Home PublicationsJRTEPast IssuesVolume 28 Number 5

Edited by Diane McGrath

Volume 28 Number 5 Summer 1996

Personal Empowerment in the Study of Home Internet Use by Low-Income Families

Florida Institute of Technology

Abstract

This article describes the personal transformations experienced by participants during a study of home Internet use by low-income families. The study was designed to collect data related to the barriers, benefits, and perceived worth of the Internet to low-income families. Specifically, it asked what families designated as informationally disadvantaged would actually do online given unrestricted home Internet access. This research project provided the prerequisite resources necessary for 'ideal' home Internet use to six low-income urban families. The experiences of these participants between December 1994 and January 1996 provide research-based evidence affirming the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (1995) thesis that many of those "most disadvantaged in terms of absolute computer and modem penetration are the most enthusiastic users of online services that facilitate economic uplift and empowerment" (p. 3).The ethnographically informed results of this study indicate that home Internet access enabled the research participants to experience powerful emotional and psychological transformations. In this article we share segments of participants' personal transformations of identity, education, and community, transformations contributing to what has popularly become known as empowerment.

In a study by the US Department of Commerce (National Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTIA, 1995), American society is described as one in which an "individuals' economic and social well-being increasingly depends on the ability to access, accumulate, and assimilate information." The report goes on to say that "although a standard phone line can be an individual's pathway to the riches of the information age, a personal computer and modem are rapidly becoming the keys to the vault." The National Information Infrastructure (NII) is described by the Clinton administration as "the most viable route to ending the differences between information haves and have-nots" (Piller, 1994). According to Vice President Gore's vision of a fully wired society connectivity to the information superhighway will function as a dynamic force for social good, improving communication, education, medical care, and political participation.

Such optimism about the ultimate impact of the Information Superhighway on low-income and racially or ethnically diverse communities is, at best, speculative. We know little about the use or value of such a resource to the "have-not" community, as this sector of the population is the least likely to be represented in today's online world . There is a widely recognized need for systematic research to determine whether connection to a global computer network will indeed be beneficial to the so-called "information have-not" community. If the beneficial potential of public access is to be realized it "must be integrated into the working lives of users in those communities [it is] meant to serve. Such integration depends upon identifying and addressing a number of ... behavioral issues that are related to use of networks by various users" (McClure, 1991, p 35). In their research, McClure, Bishop, Doty, and Rosenbaum (1991) indicate that user-oriented research is needed to provide a better understanding of, among other things, how computer networks can facilitate the goals of a certain user community and the problems these groups face in their attempt to use networks to accomplish their goals. "Data on how individual Americans are using networked information services, particularly from home, is important- in order to measure the effects of administration policy goals in activities concerning the NII" (Civille, 1995, p.182).

The Study

The socio-behavioral focus of this study was best suited to the naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) paradigm with its characteristics of prolonged engagement, persistent observation, and focus on participant perspectives. This research was primarily pursued through ethnographic interviews in the natural setting and computer-generated documentation of participants' Internet use.

Method

Participants

The school's administration was enthusiastic about participating. The administration allocated a significant amount of professional time to the project, especially for locating and training appropriate research informants. The school and its constituency were within the toll-free calling zone of the Florida Institute of Technology, which was providing the unlimited point-to-point dial up Internet access necessary to the project's design. School personnel provided specific demographic data based on 1992-1993 student data (66% of students were qualified for free or reduced lunch, 48% were racial or ethnic minorities, and 2% were classified as being limited in English) and developed a list of families who met specific sampling criteria. This purposive sample of the reputational case variety (Miles & Huberman, 1994 ) consisted of six families (See Table 1) typically underserved by school processes. Members of the sample were considered members of the have-not population by virtue of their underserved status, operationally defined minimally as low-income. Low-income is defined in this study by children's eligibility for free or reduced lunch. The primary informants of this investigation were parents.

Table 1. Family Profiles

Prior Ethnography

Formal Data Collection

Data Analysis

Observations

Participant Experiences

We have accumulated extensive qualitative evidence supporting the Internet's potential for enriching the lives of those less fortunate in their material circumstances. (See Table 2 for examples of how the Internet was used and Table 3 for the types and amount of use.) Participants made use of virtual hospitals, medical dictionaries, and physicians desk references. They joined support groups, visited international zoos, investigated scholarships, and made local transportation arrangements. They virtually attended the O.J. Simpson trial and engaged in online pie fights. They investigated appliances, looked at employment listings, and kept up with the local calender of events.

Table 2. Examples of Internet Interactions

Computer/Internet used as a productivity tool

Kids' school reports
Life histories
Cookbooks

Medical
Kidney Foundation
Virtual hospital
Diabetic recipes
Alternative medicines

Economic/gov

Small business association-process for
minority bidding on gov't contracts
SSI eligibility and procedures
800 number directory

Current events

O.J. Simpson trial
Local community calendar
Local newspaper (Florida Today)
Magazines (Time/Warner)

Hobbies and Recreation

Collecting sports scores
Chocolate recipes
Recipes

E-mail with school-student logistics, transportation
Listservs on gifted kids & ADD discussions
E-mailing daily glucose info to personal physician

International Zoos & Museums
Trips abroad

Diabetes Sufferers Support Group
Single Parents Support Group

Participants of this study e-mailed, chatted, and surfed the World Wide Web, getting information, making friends and undergoing personal transformations. One participant likened her experience to that of the movie "Free Willy." "I feel like Free Willy like I been released from captivity." To varying degrees all participants spoke of undergoing personal growth as a result of their Internet experiences. In the following paragraphs we present these transformations in terms of identity, education, and community. (See also Table 4).


Table 3. Types and Amount of Internet Use by Families

1. E-mail fellow participants, investigating Web, listservs, newsgroups-practice and evaluation (all families)
2. Information gathering (all families)
3. Communication/logistical with school/fellow participants (all families)
4. Virtual fieldtrips (2 families)
5. Building distant relationships/community (3 families)

Table 4. Perceived Obstacles, Benefits, Needs, and Impact

Obstacles

Fear of and negative past experience with technology
Lack of awareness of usefulness
Self concept as unsuccessful learners
Lack of understanding/skills-computer and Internet time
Busy signals

Loss of fear
Transfer of learning to other situations
Rise in self-esteem
Knowledge and skill acquisition
Personal prestige
Increased student acheivement
Shared special interest and language with children

Addressing a variety of learning styles
Phases of support needed
Early hand-holding and validation from professionals
Peer sharing and peer tutoring
Childcare and transportation

Increased togetherness initially
Child-to-parent tutoring
Decreased TV time
Decreased time outdoors
Academic competion among chidren

It made me realize I had more knowledge in my head, that I wasn't stupid. I always thought I was below people, that I wasn't worth anything. It's helped my self-esteem so much to know that I can learn.

It doesn't matter that I'm on SSI [disability] and living in HUD housing. On the Internet I can sit down with people making $150,000 a year or more and I can keep up with their conversation. There's no way I would have thought this would be possible.

It made me feel good just learning, knowing that I could learn By working with it I learned that I could learn, and when I started getting into different sections of the Internet I was amazed at how much information was out there and how many different opinions.

I was able to get information about my niece's disease. I wasn't even able to pronounce the word, but I was able to email the librarian at the University of Iowa, the radiology one, straight to her and then she directed me how to get more information, you go into the virtual hospital. You know if you had to do it by yourself by phone, forget it, you'd give up--ha, like a slow boat to China--now you say okay I can pull it up on the Internet and we'll find out right quick.

You could hear it from professionals and then also from individuals expressing their feelings... Like on the diabetic list that I was on today...they were freely talking about themselves, their conditions, what they was facin' day by day. I realized a lot of stuff that they were saying, I was going through and wondering what was wrong with me, you know. 'Cause I didn't understand what was happenin' with me, which was part of the reason I became so depressed, because I couldn't explain what was happening to me, even though I was telling the doctors and they were saying, just take your medicine, just take your medicine, and not really explaining to me how to live and how to eat- how important exercise was, so, I found out just reading [Kidney Foundation Listserv] messages how important things were and what was actually happening and what the names of things were that were happening to me. Then I wasn't so afraid- because when he told me I had diabetes, I didn't want to accept the fact, but after reading all that information I realize how serious it is. I really didn't understand, you know how dangerous it was, you know. But now I know how it is and I've retrieved information that could help me balance myself and get my glucose down.

My daughter went from making Ds to making As, Bs and Cs. I thought that she was going to flunk seventh grade, I was afraid of that, but being able to get the information to her for her to do extra work made the difference. [My daughter], she um, she's SLD and she do not do well on tests at all, she could do the open book work, but each time she takes the test she flunks the tests and that was bringing her grades so low. So they allowed her to do extra credit work and we were able to get on the Internet and get her information to do the reports, that brought her grade average up, her science and language up.

Yeah I did get the information from the Internet and I got it over to her, she's in Orlando, I mailed it to her. And I found out about small business forms for my niece that's here, and I looked up the disability and the social security issues and got a lot of information from that, that helped me understand the procedure they go through in this state to determine whether you're eligible or not.

On the diabetic line there is always a new recipe. There is always somebody out there- somebody laughing, somebody crying, somebody wishing somebody well, you know, just like support- just knowing that somebody else is going through what you are going through, makes it- I don't know, not easier maybe, but makes your mind a lot easier about it, you know. There are things that are happening that they can warn you about before time so that you won't get in to [them]. I've been enjoying that.

I'll go on at night, 'cause at night when I get home my legs are in so much pain and I hurt so bad that I cry and instead of sitting alone in a chair in a corner somewhere crying now I can get on chat and they will say to me what's the matter , you know, do you hurt, I'll say yes and they ask me if I'm crying and they cry along with me. So it's a support, plus there's a psychology part that I had found that I also go into [when I'm feeling bad].

She does a lot of stuff that is school-related: contacting other people in the project that are online- like they had a meeting about year-long schooling out at [the district office] and she was contacting [T.] about transportation and things like that. Her use is very practical and family related, mine is more opened.

All of these changes appear positive, but not all can be maintained in the absence of the research-sponsored technology. Given the participants' low-income status, the equipment itself is irreplaceable, regardless of how much the participants might want to continue Internet access. While some aspects of the changes they experienced might remain with the participants regardless of access, the interpersonal aspects of their online experience will not remain available and will, they argue, constitute a major diminishment in their lifestyle. Participants have expressed deep concern over losing their home Internet access at the end of the study and have questioned our role in their dependency. As one participant put it, only half tongue-in-cheek, "Oh yeah, you university people are worse than the dope peddlers; now that we're hooked, you're going to take it away." They fear their inability to maintain the daily routines they have established based on this ideal Internet access. They fear that the loss of their current mode of Internet access will result in the loss of positive personal transformations they have undergone as a result of their Internet experiences. Specifically, participants fear losing their newly acquired senses of identity, education, and community.

This highlights the capability of electronic networks to provide a medium for human communication and connection that enables the development of individual and community relationships that have implications far beyond those of enhanced access to information resources. Stone (1995) articulates the depth to which electronic communication can be integrated into our lives, into our very beings, sentiments that we hear echoed by our participants.

The quiet death that comes when we have lost our presence in the discourses which shape our lives, when we no longer speak but are spoken - that is, when not we but our culture speaks through our mouths - is for me the most frightening. That's why for me prosthetic communication and the things it creates, specifically interactive entertainment software, the Internet, cyberspace, and virtual reality, are not a question of market share or even of content. In a fundamental McLuhanesque sense these things are parts of ourselves. As with all powerful discourses, their very existence shapes us. Since in a deep sense they are languages, it's hard to see what they do, because what they do is to structure seeing. They act on systems- social, cultural, neurological- by which we make meaning. Their implicit messages change us" (p. 167).

Ethical Considerations

Anticipating the possibility that participants might desire continued Internet access beyond the confines of our study, and in the spirit of reciprocity, we established a point of access at their children's elementary school. This access was available for parents and school personnel in both the library and the front office. While the participants and school administrators were pleased with these arrangements initially, the parents later reflected that they had no idea what it would come to mean experientially. Soon after the study began, the participants came to feel that school-based access would in no way replace the convenient home access they had incorporated into their daily lives and upon which they had come to depend. This dependency, which in several cases was characterized by near constant use and an inseparable degree of integration into their everyday lives, could not be supported by the restrictive hours at the access site. In addition to the ubiquitous concerns about child care and transportation some participants were intermittently homebound due to medical conditions of which we were initially unaware. As the study progressed and parents developed personal patterns of use that far exceeded our expectations they became concerned about the inferiority of anything less than the convenient, unrestricted home access the project provided.

We did not anticipate the profound ways in which our participants' interactions with the technology and the relationships it made possible would change them, their sense of identity, and the content of their lives. While these changes were perceived as positive by the participants, our dilemma arose when participants began to express their growing fear of the time when they would be expected to return the borrowed computer equipment and give up their free home Internet access. The problematic nature of this research was made explicitly clear when a participant exclaimed "all this research is well and good but who's gonna come research what happens when we lose the computer- I'm gonna crash- I really think I'll crash."

According to use of human subjects research codes, we met our ethical responsibility to the participants by clearly delineating the temporary nature of the resources provided and obtaining their agreement through written consent before the project began. However, we have come to feel that adherence to these standard ethical requirements is insufficient to adequately address the principle of reciprocity in our relationships with participants. We do not argue that researchers take responsibility for all unanticipated consequences of research participation. In this study, however, it became important to not only mitigate negative consequences of our research, but to actively support the positive potential awakened in participants through their involvement. Toward this end we have extended the research project through June 30, 1996 and have begun to investigate ways in which participants may come to permanently possess home information technology independent of this study.

Discussion

It is important to note that participant experiences of empowerment during this study are the result of 'ideal' Internet access conditions. Our study provided what was, at the time, state-of-the-art home Internet access with high performance computing equipment, personal productivity software, and on-demand technical support. Participants in this study used the Internet extensively but they also used the computers for such things as budget management and personal correspondence. They learned to type and to talk "techie." Arguably, participants' most significant accomplishments made use of both the Internet and the software tools in the production of original work such as school reports, medical journals, and cookbooks. Ultimately, in this study, the impact of Internet access is inextricable from the stand-alone capability of the computer and from this point on we refer to this joint venture as information technology (IT). Empowerment requires more than just access to information it requires the ability to use that infomation to acheive specific goals and objectives. In this study participants' use of home IT involved the ability to retrieve, transfom, save, recall, and print information.

The design of this study was, by necessity, research oriented, individual centered, and home based. Through it we discovered and documented participants' use of IT for individual empowerment and positive personal transformation. Our experience supports the validity of a recent claim by Linda Roberts, special advisor on technology, US Department of Education (1995, as cited in Berger, 1995) that "the poor and economically disadvantaged are among those with the most to gain from the timely realization of an information infrastructure capable of delivering online communication, entertainment, and information services directly into the home" " (p. 38). The current study has produced important information and insights; however, the project's reliance on borrowed equipment severely limits its potential for sustainability or practical replication. The resources required to establish the unlimited, state-of-the-art, home Internet access provided by this project are simply not available to members of this population.

Having determined that ideal Internet access can indeed be an effective mechanism through which families from underserved communities may be empowered, we must identify technological and organizational strategies, tools, and models of access that are both effective and practical. If the underserved community is to share in the benefits of IT, they should be engaged in the exploration and evaluation of the alternative modes of access and implementation models. We must look at the strategic use and implementation of IT in the underserved community from an ecological perspective- a perspective that considers people in context and promotes self-determined sustainability. We will need to implement IT in ways appropriate to the context of individual users and user communities to facilitate specific goals they wish to achieve. We must become committed to this if our society is to avoid further segmentation into groups unable to communicate with each other- the information haves, who will be capable of accessing and using information electronically, and the information have-nots, who will suffer the consequences of computer network illiteracy.

Conclusion

Although access to the Internet is readily available, such access is neither universal nor equitable. Access to and use of the Internet requires a substantial investment by the user. At a minimum, users need time to learn, understand, and navigate the network. They require computers, modems, software, and telephone lines. They must also have the financial resources to pay for the recurring monthly charges associated with Internet connection. For these reasons the economically disadvantaged are not well represented among current Internet users. The data collected during this study provide strong evidence for the Internet's potential to empower and enrich the lives of those with access. With more than a year of home Internet use under their belts participants' evaluation of home Internet use is overwhelmingly positive. They are committed to its continued use for as long as access remains available in their homes. The experiences of these participants provide research-based evidence in support of the NTIA's (1995) thesis that many of those most disadvantaged in terms of absolute computer and modem penetration are [among] the most enthusiastic users of online services that facilitate economic uplift and empowerment (p. 3)."

Acknowledgements

Support for this dissertation research was provided by the National Science Foundation's Dissertation Enhancement Award, Project No. SRB-9528873. We thank Dr. Kathy Kelly-Benjamin and Dr. Phillip Horton, and the participants, school personnel, and community groups who made it possible. We are also grateful to Stacey Mooers for her help in digitizing.

References

Contributors

Melinda Bier is a doctoral candidate at Florida Institute of Technology and a Visiting Research Fellow at the James S. McDonnell Foundation in St. Louis. The research presented in this article is a portion of her dissertation study. Her interests include the uses and impact of technology in education, and how foundations and other non-profit organizations can best incorporate technology to support their philanthropic and charitable missions.(Address: James S. McDonnell Foundation, St. Louis. E-mail: bier@jsmf.org).

Michael Gallo

Michael Gallo has advanced degrees in both mathematics and computer science, and a Ph.D. in computer education. He has taught mathematics at the junior, senior, and community college levels, and has co-authored textbooks in both mathematics and computer science. In addition to his teaching career, Gallo was Florida Institute of Technology's Unix system administrator and network administrator from 1988 to 1995. During that time period he also was the Principal Investigator of a U.S Department of Education funded project designed to investigate the use of the Internet as a medium to effect fundamental educational improvement in the local K-12 community through the application of telecommunications to teacher training and instruction. Gallo also is the founder and a principal of a local Internet Service Provider. He is currently an Associate Professor of Science and Mathematics Education at Florida Tech, and is the project director of a three-year Florida Department of Education funded program. His current research focus is in the area of adaptive technologies for people with disabilities. (Address: Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West university Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901. E-mail: gallo@fit.edu).

Eddy Nucklos

Eddy Nucklos is an undergraduate computer science major at Florida Institute of Technology. (Address: 150 West university Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901. E-mail: enuckol@tuck.cs.fit.edu).

Stephen Sherblom

Stephen Sherblom just completed a doctorate in human development at Harvard Graduate School of Education. His dissertation, "Moral Sensibility and Experience in Young Children," explores the nature of moral experience and how that experience has been conceptualized and studied in the field of moral development. His research program combines philosophy and psychology to better understand the development of our moral selves. His other interests include qualitative research methodologies, gender socialization, violence, and the multiple identities we each coordinate. (Address: Harvard Graduate School of Education, Appial Way, Cambridge MA 02138. E-mail: sherblst@hugse1.harvard.edu).

Michael Pennick

Michael Pennick is a teacher of gifted students and technology specialist at University Park Elementary School in Melbourne, FL. (Address: University Park Elementary School, 500 West University Blvd., Melbourne FL 32901. E-mail: pennick@firn.edu).

Copyright © 1996, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.