The digital divide affects the politics and economics of information societies throughout the globe. In this wide-ranging and carefully analyzed study, Mossberger, Tolbert and McNeal illuminate the fine-grained texture of digital access, digital skill and literacy, and, ultimately, digital citizenship. Detailed analyses of national opinion survey data and other large-scale datasets illuminate not only attitudes toward the Internet and patterns of use, but more importantly, the effects of use patterns—classified by age, race, ethnicity, income and education—for economic opportunity and civic participation. The results provide convincing concrete and deeply troubling evidence of the costs of exclusion for those with less access and fewer digital skills in information societies. By doing so, this book makes a major contribution toward integrating the study of technological and social inequalities in the United States. It is required reading for those interested in information technology and society and, more importantly, for those interested in the current state of American society, the role of public policy in the information society, and our economic future.
Jane Fountain, Director, Center for Public Policy and Administration, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Digital Citizenship examines the impact of the Internet on civic engagement and political participation. This book is a compelling and informative study that brings new survey evidence to bear on the power of the Internet. Through careful and detailed exploration, the authors demonstrate that the Internet brings important benefits to society and government, while those outside the digital revolution suffer from the lack of access to Internet technology.
Darrell West, Department of Political Science, Brown University
Digital Citizenship is the clearest explanation of what it means to inhabit the modern, networked world. It is an excellent assessment of the benefits and costs that accrue from Internet use in an online society. Mossberger, Tolbert and McNeal not only rekindle debates about Internet access and digital divides, but provide new insights into the very meaning of the terms. Policymakers and scholars will do well to read Digital Citizenship closely, for it can take us to a new level of debate that can enhance our understanding of the issues, and a new level of action that can enhance and broaden the public sphere.
Steven Jones, Department of Communication, University of Illinois, Chicago
This is a book of impressive scope and ambition. It provides an empirically rich, analytically sophisticated survey of the many dimensions of citizenship in the digital age. The authors marshal a wide array of evidence from multiple sources, applying it to a range of fundamental questions. This book is essential reading on the subject.
Bruce Bimber, Department of Political Science, and Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
