New Program Aims to Eradicate Internet Illiteracy

These days, the Internet is more than just a useful tool – in many cases, it’s a necessary one as well. At home, people use the Internet as a window through which they can communicate with the rest of society. At work, Internet use is ubiquitous in many professions; and with the advent of cloud computing it’s only a matter of time before many employees work for a cloud company whose data and applications are all stored online.

But for many Americans – most of whom are rural and poor – access to the internet has remained elusive. Some areas of the country simply don’t have broadband access. Other areas do, but residents there still only use the internet in small numbers. This is due to cost concerns, a dearth of computer knowledge, and a lack of understanding of the importance of why the internet is useful in the first place.

That second group comprises a surprisingly large demographic – according to studies, only 68 percent of Americans with broadband or schools broadband access take advantage of it – and they are the target of a new government initiative to teach more people how to use the internet.

The program, spearheaded by the Federal Communications Commission in conjunction with the Geek Squad from Best Buy, will provide free training to people who live in disadvantaged areas. Training will take place in 20 cities and will coordinate with organizations like 4-H and Goodwill to better bring people and instructors together. At the same time, Microsoft will offer a similar program in libraries and at schools.

These measures to combat internet illiteracy promise to open doors for unemployed workers in some of the nation’s most isolated regions. With access to the internet comes the opportunity to locate and apply for jobs nationwide, find ways to bring more business to an area, and connect easily with previously distant people, whether for work or just personal reasons.

But the FCC notes that more should be done. Primarily, it wants to use funding from the Universal Service Fund to equip rural libraries with computers and computer education classes. The fund used to subsidize telephone service, working to accomplish a similar goal with the technology of the 20th century, so it only makes sense that its resources are now used to address internet access, which is America’s new technological inequality.