Experiencing the Digital Divide

The digital divide is the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the Internet and those who do not. A recent Pew Research Center study found that about 10% of Americans do not use the internet. However, the percentage for people over the age of 65 was at 27%. Many, if not most, of the people who are interested in genealogy, fall into that age group and sadly, the percentages ring true. Here is a quote from the article entitled, "10% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?"

For instance, seniors are much more likely than younger adults to say they never go online. Although the share of non-internet users ages 65 and older has decreased by 7 percentage points since 2018, 27% still do not use the internet, compared with fewer than 10% of adults under the age of 65. Household income and education are also indicators of a person’s likelihood to be offline. Roughly three-in-ten adults with less than a high school education (29%) do not use the internet in 2019, compared with 35% in 2018. But that share falls as the level of educational attainment increases. Adults from households earning less than $30,000 a year are far more likely than the most affluent adults to not use the internet (18% vs. 2%).

As is indicated, these numbers vary not only by age but also by the economic level of the populace.  Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are continually reminded of their duty to seek out their ancestors and take the names of their ancestors to the temples. The group who spends the most time involved in temple work is exactly the same group of people who are the most challenged by technology.

Back in 1975, the first personal computer was introduced, the MITS Altair 8800. See "Personal Computer History: 1975-1984." Also, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak introduced their Apple1 computer in 1976. If you are 65 years old today, you were already 21 years old back in 1975 and probably through with your formal education and unless you already had an interest in or contact with computers and you were more than likely not interested in the new developments. I was an exception to this because of my early contact with the University of Utah mainframe computer during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The first Macintosh computer was introduced by Apple in 1984 and by that time today's over 65 group was already into their 30s and the likelihood of taking an interest in the new technology had decreased even more.

Just think about typing. Fortunately, unlike many of those in my age group, I learned to type in high school but before that one typing class, I had almost no contact with typewriters or typing. I see the effects of this lack of early instruction almost every time I sit down with an older person and try to help them with their computer and genealogy skills. We assume that children today are taught "keyboarding" skills and in many cases that is a true assumption, but there are still many schools that do not have universal requirements that children learn to type. But a lack of typing skills is a real obstacle to learning the computer skills necessary to take advantage of the technological advances in genealogical research.

Another important fact about genealogy and timeline of the development of personal computers is the fact that women are overwhelmingly more involved in genealogy than are men and it was even less likely that women would become involved with the new computer technology more than 44 years ago than they are today. There are notable exceptions but unfortunately, there were few men back then who viewed computers as an area of interest for women. Again, I was an exception to this rule and made sure that my five daughters were not just computer literate but could use computers professionally.

Interest in technology and the skills to use it effectively does not imply an interest in genealogy. Most of the current promotional efforts by the large genealogy companies assume that the target audience is technologically savvy if not advanced. You only need to look at ads for genealogical DNA testing to see this assumed interest and expertise. Another example of this assumption is the FamilySearch emphasis on technologically advanced Discovery Centers. This emphasis is interesting to me when I reflect on the fact that I spend a considerable amount of my time helping older people with their logins and passwords.

If you add up the obstacles presented to the older population, it is obvious why there is a digital divide preventing many older people from becoming more involved in genealogical research.