The Color of the Net: African Americans, Race,and Cyberspace Susan B. Kretchmer The Johns Hopkins University
[email protected] Rod Carveth Southern Connecticut State University docrod99@hotmail corn African Americans are the largest ethnic minority group online, with about 7.5 million users. Thirty-six percent of adult African Americans are online (Spooner & Rainie, 2000). Yet, those figures pale in comparison to other groups. There is a large and persistent digital divide between whites and Aft'lean Americans (NTIA, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000), and U.S. federal, state, and local governments are implementing policies to deploy computers and Internet access to schools, libraries, community technology centers, and other public access points in hopes of preventing a society of"information haves" and "information have nots." However, structural solutions, such as providing better access, are not the complete answer. Indeed, only 50% of the divide can be explained by income and education. Something else-- something that social science can uncover---explains the other 50%. In general, race in cyberspace raises some interesting and paradoxical issues: °Cyberspace removes race from human interaction. Or does it? • The culture that created and currently dominates the Internet is white and there is a perception among some that African Americans, in contrast, are not interested in computers. Further, web site developers have seen little value (economic or otherwise) in supplying and promoting content that appeals to a small segment of the Internet audience. Thus, what is the racial climate online? • Also, cyberspace magnifies the rhetoric and significance of hate groups. • At the same time, cyberspace does provide an opportunity and forum to discover and confront racial issues and enrich cross-cultural communication. In addition, African American Internet users differ from their white counterparts both in terms of their demographic characteristics and usage patterns (Spooner & Rainie, 2000). Although the white Internet user population is evenly split between men and women, women represent 56% of the African Americans online. Similarly, as
opposed to online whites, African American In ternet users are younger, use their Internet access much less frequently, and are more likely to have modest incomes, no college degrees, and children under 18. African Americans' online behavior, which favors economic advancement and quality-of-life activities, is substantially different from that of whites as well. African Americans are more likely than whites to have used the Internet to search for information about major life issues, such as employment, job training, school research, and locating housing, and religious and spiritual subjects. They are also more likely to use the Internet for entertainment, including listening to or downloading music, utilizing audio and video dips, playing games, and instant messaging. Further, African Americans are more likely to feel that the Internet is helpful in locating information on health care and hobbies and for learning new things. At the same time, online African Americans are much less likely than whites to participate in Web-based auctions, to have purchased products through the Internet, or to feel that the Internet helps them connect to family and friends. In fact, African Americans are less likely to use email either to sustain relationships with friends or to increase the frequency of communication with friends and family. The convenience of sending email at their leisure to family members is the primary reason for its use by whites, while African Americans prefer the ease and quickness ofemail and that it eliminates the need to talk as much with their relatives. In that context, consider that most research on online usage has examined who uses the Internet and for what types of activities. The research rarely indudes a thorough investigation into the theoretical underpinnings of what drives technology use and the racial disparities revealed. As a research community, we know something about the functional role that the Internet plays in peoples lives, but little about the symbolic role--that is, what the Internet means to them. Moreover, little research has examined why racial/ethnic differences exist based on Internet users' own responses. In this essay, we argue that initiatives designed to solely provide access to the Internet will lessen, but not eliminate, the digital divide. What is needed, we assert, is a greater understanding of how individuals socially construct the role of new communication tech-
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nologies in their lives, in order to make the experienceof using those of computers and the Internet, that has profound implications for technologies meaningful. To illuminate these issues and illustrate those on the wrong side of the digital divide. the import of social science in that process, we ground our study in Knowledge Gap social construction of technology, knowledge gap, and social iden- The knowledge gap (Tichenor, Donohue, & Olien, 1970) tells us tity theories. We then provide data based on focus groups and that different groups of people have different levels of knowledge. personal interviews with European American, African American, Those with higher levelsof income and education have more knowlLatino, Asian American, and international collegestudents. Finally, edge on topics of public interest. The fact that they consume more we discussthe results in terms of the insightswe can draw from them information from the news media than those people of lower socioin order to help combat the digital divide. economic standing only exacerbates, rather than closes, the gap over time. Moreover, it has been suggested that there is a digital divide for African Americans because they use entertainment media, such Social C o n s t r u c t i o n o f T e c h n o l o g y The theory of the social construction of technology maintains that as television and radio, rather than information technologies, like groups that hold divergent social and political interests and value newspapers and the Internet (Novak, Hoffman, & Venkatesh, 1997). judgments attach differing meanings to the same technological object (Bijker, Hughes, & Pinch, 1987; Bijker, 1995). These mean- Knowledge gap research also reveals that income and education are ings come into focus, in part, as users determine if and in what ways not the only variables at work in the creation of the knowledge gap. the technology is compatible with their skills, understandings, and Two other crucial variables are issue salience and motivation (Adoni habitual practices (Miles, 1990; Thomas & Miles, 1990). In turn, & Cohen, 1978; Chew & Palmer, 1994; Ettema, Brown, & Luepker, technology produces an environment that enables and/or constrains 1983; Ettema & Kline, 1977; Genova & Greenberg, 1979; Lemert, people, and culture and technology are inextricably intertwined. 1995; Zandpour & Fellow, 1992). As such, the implications of the knowledge gap for the Internet are that both access to media and At a practical level then, a computer is much more than a box with motivation to use that access are key to overcoming socio-economic wires. Consider this proposition in terms of cars and the human and racial differences. relationship people have with automotive technology. Think about how cars have interacted with the political, social, economic, and Social Identity Theory physical geography of life. And, look at the cultural dimensions of Social identity construction (Abrams & Hogg, 1990; Brown & that connection. Cars mean very different things to those in the Turner, 1981;Tajfel, 1972, 1981; Tajfel &Turner, 1979; Turner, United States as opposed to those in other countries; Americans are 1975) involveshow people define themselves according to the charknown for their love affair with the automobile. In addition, within acteristics of the socialgroup to which they belong. The main points the U.S., there are cultural differencesin the relationship to cars that of this body of research are that social identity is a function of group membership; individuals differentiate between in-group and outdepend, for example, on gender. group membership; groups are arranged hierarchically such that This notion has been applied to computers by Byron Reeves and there are dominant and subordinate groups; and the media help to Clifford Nass (1996), Stanford University researchers who work define those differences. Thus, one of the outgrowths of a digital with Microsoft. They have found that people attribute a gender to divide is that it can create access in-groups and lack-of-access outcomputers, and all the stereotypes that follow from that gender in groups, and, because of race-related income inequality in the U.S., the real world follow in the human-computer interaction. For in- these in-groups and out-groups break down along racial lines. stance, if an individual is shy with members of the opposite sex and perceives a computer to be of the opposite sex, he or she will be shy In addition, individuals strive to favorably assess their in-group in with the computer. Further, Reevesand Nass have determined that comparison to other groups to derive and sustain a positive selfpeople are polite to computers and view them as teammates and as image and high self-esteem from their group membership (Leyens, having personalities. Thus, computers and the Internet have sym- Yzerbyt, & Schadron, 1994). To assure and justify the desired bolic meanings and they mean different things to different people. outcome of the evaluation, individuals discriminate against other groups by stereotyping them as inferior on dimensions of skills and The social construction of technology theory holds that, while vari- ideas held to be of high relevance to the in-group. Through stereoous relevant social groups may construct or deconstruct divergent typing, individuals make sense of events by pinpointing the groups and perhaps conflicting interpretations of a technology, over time, a responsible, rationalize behaviors toward out-groups, and highlight selection process results in closure of a meaning with a dominant differences. As a result, the digital divide, as well as the understandconsensus established about the purpose, meanings, design, and ing of the nature of it by, for example, the general public and "success"or "failure"of the technology. As such, this process involves policymakers,is cast through this frame of reference and may impact the exercise of power as definitions are fixed and, in turn, limit the choices and assumptions made in areas far beyond information and potential for other or new conceptions. Technologiescan also serveas communication technology. boundary objects, where groups that join in its use impact the determination of its meanings, and those who do not participate are From Theory to Practice excluded from the power structure and have meanings dictated for So, we have symbolic meanings and a reciprocal relationship bethem. Therefore, within this framework,technologyis sociallyshaped tween technology and society,the importance of motivation as well and, reciprocally, shapes individuals, groups, and society. In terms as access, and the dynamics of in-groups and out-groups. How does
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this play out for African Americans on the Internet? When we investigated what the Internet means to individuals on a personal level, we found similar meanings across all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Not only did respondents see the benefits of computers and the Internet, they also tended to look at the functional, rather than symbolic, nature of computer and Internet technology in assessing the roles such technology plays in their lives. A typical response comes from an international female participant from Turkey: "Intemet means freedom and easiness for me. When we meet a friend somewhere we don't expect we suddenly say that world is very small. Using the Internet the world becomes really small. I can push the buttons and go anywhere in the world or I can find any information aboutanythingthat I want tolearn. Surfingthe Internet, I feel that I am the owner of the whole world. Everything is under my hand," While most comments were positive, some respondents did indicate some caution about Internet use. For example, an African American female explained, "The Internet is great, but I know a couple of people in my dorm who spend WAY T O O M U C H time online. They need to get a life." Next, we asked participants why they thought a gap existed between white andAfrican American computer users and usage. Nearly all participants saw the cause of the digital divide as income inequality, but there were some additional insights. An African American female pointed out, "Part of it might be that you need to feel there's a reason to use computers. Until I started using them in high school, I didn't realize how much help they could be, like looking up stuff for a paper." A couple of participants indicated that the digital divide stems from alienation. As one African American female put it, "I think the reason there are more whites than blacks using the Internet is because [blacks] may not find things to their liking on the Internet. The web sites they could be using are not interesting enough to keep them logging on. Most of the time, blacks need something to grab their attention from the start." A white male even attributed the gap to the media, explaining that, "You never see blacks using computers on TV. Look at the AOL ads. They're certainly geared more to white families than black families." It has been suggested that part of the reason for the digital divide may be a problem within the African American culture itself. For instance, Larry Irving, an African American who was U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration under President Clinton, has spoken about the need to refocus minority youths "from high tops to high-tech" (1998). Irving argued that, "Most kids would rather grow up to be Michael Jordan than Bill Gates and spend time on a basketball court than in a computer room . . . . Our children should know as much about Paul Allen, leo-founder of Microsoft and owner of the Pordand Trail Blazers NBA team] as Paul Pierce [star guard for the NBA's Boston Celtics], and as much about Michael Dell as Michael Jordan."
Nearly all respondents rejected Irving's initial assertion. A typical response came from a white male: "Well, who has the more glamorous job, Michael Jordan or Bill Gates? Who has more charm and personality? Who has their own clothing line and championship rings? The fact of the matter is that Bill Gates, despite his billions of dollars, does not exactly represent high-class life, or celebrity status. He has never hosted 'Saturday Night Live,' and Gatorade never plugged their product with 'I wanna be like Bill.'" There were some opposing views. For example, an African American female observed that, "Young black boys can't relate to Bill Gates. That's why they don't strive to get where he is. Their reality is that kind of success is hopeless to get to." Next, we investigated the "pictures in the heads," as Lippmann (1922) would say, that participants conjured up regarding racially differentiated surfers. In general, regardless of race, participants did not differentiate between images of white teens and black teens using the Internet. In fact, the view of international participants is fairly well summed up by one female who commented, "According to my background, there is no race discrimination in my country so it is really difficult for me to understand why the U.S.A. makes it a major issue. I don't believe that there should be a difference between black teens and white teens." Some subtle differences did emerge, however. One white male suggested, "Maybe the only thing that is different is the atmosphere. If the African American teen happens to live in an inner-city, where home Internet access is rare, maybe he's sitting in the public library instead of his living room." In addition, a few participants painted a picture similar to an international female who noted, "My image of a white teen is a male who is blond. He is wearing glasses and a Tshirt with jeans under. He acts very calmly and surfs about stock exchange. However, my black teen image has an Afro who is wearing a turtleneck shirt with baggy pants. He looks more excited than the white teen and he surfs for rap music." Perhaps the most interesting (and troubling) observation came from a white female who remarked, "I don't think there's really that much difference, B ut, it, ~s sad to say that my image of a white teen surfing the Internet is filled with a lot of anxiety built up inside and I have a visual of this teen being insane. These thoughts are mostly due to the Columbine High School tragedy." Finally, we investigated reactions to Internet content specifically targeted to African Americans through BET.com. Until three years ago, there was virtually no content expressly for African Americans in cyberspace. Since late 1997, however, a number of sites have been launched, including GlobalMecca.com, LittleAfrica.com, and NetNoir.com. Probably the best-known (and most recent) effort to address this paucity of content is BET.com. BET is an African American-owned company with four cable channels and three magazines. In 1999, BET entered into a $35 million joint venture with four of the nation's largest media and technology conglomerates (Microso8 Corporation; Liberty Digital, LLC; News America, Inc.; and USA Networks, Inc.) to create BET.corn, a new Internet portal
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designed to become the leading online destination for African Americans. The site, which debuted in February 2000, offers a broad array of content, covering topics relevant to African Americans in channels such as news, entertainment, sports, education, health, family, history, finance, careers, technology, and travel. Additionally, BET.com offers communications tools such as e-mail, instant messaging, and diverse interactive chat communities. The most clear racial difference among our participants emerged from their perceptions of the BET.com Web site. Both white and African American respondents praised the site for its design and wide array of content, especially music, and criticized the site for its technical flaws, particularly the length of time to download and the propensity for links to break. But, several whites wondered why BET.corn focused just on African American content. For example, one white male contended, "This site should deal with more than just black issues so that more people would want to go to the site." Another white male declared, "It's too bad that the site just has things for African Americans. It's not a site that I will come back to." On the other hand, African American respondents were much more positive. One African American female exclaimed, "There aren't that many sites on the Net that speak to me. BET.corn definitely does." Another African American female explained, "Most of the time when I talk to my black friends about different sites on the Internet, it's about sites that appeal to anyone and everyone. This one and a couple of others really give us something more to talk about." Conclusion Our study reveals that there are not many stark differences between perceptions of African Americans and other racial groups. It should be noted that these participants were all from a similar economic and educational class because theywere students. Also, teenagers across the globe have many more similarities than differences. Plus, the digital divide tends to be generational; the gap between whites and African Americans under the age of 21 is less than for any other age group. Moreover, there are increasingly fewer racial differences in the U.S. as America becomes a more blended society. The international respondents provided an instructive perspective in indicating that race is more important to Americans than to those in other countries. Indeed, cultures socially construct race differently and with varying intensity. Real racial differences emerged around the BET.corn Web site. Whites saw it as different, strange, irrelevant, undesirable, and impractical as far as financial viability. In contrast, African Americans were very positive, perceiving true value. It is not clear that whites saw cyberspace as "white," yet, in evaluating the BET.corn Web site, they communicated somewhat pejorative remarks when color did appear. It is also not clear that African American respondents saw cyberspace as white. But African Americans did see cyberspace as lacking color, which was clearly a negative for them. Perhaps for both groups, however, "white" is a metaphor for having no color. In the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum,
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white light masks color; although we know it indudes a rainbow of colors when passed through a prism, we perceive white as lacking any color. In face-to-face communication, skin color is communicated to us nonverball~ These cues identifying race do not exist in computer-mediated communication. In other words, there is no "color" present. "Color" is something that has to be introduced to the communication experience. This is unlike the consumption and evaluation of other media, such as television, where color (and other racial/ethnic nonverbal cues) is obvious. Thus, it may be that the white/black issues of interpersonal communication become the colorless/color-added issues ofcyberspace, Further, this discrepancy may not be a racial issue at all. Rather, it may be a matter of a mainstream versus an alternative voice. African Americans, as opposed to whites, saw value in the presence on the Web of a different, unusual perspective. Therefore, while African Americans may not feel completely excluded from cyberspace, they may not feel completely included either. Inclusion in any dominant group enhances an individual's sense of well-being, self-worth, and self-esteem, and ability to participate in the social shaping of the future. In the digital age, one of the most important groups is composed of those who have computer skills, Internet access, and information literacy. As a result, if African Americans do not overcome the digital divide that plagues their community at present, they may become alienated from the very medium that holds so much social, economic, political, and cultural promise and power for them, as individuals and as a group, in the 21st century. As a research community, scholars can build a knowledge base to promote greater understanding and facilitate successful solutions. To date, studies that have attempted to inform the digital divide have been primarily quantitative, relying on statistics and demographics, and have centered on structural questions or functional differences (e.g., the uses and gratifications of Internet use). Yet, little research has explored the crucial aspects of the divide as a social artifact or considered the fuU range of issues implicated by cyberspace, including the symbolic role of technology in people's lives. Moreover, few studies have examined why racial/ethnic differences exist based on Internet users' own responses. Research that employs ethnographic methods to allow participants to address issues of the digital divide in their own words and with the freedom of openended responses, as demonstrated in our study, can enlighten the social and cultural reality as well as the shared and discrete identities fostered by a wired world. To conquer the digital divide, public policy on the Internet and the design ofcyberspace itself need to flow from a more complete understanding of the mechanisms that drive technology use and explain racial disparities. Public discourse on the digital divide has focused on promoting the Internet as an information medium and vehicle for commercial exchange. Similarly, funding has directed resources to the creation of computer and Internet access locations and research on the improvement of data delivery and retrieval efficiency. Technology policy and research, however, will not be effective until the underlying assumptions are refrarned with more equitable value judgments and the interventions concentrate on sup-
porting the Internet's use by diverse people and communities. Consequently, our research suggests that successfulprograms to combat the digital divide must start with access, but cannot stop there. Useful solutions require content relevant to people's lives to motivate underserved groups, such as African Americans, to go online and make them feel welcome. Concern for content, motivation, and culture needs to be brought into the mix to produce sound policy and practice. By illuminating our understanding of the processes at work at the nexus of individuals, groups, and technology, social science offers the key to harnessing that knowledge to bridge gaps in participation in the cybersociety of the new millennium.
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