How great is the digital divide? We know it exists, but what do statistics show? In a report released in September, the Census Bureau reports that as of August 2000, 54 million households, or 51 percent of the nation had one or more computers. This represents an increase of 9 percent from previous data collected in December 1998. In the report called Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States: August 2000, the Census Bureau compares data from previous surveys to find out about computer use and ownership in August 2000.

Since the first study in 1984, computer ownership has increased five-fold. Forty-two percent of all American households have at least one person who used the Internet in the home in 2000. This was an increase of 16 percent from usage reported in 1998 and double the use (18 percent) reported in 1997.

In most households with computers, Internet access is synonymous with ownership. In 1997, fewer than half of homes with computers had someone using the Internet. In 2000, four out of five homes with computers used the Internet.

One of the major factors suspected of creating the digital divide was borne out in the survey results. In wealthier families, computer ownership is extremely high. For families with $75,000 or more income per year, 88 percent have at least one computer, and 79 percent have at least one household member who used the Internet at home. In homes with incomes below $25,000 only 28 percent have a computer, and only 19 percent have Internet access.

The least likely households to have computers or Internet access were single person households (only 30 percent), while 58 percent of households with two or more people have computers. Married couple households at 64 percent were the most likely to have a computer and 53 percent have computer access.

A house where a child is present greatly influences the presence of computers. In households with school age children, two thirds have computers and 53 percent have Internet access. In households without children, only 45 percent have a computer and only 37 percent have Internet access.

Where you live also makes a great difference in whether your household has a computer. Households in metropolitan areas outside of central cities have the highest computer ownership at 58 percent and Internet access at 48 percent. In central cities, only 46 percent of households have computers, and only 38 percent have Internet access.

In 2000, 18 million children between the ages of three and 17 used the Internet in their homes. During this same period, 75 million adults above the age of 18 used the Internet compared to only 57 million people in 1998.

More children have access to a computer and use the Internet than ever before. Nearly two-thirds of all children (65 percent) between the ages of three and 17 live in a household with a computer, compared to only 55 percent in 1998. Computer interest varies with the age of the child. Only 7 percent of children between three and seven years of age used the Internet, while 48 percent of children above 12 years used it.

White children between the ages of three and 17 years and Asians and Pacific Islanders were the most likely to live in households with computers (77 percent and 72 percent respectively), while only 43 percent of black children and 37 percent of Hispanic children have home computers.

Schools have leveled the playing ground for computer use among children between six and 17 years of age. While more than half of all school age children (57 percent) have access to computers at home and at school, 23 percent have access only at school. Using these statistics, nine out of 10 school age children in this country have computer access somewhere.

By adding school access, where 87 percent of children from the highest income families have access, and 72 percent of children from the lowest income families also have access, the difference in accessibility is reduced to only 15 percent of all children.

The oldest adults have the lowest rates of home Internet use. Only 13 percent of people above 65 years of age used the Internet at home. There is little variation in computer use between those below 55 years of age and the national average.

The higher the level of adult education, the more likely they were to have a computer or use the Internet in the home. Nearly 78 percent of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree use the Internet on their home computer compared to only 46 percent who had only a high school diploma.

The most common use of the Internet in homes is for e-mail both by adults or children. The next most common use is for research for school.

Counties have established many programs to increase access to computers and to decrease the digital divide. Fairfax County, Va.’s achievement award winning program called the Gum Springs Community Computer Clubhouse Model, where the county put computers and trainers in a community center in a major low-income area.

Martin County, Fla., another achievement award winner, created the Clare Reynolds Joyce After School Homework Center, which provided assistance to children with schoolwork via individual tutoring and access to the Internet.

For a copy of Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States: August 2000, go to www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p23-207.pdf.

(Research News was written by Jacqueline Byers, director of research.)