High Hopes

In reading the “Social Inequalities” article I was struck by the statement, “the comparison of societies that are leaders and laggards in the information Age gives no support to the normalization thesis claim that income differentials necessarily diminish as Internet use widens throughout the population; if anything the reverse” (79). I found this surprising because I was given the impression from the first article that worries about digital divides often revolve around some people not having exposure to computers and digital technology, making them less appealing candidates in the job market. As internet use spreads the difference between rich and poor continues. Wouldn’t these findings prove that wrong or at least a non-issue? Is that really the issue at hand, as you see it?