14 Apr 2022

67

Low Income Children and the Internet

Format: APA

Academic level: College

Paper type: Research Paper

Words: 2084

Pages: 7

Downloads: 0

DeBell, M., & Chapman, C. (2006). Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003. Statistical Analysis Report. NCES 2006-065. National Center for Education Statistics .

The article by Debell & Chapman (2006) provides insight into the use of the internet in both public and private learning institutions. It provides the data which shows that the use of computer services often starts at an early stage of children development. The article indicates that 80% and 93% of students in kindergartens and grade 9-12 use computers. Further, the article shows that there is a great variation in relation to how students in private and public institutions use the internet. Notably, public institutions are filled with students who are from poor backgrounds while private institutions host students from well-off families. 

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Debell & Chapman (2006) indicates that 76% of students in private institutions are more likely to use the internet while in public institutions 66% of students have such privileges. On the other hand, this article examines how digital divide is manifested in the society. Apparently, this is the reason that makes this article to be relevant when writing the literature review for the topic “Poor Children and Internet Use. Notably, Debell & Chapman (2006) show that the use of the internet is split along socioeconomic as well as demographic lines. The article shows that children from families with higher income use the internet extensively as opposed to those hailing from low-income families. 

Gordon, M. T., Moore, E. J., & Gordon, A. C. (2003). Public access computers, libraries, and the poor: Do neighborhood factors make a difference. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington .

According to the article by Gordon, Moore & Gordon (2003), some children were disadvantaged when it comes to accessing the internet. As such, such children had difficulties in accessing new information that would help them in enhancing their skills and knowledge. The report notes that the difficulties were primarily due to income, race, age, or sex. In order to enhance the access to the internet facilities, a library program called Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was initiated. Notably, the initiative saw 22% of children from low-income households accessing the internet from the libraries. Besides, 17% of children from better-off neighborhoods also enrolled in the libraries to explore on the merits it offers.

Of essence, the report indicates that despite the fact that the use of computer and the internet have become a common thing in the global, some children especially those from poor backgrounds. It indicates that income and education were the two main factors that affect the extent in which children use a computer and the Internet. Additionally, Gordon, Moore & Gordon (2003 indicate that children from high-income families used the internet more often and had a greater advantage over those from low-income families regarding access to new information. 

Howard, P. N., Busch, L., & Sheets, P. (2010). Comparing Digital Divides: Internet Access and Social Inequality in Canada and the United States. Canadian Journal of Communication , 35 (1), 109-128.

Howard, Busch & Sheets, (2010) discuss digital divide in the US and Canada in general. The authors define digital divide as the gap that is apparent in the society about the ability to access different tools of information and technology. The article indicates that digital divide affects different groups of people such as the elderly, poorly educated individuals, as well as the urban and rural poor. In addition, Howard, Busch & Sheets, (2010) also indicate that in Canada, the individuals who have better education and have a high income are the ones who are likely to possess computers. As such, they have ample time to develop their technical skills as opposed to those who hail from low-income families.

Howard, Busch & Sheets stated that studies on how the Canadian students access the internet have established that those students who had access to home computers were more privileged to develop technical skills as opposed to their counterparts who visit libraries (2010). In that respect, the article indicates that digital divide has made the society to be split into two groups of students that are those who can develop their technical skills that would render them productive and those who lack such merits.

Jackson, L. A., von Eye, A., & Biocca, F. (2003). Children and Internet use: social, psychological and academic consequences for low-income children. Psychological science agenda , 17 (2), 4-7.

The article by Jackson, von Eye & Biocca, (2003) focused on the use of the Internet among children from low-income households. In the article, it was apparent that the use of computer among low-income children was minimal. For instance, the authors found out that low-income children could send one e-mail weekly. On the other hand, the use of other services such as instant messaging was zero. The results from their project indicated that 16% of these families used e-mail services, 25% used instant messaging services, and 16% were using various chat platforms. In the article, Jackson, von Eye & Biocca, (2003) were able to show that the use of home internet does not have negative effects on the social and psychological life of children. In fact, the authors indicated that the use of the internet had a constructive impact on the children academically. This article provides important information for literature review since it indicates how those children with access to the home internet have a better opportunity to outperform academically the ones who do have access to such facilities.

Jackson, L. A., Von Eye, A., Biocca, F. A., Barbatsis, G., Zhao, Y., & Fitzgerald, H. E. (2006). Does home internet use influence the academic performance of low-income children? Developmental Psychology , 42 (3), 429-435.

In this article, Jackson et al., (2006) establish the impact that internet use has on the academic performance of students who hailed from low-income families. Like other articles, this report indicated that socio-demographic factors determine the use of the internet. The authors indicated that the use of the internet was dependent on age, gender, and race. Jackson et al. indicated that in the United Stated children of color were less likely to use the internet that European-American children. On the other hand, the boy child had a greater probability of using the internet than the girl child. Nevertheless, about academic performance, it was apparent that children who utilized the internet had better scores as opposed to those who could not use the internet. This article is very informative since it provides insight about the need to aiding low-income children in accessing internet facilities to improve their academic performance. 

Jackson, L. A., Von Eye, A., Biocca, F., & Barbatsis, G. (2005). How low-income children use the Internet at home. Journal of Interactive Learning Research , 16 (3), 259.

This article is a study that was conducted to establish how children from low-income families use the internet at home in the United States. The low-income children were African American. Notably, the main focus of this article was on the relationships between the main activity of the children, career targets, academic involvement, social interaction and their use of the internet. The findings showed that most low-income children used the internet to play games and surfing. Also, they used to download music and videos among others. The research indicated that children who used the internet for social science purposes were mainly interested in science or mathematics academic fields. Additionally, students who were perusing careers in computer and other related fields used the internet more often than those who were perusing careers in sports, human services and entertainment among others. This article is of important since it provides insight regarding the perceptions of low-income children regarding the use of the internet.

Labucay, I. D., & Stations, S. W. (2011). Internet use in the Philippines. In Annual Conference of the World Association for Public Opinion (pp. 21-21).

This article by Labucay & Stations (2011) is about the use of the internet in the Philippines. It provides insight into how the various societal members use the internet services. The authors first indicate the use of the internet is primarily dependent the ability to own a computer. Labucay & Stations (2011) indicate that frequent users of the internet in the Philippines are children (students) who come from families that are highly ranked in the social structure. The authors indicate that such children have computers and their homes are connected to the internet. The low-income children are not frequent users of the internet since they do not have the tools of information and technology that would help them do so.

The article also indicates that most low-income children are found in the rural setting. When compared to their urban counterparts, these categories of children are have a low probality of using the internet on a regular basis. Nonetheless, whenever they are presented with the opportunity to access the internet, they go there to perform five categories of activities namely, chatting (social networking), entertainment, sharing of photos and online purchasing. Essentially, this article is vital for the literature review because it shows how social stratification affects low-income children in the society.

Livingstone, S. (2003). Children's use of the Internet: Reflections on the emerging research agenda. New media & society , 5 (2), 147-166.

The article by Livingstone (2003) discusses various concerns relating to Internet use among children. It provides additional information regarding the issue of the digital divide. Livingstone states that Internet use is highly stratified creating inequality among the various households (2003). The author stated that particular groups of children are disadvantaged when the use of information communication technology is brought to question. According to this article, the introduction of information and technology has made the society to be more segregated than before. Livingstone (2003) asserts that the present society is more segregated along gender, class, and race in relation to the utilization of the internet. In the article, the author notes that boys can regulate how their sisters can use the internet while the low-income children fail to enjoy the full prospects of the internet owing to the problem of limited resources. Apparently, the article by Livingstone (2003) provides meaningful information regarding how technology has widened the information disparity between the affluent and the poor schools instead of narrowing it. 

Malamud, O., & Pop-Eleches, C. (2008). The effect of computer use on child outcomes . Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago.

In the article by Malamud & Pop-Eleches (2008) it is evident that low-income children have been deprived the opportunity to explore on various internet services due to the social status of their families. In this article, the researchers aimed at examining the impact accessing the internet at home will have on low-income children as well as adolescents. Notably, the findings from the research showed that low-income families ought to be buffered financially to meet the internet needs of their children. Actually, this is the reason why the authors of the article suggested that a voucher system ought to be introduced to help such families achieve such goals. 

Notably, these researchers reported that low-income children spend most of their time watching television programs that are doing their homework. Nevertheless, the introduction of the voucher system that allows their families to afford computers saw a change in this trend such that they were focusing more on their homework and less on television watching. The article indicates that this led to an improvement in their academic performance. Therefore, this article provides a pre and post internet access activities of the low-income children. Besides, it explains how the post-internet access activities affected the academic performance of learners from low-income households hence making the article viable for the literature review. 

Shields, K. M., & Behrman, R. E. (2000). Children and Computer Technology: Analysis and Recommendations. Children and Computer Technology , 10(2): 4-30. 

This article acknowledges the efforts that the U.S government has put in place to ensure that children gain access to computers and the internet. However, Shields & Behrman (2000) indicate that the variation regarding accessing computers at home is still lagging the country behind. The article indicates that family income mainly causes this variation. For instance, a 1998 study showed that 22% of children from families that were earning below $20,000 owned home computers while 91% of children hailing from families that were earning $75,000 had home computers. 

However, Shields & Behrman (2000) also indicate that there are a particular group of individuals who cannot access computers by any means whatsoever in the country. In that respect, the article proposes that the government ought t devise strategies that would see such families able to have computers in their dwellings so that their children can make maximum use of the internet. The striking feature of this article is that it provides the conditions under which children should be allowed to use the internet. Of essence, it provides an in-depth explanation about the merits that internet use will offer low-income children.

Waldfogel, J., & Washbrook, E. V. (2010). Low income and early cognitive development in the UK. Retrieved from http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk/files/9907648/Waldfogel_Washbrook_Sutton_Trust.pdf.

This article suggests that low-income children are raised in environments that hinder them from attaining full development (Waldfogel & Washbrook, 2010). The authors indicate that children from such families are affected by the income of their families. According to Waldfogel & Washbrook, (2010) the correlation between parental income and the outcome of the children can either be advantageous or disadvantageous to the life of an individual. The article recommends a couple of factors which needs to be considered to improve the outcome of an individual. One of such factors is to avail the internet to children. The article indicates that about 62% of individuals from families with poor income lack the internet at the age of five while in the middle earning families it is only 17%. This article elaborates extensively how the issue of low income affects the outcome of children on various aspects which on the other hand affects their future life. 

Wood, L., & Howley, A. (2012). Dividing at an early age: the hidden digital divide in Ohio elementary schools. Learning, Media and Technology , 37 (1), 20-39.

Wood & Howley (2012) suggest that computers have become an integral part of the elementary school education in the US. As such, there is the need to curb the information and communication technology inequalities that are existent in learning institutions in the U.S. the researchers indicate that low-income children have always been struggling to access internet facilities for quite a long time. In that regards, their development has always been partial. Apparently, this research focused on how students in the third grade used computers. It also examined the relationship between the various information and communication technology resources and other essential elements. 

In this research, Wood & Howley (2012) were able to find out that students from urban settings were more informed on internet use and could effectively use the various internet resources availed to them while students from other locations were less informed on internet usage. A further analysis of the cause of the differences indicated that the discrepancies were due to the ability to access ICT resources. Apparently, this was caused by the social inequalities (Wood & Howley, 2012). Therefore, this article provides insight into the role that urbanization play in determining internet usage. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 15). Low Income Children and the Internet.
https://studybounty.com/low-income-children-and-the-internet-research-paper

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