Illuminating profiles of the Americans who are the most and least connected

 Source: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/

• Those Americans enjoying the greatest connectivity today are typically high-income households. Holding income constant, other highly-connected groups include Whites or Asians, middle-aged, highly-educated, employed, and/or married couples with children, most often found in urban areas and the West. Conversely, the least connected generally are low-income, Black, Hispanic, or Native American,⁽³⁾ senior in age, not employed, single-parent (especially female-headed) households, those with little education, and those residing in central cities or especially rural areas. These profiles generally prevailed during 1989-97 albeit some changes occurred (e.g., the South fell into last place among regions).
• Income. From 1989 through 1997, modem ownership increased for all income levels. Penetration rose tenfold in income brackets below $20,000 and increased at a decreasing rate in the higher income brackets, registering growth of 4.2 times at the $75,000 and over bracket. Despite greater growth rates by the lower income households, the percentage point gap between lowest and highest penetration (for the $5,000-9,999 group versus the wealthiest households) grew from 13.4 percentage points in 1989 to 56.5 percentage points in 1997. During this period, rural areas have generally experienced greater growth than central city and especially urban areas, but generally still trail the other two.
• Race/origin. During 1989-97, household modem penetration rose in every category of race/origin. White non Hispanic, Black non Hispanic, "Other non Hispanic," and Hispanic each grew eightfold or more. Because White and "Other non Hispanic" households started from a higher proportion, the digital gap has widened considerably compared to Blacks and Hispanics. For example, the frontrunner "Other non Hispanic" group (e.g., American Indians, Aleuts, Eskimos, Asians, Pacific Islanders) outdistanced Blacks and Hispanics by more than 22 percentage points in 1997, compared to 2.0 and 2.22 in 1989. That pattern generally holds whether rural, urban, or central city, although White households have the highest penetration in rural areas (24.6%).
• Education. During the eight-year period (from 1989 to 1997), the digital gap mushroomed to more than a fivefold increase (from a 8.6 to a 46.3 percent point difference) between those households of the lowest and the highest educational levels. This result can be explained largely in terms of the very low penetration rates exhibited by the less-educated households in 1989. This pattern generally holds in rural, urban, or central city areas, with the largest disparity in rural environs.
• Household type. The ownership of modems by all types of households grew substantially during 1989-97, registering sevenfold gains or more. As in 1989, households comprised of a married couple with children eighteen years old or younger led all other categories (4.9% in 1989, 42.5% in 1997). Single-parent households with children lagged considerably; female households with children trailed all others throughout the period (1.0% in 1989, 15.4% in 1997) but grew fifteenfold over the span -- faster than any other category. The digital gap expanded from 3.9 percentage points to 27.1. Both types of single-family rural households with children registered only a 0.5% modem penetration in 1989, but rocketed more than thirtyfold by 1997.
• Age. Modem ownership in each age bracket grew approximately sevenfold or more. Middle-aged householders (35-54 years) led all other categories, equaling more than 35.0% in 1997. Senior citizens exhibited the lowest penetration throughout the period, registering 13.2% in 1997. However, the seniors' elevenfold growth rate in modem ownership exceeded all other brackets. Between 1989-1997, the digital gap in terms of percentage points increased by roughly sixfold between the two groups. Urban middle-aged householders possessed the highest ownership rate (36.0%+), while rural seniors had the lowest penetration (11.2%) but the greatest growth rate (almost 13.0% from 1989-97).
• Employment. Modem ownership rose more than seven times for both the employed and unemployed, and more than 14 times for the many-faceted not-in-labor-force category. In 1997, the highest penetration occurred among the urban employed (34.5%), while the lowest gauge belonged to the not-in-labor-force category in rural areas (9.0%). From 1989 to 1997, the digital gap increased from a 3.6 to a 21.7 percentage point differential. The greatest growth over the period 1989-97 occurred in rural America for the employed and unemployed, and in urban areas for the not-in-labor-force.
• Region. The West exhibited the highest modem penetration in both 1989 (4.5%) and 1997 (30.8%), and no region experienced less than a sevenfold increase. The digital gap grew modestly, from 1.9 percentage points to 6.4. Whether in areas that were rural, urban, or central city, the Midwest grew more than any other region, bumping the South into last place. Rural areas frequently experienced greater growth rates than their urban or central city counterparts but often fell further behind in percentage-point differentials in urban-rural comparisons.