A new study from researchers at Iowa University Bloomington has proven that even in college there is a digital divide between affluent and poor students. Students from low-income families and students of color are more likely to have less access to the reliable technology that is essentially a requirement in college today.
Broken computers or lack of reliable Wi-Fi can negatively effect a college student's performance.
"We find big gaps in the quality and reliability of the technology students own," said Jessica Calarco, assistant professor of sociology in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences. "Students of color and students from low-income families rely on older devices that are more likely to break down."
Access to technology and technology problems can cause stress for the student, lead to negative mental health and cause the student's GPA to drop. College students are expected to have regular access to technology. If they don’t, it is likely their education will suffer.
The new study surveyed 748 sociology and communications students of all races and socio-economic statuses from an undergrad university. Researchers also conducted focus groups with a small number of students who answered deeper questions about technology use and schooling.
The study reported that 20% of students have problems with maintaining access to efficient and reliable technology. Often these students have old or unreliable laptops that don’t stay charged or randomly break down, which leads to lost work and less time spent studying. Another issue is reliable access to the internet. Students who live off campus are less likely to have access to reliable Wi-Fi. One option to combat this is for students to add more data to phone plans, but students may not be able to afford this either.
Affluent students aren’t immune to these problems. Often affluent students have Wi-Fi issues or an old computer. But these problems aren’t completely detrimental to their college experience. An affluent student’s parents can likely fix these problems within a few days. These issues are less likely to have long-term effects on student success for more wealthy individuals and families.
The study also found that affluent students are more likely to ask professors for help or a deadline extension. Low-income students are more likely to be quiet about their problems because they are ashamed of their issues.
The research team recommends that colleges provide free or inexpensive laptops and devices for students from low-income families. They also say that providing need-based financial aid to help pay for laptops or smartphones would help relieve this problem
The paper was published in Communication Research.
