Definitely an academic-focused book, but that honestly didn't take away at all from the importance of the subject and the way Lee writes. A great read, perfect for teachers, policy makers alike.

This hit hard. I was working at the public library and a public school when the pandemic happened. The library closed for two weeks and the schools closed for the rest of the school year until the following school year. Our students were not children with computers and internet at home and library patrons who use the computers are often people who do not have access at home, so I saw all of that first hand. It really stuck with me.
Now I have a job where I work from home whenever. I am glad I have perspective.
This books illustrated it all. I love it. It was well written. I think people need to read it.

This felt more like a research paper than a narrative for public consumption. Particularly with the bibliography at the end of each chapter really interrupted the flow. Based on the description, I was expecting personal stories but most of the text was focused on policy and infrastructure. Thr book covers an important topic that deserves attention but the message is hard for the layperson to understand with all thr jargon.

When the pandemic hit, the digital divide was made clear through images like children huddled in a Taco Bell parking lot seeking access to wifi to do their homework. But the story of access to not just connectivity but computers goes much further back and being able to understand and use the technology is often the difference between getting benefits, employment, and education or doing without. In Digitally Invisible, long-time tech researcher and advocate Nicol Turner Lee shows that the decisions we make now on broadband, fiber, and other connectivity technology could have reverberations for decades.

I was lucky enough to have access to computers from a relatively early age (my father was an early adopter before that was even a phrase). In my early 20s, working in a computer reseller gave me access to laptops when they were still considered a novelty. I also lived in a city. But I remember in the late 1990s, buying a computer for my family because although my mother and stepfather didn’t really see the need for an updated home computer, I didn’t want my brother and sister to be missing out on the changes that were coming. This was when most access was still dial-up. All you needed was a computer, modem, and a phone line. We inhabit a far different world today. One thing I learned from this book is the many ways to get online (satellite, fiber, broadband, and tech I hadn’t heard before of called television white space). That proliferation makes the challenge of getting everyone online even more complicated.

Should Wi-Fi be a public utility? A universal benefit? Is it a nice-to-have or a must-have? Turner Lee lays out the many ways that Wi-Fi is now essential for students, most people in the workforce, those on public assistance who need to access benefits, and the elderly who need to be online for telehealth and more. Access to the internet isn’t just about streaming Netflix; it’s essential to better outcomes for people.

It turns out this book on tech is also a real estate book. She goes deep on the history of redlining and housing discrimination and points out how we are now in the midst of digital redlining, where companies are investing less in technology to serve areas where the income is lower and, therefore, their customer base might be smaller. This is why the question of public good and government spending arises. While there has been significant funding already, what seems to be lacking is a universal plan for access.

In the book, Turner Lee takes us from urban computer labs to rural communities, showing that while the reasons people need access to the internet differ (job applications, schoolwork, ecommerce etc), the lack of it has similar outcomes, leading to closed businesses and services, and a growing division between how life is with connectivity and without it. There is a direct correlation between the wealth divide and the digital divide.

What’s the solution? Turner Lee is calling for universal service to erase that divide through a multipartite and comprehensive group of interventions. There are many existing government plans, and the major wireless and cable providers have assistance programs, but a broader scope, perhaps partly funded by some deep-pocketed Big Tech companies, is needed. And it’s needed now because, as she mentions in the postscript of the book, we are on the precipice of something new: artificial intelligence. People who have been left out of the tech revolution may find themselves even further behind as AI becomes more widely integrated. Access to, education about, and understanding of technology won’t fix all of society’s ills but the book shows that more awareness and more funding are needed.

This is such an interesting read! As someone who finds internet to be much more of a necessity than luxury these days this perfectly sums up what it means to live in the age of the new digital era.