Editing Digital divide (section)

===Economic gap in the United States===
During the mid-1990s, the United States Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) began publishing reports about the Internet and access to and usage of the resource. The first of three reports is titled "Falling Through the Net: A Survey of the "Have Nots" in Rural and Urban America" (1995),<ref name="USDC 1995 Falling through the Net">{{cite journal |title=Falling through the Net: A Survey of the 'Have Nots' in Rural and Urban America |publisher=[[United States Department of Commerce]] |date=July 1995 |id={{ERIC|ED399126}} |oclc=34188795 |url=https://www.ntia.doc.gov./ntiahome/fallingthru.html |access-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104134229/https://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the second is "Falling Through the Net II: New Data on the Digital Divide" (1998),<ref>National Telecommunications & Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. (1998). Falling through the net II: New data on the digital divide. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/1998/falling-through-net-ii-new-data-digital-divide {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518204940/http://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/1998/falling-through-net-ii-new-data-digital-divide |date=May 18, 2014 }}</ref> and the final report "Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide" (1999).<ref name="ntia.doc.gov">National Telecommunications & Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. (1999). Falling through the net: Defining the digital divide. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/1999/falling-through-net-defining-digital-divide {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518204952/http://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/1999/falling-through-net-defining-digital-divide |date=May 18, 2014 }}</ref> The NTIA's final report attempted clearly to define the term digital divide as "the divide between those with access to new technologies and those without".<ref name="ntia.doc.gov"/> Since the introduction of the NTIA reports, much of the early, relevant literature began to reference the NTIA's digital divide definition. The digital divide is commonly defined as being between the "haves" and "have-nots".<ref name="ntia.doc.gov"/><ref name="USDC 1995 Falling through the Net"/>

The U.S. [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s (FCC) 2019 Broadband Deployment Report indicated that 21.3 million Americans do not have access to wired or wireless broadband internet.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-11 |title=2019 Broadband Deployment Report |url=https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-progress-reports/2019-broadband-deployment-report |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Federal Communications Commission |language=en |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307041446/https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-progress-reports/2019-broadband-deployment-report |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2020, BroadbandNow, an independent research company studying access to internet technologies, estimated that the actual number of United States Americans without high-speed internet is twice that number.<ref name="broad">{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2020 |title=FCC Underestimates Americans Unserved by Broadband Internet by 50% - BroadbandNow.com |url=https://broadbandnow.com/research/fcc-underestimates-unserved-by-50-percent |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=BroadbandNow |language=en-US |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307041431/https://broadbandnow.com/research/fcc-underestimates-unserved-by-50-percent |url-status=live }}</ref> According to a 2021 [[Pew Research Center]] report, smartphone ownership and internet use has increased for all Americans, however, a significant gap still exists between those with lower incomes and those with higher incomes:<ref name="Vogels 22 June 2021 Pew">{{cite news |last1=Vogels |first1=Emily A. |title=Digital divide persists even as Americans with lower incomes make gains in tech adoption |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/22/digital-divide-persists-even-as-americans-with-lower-incomes-make-gains-in-tech-adoption/ |work=Pew Research Center |date=22 June 2021 |access-date=October 27, 2021 |archive-date=October 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027022640/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/22/digital-divide-persists-even-as-americans-with-lower-incomes-make-gains-in-tech-adoption/ |url-status=live }}</ref> U.S. households earning $100K or more are twice as likely to own multiple devices and have home internet service as those making $30K or more, and three times as likely as those earning less than $30K per year.<ref name="Vogels 22 June 2021 Pew"/> The same research indicated that 13% of the lowest income households had no access to internet or digital devices at home compared to only 1% of the highest income households.<ref name="Vogels 22 June 2021 Pew"/>

According to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults executed from January 25 to February 8, 2021, the digital lives of Americans with high and low incomes are varied. Conversely, the proportion of Americans that use home internet or cell phones has maintained constant between 2019 and 2021. A quarter of those with yearly average earnings under $30,000 (24%) says they don't own smartphones. Four out of every ten low-income people (43%) do not have home internet access or a computer (43%). Furthermore, the more significant part of lower-income Americans does not own a tablet device.<ref name="Vogels 22 June 2021 Pew"/>

On the other hand, every technology is practically universal among people earning $100,000 or higher per year. Americans with larger family incomes are also more likely to buy a variety of internet-connected products. Wi-Fi at home, a smartphone, a computer, and a tablet are used by around six out of ten families making $100,000 or more per year, compared to 23 percent in the lesser household.<ref name="Vogels 22 June 2021 Pew"/>