Rethinking the digital divide

Instead of dismissing black youth’s use of technology as “a waste of time,” educators should explore ways to cultivate and build on those skills, researchers argue.

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Parents of teenagers today often complain their children are “addicted” to technology, spending too much time playing video games and watching YouTube videos. For black youth, such criticisms about their technology use come not just from family members, but from educational researchers too.

That is one the findings of a newly-published study in The Journal of Negro Education. The two authors found, for example, that because black teens are more likely than their white and Asian counterparts to use their phones and computers for gaming and cartoon watching, some researchers assumed that “black youth are making decisions counter to their academic growth.” But the answer isn’t that cut and dry, according to the study’s authors.

“While black youth are less likely to use their computers and cell phones for educational purposes, this doesn’t mean these youth don’t have an interest in education,” said Antar Tichavakunda, assistant professor of education leadership at the University of Cincinnati and a research associate of the Pullias Center.  “The real issue could be that the content on educational sites was not made to appeal to or connect with this population group.”

According to the authors, educators and researchers should refrain from jumping to limiting conclusions, and instead study the digital practices of black students more carefully through a cultural lens. That would allow for more creative and effective ideas for helping these youth use their tech tools toward more productive ends—by building on the skills and habits they already possess.

“I think we’re missing some important educational opportunities by assuming certain ways of using technology are inherently unproductive or undesirable,” explained William G. Tierney, co-director of the USC Pullias Center for Higher Education and Wilbur Kieffer Professor of Higher Education at USC Rossier School of Education. “If we instead take the perspective that we can learn from and build on the ways black students are already engaging with technology, our efforts would have more resonance and success.”

Tichavakunda and Tierney pointed out that a more positive focus on the digital skills black students bring to the table could change both the questions educational researchers ask and the conclusions they draw.

This study continues Tichavakunda’s and Tierney’s work investigating digital equity and college readiness for underserved students. Tierney is a member of the Pullias Center’s Digital Equity in Education team, which recently received a $300,000 grant from the ECMC Foundation to develop a digital tool to help decrease summer melt and improve first-year persistence rates at California State University Dominguez Hills.

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Tichavakunda, A. A. & Tierney, W.G. (2018). The ‘Wrong’ Side of the Divide: Highlighting Race for Equity’s Sake. Journal of Negro Education, 87(2), 110-124. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7709/jnegroeducation.87.2.0110