Will the Digital Divide Ever Go Away?

The digital divide and participation gap that Kevin Guidry mentions in his piece are not all that apparent in "The State of the 2012 Election - Mobile Politics." The article talks about a survey of registered voters in the United States. The survey found that almost 90 percent of all registered voters own a cell phone, and almost 50 percent of voters own a smartphone. These results suggest that, slowly but surely, people are improving and advancing technologically as a whole.

Liberals tend to use their cell phones to keep up with election or political news more than conservatives.

The article "The State of the 2012 Election - Mobile Politics" mainly talked about the differences in mobile phone use to keep up with the presidential race between political parties. However, there was not all that much difference in any category, except that liberals are more likely (37%) than conservatives (25%) to use their cell phones to "keep up with news related to the election or politics." In most other categories, the differences were almost non-existent, with percentage differences of only one to three percent.

The digital divide is slowly decreasing, but it definitely still exists, especially for people over the age of 50.

The main thing that I took out of the survey talked about in the article, and something that I expected, is that smartphone owners over the age of 50 are far less likely than those under 50 to use their smartphones to read political comments, post political comments, or look up further information about political statements. Although the piece by Guidry mentioned the digital divide with respect to actually owning Internet access or computers, a different divide exists among people that have these devices.

The participation gap is what actually may be prevalent among the different age groups and their uses of technology.

Guidry cites the participation gap as "different skills, predilections, and comfort levels with different technologies." Older citizens may not use their phones for political reasons because they grew up with other ways to get political information, or they have just started to buy smartphones and are more concerned with just calling and texting than other fancy applications.

Constant technological innovations will prevent different generations from ever being completely equal and undivided.

Many people might think that as this generation ages and becomes the older generation, they will still be "hip" to technology because they grew up with it. However, as is the case throughout history, even the most advanced individuals of their times would be baffled by the new gadgets we have today. As we advance in time, new technologies will always be invented, and it will be this way forever. When we grow up, I am convinced that we will be as confused by new technologies as our parents are by Facebook and Twitter. The digital divide and participation gap will always seem to decrease, but they will always be there to some extent.

Is Your Facebook Password Secure? It Should Be.

Before Monday, it never even crossed my mind that companies could and often do ask for the social media passwords of their possible future employees. I had obviously heard that businesses check applicants' Facebooks, Twitters, LinkedIns, etc. during the hiring process, but to actually ask for a password is a full violation of privacy. There are ways, even on these public sites, to keep information safe, such as through direct messaging on Twitter or Facebook chat, and we deserve to be able to keep that area private.                

A few months ago, Maryland became the first state to pass a law against this practice, and several states have followed suit, such as California. Personally, I believe that people should not put anything publicly on Facebook if it could severely hinder their chances at getting a job, but as I said earlier, these sites have more private ways for people to let friends know what they've been up to, and those are what should remain completely unseen.

                

Another issue that should be discussed is the fact that it is way too easy for non-friends to see all of our posts, personal information, “likes,” hobbies, and interests on Facebook. The fact of the matter is that maximizing privacy on Facebook is a daunting and very confusing task; most people don't take the time to navigate through the menus to change their settings. Twitter makes it much easier to become private, but Facebook is still the most dominant social network.

                

That issue may soon be a non-issue, as California is trying to start a movement to make the default settings “private” when someone creates a Facebook. The plan, hopefully, will give users in future generations the privacy that our generations lacked when we first got on Facebook. It is thought that, while this bill is originating in California, it may spread globally due to the “think of the children” angle that it presents. As we all know, the privacy issues spread beyond just not wanting others to know about you; it is also a safety issue, particularly for users under the age of 18.

                

The bill will allow parents to monitor what their children are doing on Facebook. While that may not sound appealing to people our age, I'd much rather my parents see my Facebook than my possible employer, especially if it means I will get the job. Parents are there, in part, to keep their kids safe, and I think this bill would allow that to happen in the online world.

                

I am hopeful that a law similar to the ones passed in Maryland and California will soon spread to all states and eliminate the use of our social media activity for hiring purposes. What we post online should be visible only to those we give permission by accepting their friendship. Facebook and other social media should be a positive way to stay in touch with people we care about, not a way to get penalized in the job industry.