Black folks is takin’ ovah da mobile innanets!
From yesterday’s post on the New York Times Bits blog, we get the news that the “digital divide” — in this case, internet access — is being narrowed by mobile phones.
But the common characteristics of those two characters — they are both middle-aged and white — may no longer be a fitting stereotype, at least when it comes to today’s mobile Internet aficionado, according to a report released Wednesday by the Internet and American Life Project of the Pew Research Center.
The survey, conducted in April by interviewing 2,253 Americans, found that while accessing the Internet via a mobile phone was increasing, the swell was reflected most sharply among African-Americans.
Last month, I was in South Carolina for my cousin’s wedding. In attendance? Three T-Mobile G1 devices, one Blackberry, and me with my dying, yet WiFi-and-mobile Internet-enabled Nokia N80. That’s five internet-enabled smart phones, out of about two-dozen folks under the age of 45.
My cousins are not the same kind of people as the black folks I regularly roll with. My black friends are mostly college educated, almost entirely middle-to-upper-middle class in both occupation and income, and highly tech-literate. It would probably be a shock if none of us had smart phones, right?
My cousins? They’re mostly lower-middle and working class folks. College? Only one other cousin has completed a 4-year degree. Most are in service rather than knowledge jobs. Their computing know-how is basic. Some don’t own laptop or desktop computers.
And yet, here my cousins were using their phones to check email and update their Facebook status.
They were not, as their incomes might suggest, owners of ‘free’ phones — though now, even the free phone is internet-enabled. Nope, these are phone and mobile internet sophisticates.
At first, I was mildly shocked. But after thinking about their ‘life context,’ it made perfect sense.
I work a pretty cushy desk job at an interactive agency with unfiltered internet access. My cousins have jobs where access to a laptop or desktop is limited or the internet is filtered.
I can afford broadband service and a mobile data plan. My cousins can afford broadband service or a mobile data plan. I suspect their experience is far closer to the black mainstream than mine.
For predominantly-white mainstream internet users, mobile internet access may seem redundant. You have it at work or school. You have it at home. But for blacks and Latinos (and probably anyone in a lower-wage job) the choice is more like this:
- Pay $30 a month for around-the-clock internet access that works wherever you are and fits in your pocket; or
- Pay $30 a month for access that is only available when you are at home
Which would you choose?
Something else to consider: Most people buy computers for the family’s use. But they buy phones for their own use. So not only is this internet available any place you are,* you ain’t even got to share!
One last point: the cheapest computers (netbooks) still cost about $100 more than most internet-enabled phones. Even if you buy a netbook, you’ll still need to buy a phone. I can’t overstate the convenience or affordability of a pocket-sized, multi-function gadget.
When we take this context into account, it makes total sense that black folks (and English-speaking Latinos, for that matter) are leading the mobile internet charge.
*Provided you go places where you can find a mobile signal.