expert on the digital divide, is available to comment on the Federal Communications Commission’s March 31 vote on whether to modernize Lifeline, the federal phone-subsidy program to help poor families pay for Internet service.
Hargittai’s research group, the Web Use Project, examines how people use the Web in their everyday lives and how differences in Internet use may contribute to social inequality.
Hargittai on the FCC’s upcoming vote: “Merely providing affordable infrastructure will not prompt everyone to cross the ‘digital divide.’ Rather, technical subsides must be accompanied by educational initiatives so that people understand what they are getting into and how they can protect their privacy when they bring the Internet into their homes.”
Hargittai on the FCC’s reliance on old (2009) data: “The FCC should spend some of its resources collecting high-quality data about Americans’ Internet use regularly -- data that go beyond basic access statistics. Without such data, it is hard to devise sound policies.”
Hargittai is Delaney Family Professor in the School of Communication and a fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. Her research focuses on the social and policy implications of digital media; she has a particular interest in how differences in people's Web-use skills influence what they do online. She recently presented her research on digital inequality at a policy briefing on Capitol Hill.
She can be reached directly at [email protected] or 847-491-3893
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