The trend of participation gap

Nowadays people are putting more emphasis on the use of mobile devices. With the development of technology and economy, various kinds of mobile devices are giving us a lot more opportunity to communicate with others as well as access the internet. In the field of education, most of the universities and colleges have introduced the high tech devices, such as iPads, into the lectures. However, not everyone has the equal ability to access the mobile devices. The different level of the economic capability and the education background has led to the differentiation and stratification of the way people use mobile devices.

Digital divide or participation gap?

According to the article written in 2007 by Kevin Guidry at Indiana University, digital divide and participation gap are two problems existing among mobile users in America society.

Kevin Guidry states that the digital divide still exists due to the fact that there are still a large number of Americans who can’t afford the computers or have internet access at home. Meanwhile, even people have had access to technology, the different experience with it may lead to the “participant gap” (Jenkins, 2006), which is not just mere access, but differing types of access.

I believe that the “participant gap” can better describe the problem among US mobile users, because in the society where almost everyone can have an access to the mobile devices in the public areas such the school libraries, the phenomenon of digital divide will no longer be a major problem in the near future. Now the issue is not just simply “have” or “not have”, but it comes more complicated to “how people use them”. The different experience of using the internet and the role mobile devices play in their daily life has strong influence to their attitude towards the technology. For example, people who have smart phones check their Facebooks and E-mails more frequently than people who use traditional phones or don't have one at all.

Mobile phone problems won't have much effect on the participation gap

Another article I read is about the mobile phone problems. According to the authors, Jan Lauren Boyles and Lee Rainie, the main problems phone users confront are dropped calls, unwanted sales or marketing calls, unwanted spam or text messages, and the slow download speed. In my opinion, the mobile phone problems won't have direct effect on participation gap because the problems of the mobile phones always exist, and they are just part of the experience while using the mobile devices for people who already have one. People's understanding of the technology won't be changed and their time of accessing the internet won't be signally diminished just because they confront these problems while using their phones. Also it's obvious that mobile phone problems won't affect those who don't have mobile devices.

However, some findings in the survey may predict that problem of participation gaps may be eased in the future.

The surveys in the article of show that the number of times people encounter the mobile phone problems is related to the type of phone they use and the race of the users. According to the graphic and the survey, Hispanic and African-Americans are more likely to have mobile phone problems than Whites, and maybe it’s tied to the fact that African-Americans and Hispanics rely on their cell phones more than the whites. Although there are still many Hispanic and African -Americans who can’t afford cell phones, it seems that they will rely on using cell phones to access the internet and make phone calls more than the white users if they have one.

Since the cell phone companies are launching new products all the time, the price of old smart phones usually reduce after the newest ones come out because of the severe competition won't allow them to keep high prices. And the phone price will continue decreasing in the future because of the maturity of manufacturing,  Once more people, especially those who may depend on mobile devices a lot but can't afford them temporarily, can have their own smart phone, the problem of participation gap may be diminished because the opportunity for people to access the mobile devices will be equal so that they will have similar experience of accessing the internet and using the high tech devices.

To trust or not to trust: that is a question

Have you ever received any e-mails, phone calls or letters from unfamiliar companies that are trying to advertise their products? If so, it’s probably because your personal information has been divulged without any notice. Nowadays the problem of online privacy is discussed by more and more people because the development of social media has made it easier for companies or groups with any purposes to access the personal information of an individual. If we can trust the social network any more has become a controversial issue, and now the government are taking some measures to deal with the problem.

 Recently a “ConsumerPrivacy Bill of Rights” relating to online data has been released by the Obama Administration after Google was found tracking users data via iPhones. A lot of Apps such as Maps require users’ location, which is able to update the information of where they are as long as their phones are connected to WIFI. Also the users can’t avoid the third-parties getting the information of their interests and preferences if they click the “like” buttons on Facebook pages frequently. In order to control the use of consumers’ online data and build the trust between consumers and the businesses, the proposal includes mainly 6 areas of online data management, which are Transparency, Respect for Context, Security, Access and Accuracy, Focused Collection and Accountability. The consumers have the right to decide who can have their privacy data and access their personal information. The companies are also responsible for the security of the privacy data of the users, so that they can be well trusted.

As far as I am concerned, it is understandable that sometimes the companies and websites do need the users’ personal data in order to provide better information and service for them. For example, when the personal information such as the age, gender and color preference are provided to the online shopping website, you will probably find the cloth you want more quickly and easily. However, it will become really annoying if the websites are collecting privacy data for a third-party without informing the users. Once you click the “like” button on the Facebook, it is likely that your e-mail address will be collected by the advertisers and numerous advertising mails, sometimes even inquiry calls, will disrupt you frequently. Also the number of internet frauds is increasing these years because the personal information is easily accessed via Facebook and the online shopping websites. As we can see, how to build trust with the consumers is what the companies need to think about seriously.

Personally, I support the government’s step in on the issue of controlling the users’ data being tracked by websites such as Google. The proposal released recently makes the privacy policies clearer to the public and the privacy information of the users will be more controlled. On the other hand, the websites that have agreed to submit to Do Not Track technology will become more trustworthy among consumers so that more people will browse the website with less worry. So it is both good for the users and the websites.

The “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” has won a lot of supports among netizens, and I believe there will be more measures on protecting the privacy data in the future to make the social network a better and safer place. Even though there are still some problems unsolved because the management of online data is always complicated and can’t become perfect in one day, but hopefully we can look at the bright side and then build more trust with the social network when the laws are gradually completed. Do you think you will feel more secure when browsing the websites in the future? Let the time tell us.