November 22, 2014
In wealthy countries, the digital divide today is less about access than maintenance, despite representative surveys that focus on basic access measures. Telecommunications Assistant Professor Amy Gonzales has been working on developing the concept of 'technology maintenance,'or the idea that the poor are often challenged with maintaining access to digital technology, even after achieving initial in-home and public access, due to monthly fees, broken hardware that is expensive to replace, and limitations on public access (time limits, printing fees, etc). This idea is discussed in two journal articles, one published September 2014 in Mobile Media & Communication, the other scheduled for December 2014 publication in New Media & Society.
Gonzales, Amy L. (2014). Health benefits and barriers to cell phone use in low-income urban U.S. neighborhoods: Indications of technology maintenance. Mobile Media & Communication, 2(3), 233-248.
Gonzales, A.L., Ems, L., & Suri, R. (2014). Cell phone disconnection disrupts access to healthcare and health resources: A technology maintenance perspective. New Media & Society.