Measuring Digital Citizenship: Mobile Access

and the Less-ConnectedKaren Mossberger, University of Illinois at Chicago

Caroline J. Tolbert, University of IowaWilliam Franko, University of Iowa

Allison Hamilton, University of Iowa

Chicago study conducted with support of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program,

commissioned by City of Chicago

National data from Digital Cities: The Internet and the Geography of Opportunity

Mossberger, Tolbert and Franko, Oxford University Press, forthcoming

2

How to measure broadband adoption?

At the national and community levels, spillover benefits for economy, education, health, and more • (National Broadband Plan, FCC 2010)

At the individual level, digital citizenship is the ability to participate in society online• (Mossberger, Tolbert and McNeal 2008)

Both suggest that it is the activities that broadband enables that matter and that we should measure

3

Defining digital citizenshipRequires regular and effective use of the Internet

• Regular access• Quality of access - broadband speeds that enable a range of

uses, activities online• Skills for effective use

Technical competence Information literacy in online environment

Ability to search for, evaluate, apply information Basic literacy, critical thinking, educational competencies

Less-connected: Internet users who do not have home broadband – use public access

or other venues outside home, smartphones, dial-up

4

Why home broadband? Most frequent use occurs at home

87% w/ home access use daily vs. 7% without home access (Chicago study, Mossberger & Tolbert 2009)

Frequency of use, ability to explore encourages skill & greater range of uses

Home use associated with human capital activities online, controlling for other factors (Hassani 2006)

Home adoption predicted higher wages in longitudinal study (DiMaggio & Bonikowski 2008)

5

Mobile access: game changer?Are smartphones closing the gap in Internet access? Are

they replacing home broadband?

For most, smartphones supplement home broadband (Horrigan 2012)

In 2009, only 4% of Americans without broadband at home used Smartphones to access the Internet

11% of Latinos and 7% of African-Americans were smartphone-reliant Internet users (Mossberger, Tolbert and Franko 2012)

Limited/different functions (Horrigan 2012)

Second-class access? (Crawford 2011)

Now 46% of American adults have smartphones, and adoption for African-Americans and Latinos similar to national averages(Horrigan 2012; Smith 2012)

6

Who depends on smartphones to go online?

Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis, FCC 2009 survey

African-AmericansLatinosLess-educatedLow-incomeYouth

Some differences by place

7

THE LESS-CONNECTED OVERALL Mobile-only users younger than other less-connected,

but share other common demographics of disadvantaged

Urban less-connected tend to have no home access

Rural less-connected more likely to have dial-up

Spanish-dominant and urban Latinos less likely to use Internet at all

Less-connected are low-income in minority subsamples

Multivariate models, FCC 2009

8

Smartphone-reliant and other less-connected

What difference does more limited access make for digital citizenship and social benefits of broadband?

• Measuring activities and skill

• Measuring community impact

9

Less Connected Home Broadband Difference Less Connected

Economic and Political Activitieslocal or community news

55 80 -25

local, state or federal government website

57 79 -22

national or international news

52 77 -25

information about or apply for job

45 60 -15

information from a government agency on health/safety

35 54 -10

class for credit toward a degree

12 24 -12

online banking 35 70 -35

FCC 2009, Comparison of Activities Online, Predicted Probability

10

No Home Broadband/

Unconnected

Home Broadband

Mobile Access Only

Difference Mobile v Broadband

Use Internet to get news online

24 76 76 0

Use Internet to get community news

14 46 44 -2

Use Internet to get information about politics

20 69 62 -7

Use Internet to do work for a job

20 45 37 -8

Use Internet to get information or apply for job

21 56 72 +16

Use Internet to find health information

34 86 80 -6

Use Internet to find information on transit

23 67 64 -3

Note: All other variables set at their mean value.

Chicago 2011, Comparison of Activities Online, Predicted Probability

11

Other Findings2009 FCC Study Less-connected: less skill

than home broadband adopters

Controlling for other factors, mobile and home broadband similar only for news & e-govt.

Mobile does not compare to home broadband for activities online even for minorities and poor

2011 Chicago Study Mobile-only users: more

skill than those with no personal access, less than home broadband adopters

Mobile-only users: higher rates of entertainment use than home broadband adopters

Home broadband still conveys advantages for most human capital activities online

12

How Neighborhood Matters (2011 Chicago Study, Multilevel Models)

At individual level -

Latinos less likely to have broadband than non-Hispanic whites

African-Americans as likely as whites to have broadband, when controlling for neighborhood

African-Americans more likely to have smartphones than whites (not mobile-only access)

At neighborhood level – Residents of neighborhoods with

high % of African Americans Latinos Older population

less likely to have either broadband or smartphones

But in high-poverty neighborhoods more likely to have smartphones (not mobile-only access)

Gaps are not closing in poor neighborhoods, with smartphones or broadband

13

Broadband vs. Smartphone Only

14

Internet Use for Work vs. Job Search Online

15

Conclusions Measuring activities online demonstrates need for regular access/home access

for policy, including Universal Service reform

Home broadband adoption matters for digital citizenship and collective social benefits

Mobile-only users & other less-connected do less online, have lower levels of skill, offering evidence that this is second-class access

Smartphone-only users, however, now have highest use for job search and some advantages compared to those with no personal access

Job search for smartphone users and low-income communities demonstrate motivation to go online

Neighborhood context matters for technology disparities, and may exacerbate existing inequalities in access to jobs, health care, and more

Measuring activities online at the neighborhood level shows the impact of broadband adoption for communities