by: Jana Kasperkevic
It's common to hear executives, lawmakers and venture capitalists talk about our "increasingly connected world", as they pour millions into tech startups and apps. What they don't often say is that the world is connected for those who can afford to pay for broadband.
The rollout of the Affordable Care Act, promising healthcare to every uninsured person online, leaves out a major group: those without regular internet access. The promise of easy internet enrollment is only for those who can afford at-home internet, the cost of which is forbiddingly high for working-class Americans. The digital divide is a major problem in the US, with no regular internet access for over 46% of households that have incomes below $30,000. Lacking internet access, it's difficult to do homework, apply for jobs, or apply to government programs, including unemployment benefits and food stamps.
Just ask Destinyjoy Balgobin, a 19-year-old living in East Harlem. She is a member of the most connected generation in history, which never knew a world without email, and yet she grew up without a computer or internet access at home. She is no stranger to computers, which she has used in school to learn to type and complete assignments. Yet homework, which often required typing or internet research, required a trip to the public library.
Balgobin, who recently graduated from high school, is not alone. Libraries are becoming hubs of research in many places not because of their books, but because of their banks of public computers. According to a 2013 Pew report on library services, 77% of those surveyed said that free access to computers and internet are a “very important” services of libraries. What's more, 66% of those who used internet at a library in the past year did so to do research for school or work. Even while smartphones become more prevalent, their smaller screens, expensive data plans (costing up to $100 a month), and slower connection speeds make them unsuited for tapping out 10-page papers or research beyond Wikipedia.
This past month, Balgobin has moved back in with her mom, who has internet and a laptop provided by her employer. Balgobin is hopeful that soon she might be able to save for a computer of her own. In the meantime, she has an iPhone for her immediate needs.
In this edited transcript of our conversation, Balgobin describes what it's like to grow up without internet.
No, it's always been cost. I've never felt like I didn't need it. Especially when wanting to further my education, I have always felt like I needed it for everything: to log onto college applications or to write your college essay or even to research anything. I've never been able to look into anything unless it was on a need-to-do basis, like homework that's assigned right then and there.
Did it ever come up in conversation? Do you ever feel judged? Are people surprised?
They kind of overlook it, [as if] I am just saying it. It probably doesn't matter to them, because they have internet. So they don't …
… realize how hard it is?
Yeah. And I am over here [thinking], "But how am I going to print that? And if it's due tomorrow? But I have to type it first, too?" And everybody is like, "Well …" And I am like, "Can I email it to you and then you print it and bring it back to school?" It’s hard. You don't want to rely on someone else, and you know you could have it done, but you just don't have that accessibility to do it.
Do you feel that if you had internet before, your life would be a little different right now?
Yea, I feel like it would be a little easier. I would have more done. I would feel more self-confident. I wouldn't have to reach out to others to help me do things or when they show me a website, I would already be familiar with it, and at least be halfway done. But [as it is] I always feel brand new, as if they were teaching me something that I should have already known.
What do you do in order to get online?
I try to use it on my phone.
Did you always have an iPhone?
No. I got an iPhone two years ago. Before that I had myTouch, but it was the first one so it was hard to configure the Word documents. I would just try to tell my teachers, "I'll handwrite it perfectly on looseleaf. Or I can come in early and type it while we are in class." Because I didn't have a way to print it, either. Plus, I could've used the library, but with working and everything, I would never be able to do it.
What school was this in?
My high school, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School. I'm starting college in March.
Were most teachers forthcoming?
I feel like I had to be more responsible. I couldn't slack off in order for them to understand me. I couldn't just have fun in school, I had to pay attention and show them that I knew what I was doing, in order for them to realize that I can't write it at home. When they [would] say, "Oh, everybody come in tomorrow with a printed article or print out this article" – at the time I wasn't on good terms with my mom, but when I was I would call her in between classes and ask, "Mom, can you print out this article? All I have to do is bring it in as homework assignment." But if I don't have it physically printed out, I can't show them.
It was hard for me to tell everybody else how important it was when it really isn't that important to them. And for me to access it in a computer lab, they would be just say, "Well, go home and do it." I don't have a printer at home, how can I do it?
It was more rushing around, trying to prove that I did want to do the homework and did want to get it done, I wasn't trying to slack off. I guess I had to show them my personality the whole time, that I was determined about it.
Do you have a computer now?
No. I should work on [getting one], though.
Did you ever have a computer?
No.
Does your mom have a computer?
Yes, but it's for her job.
What if you had to do a research paper? How would you do that? Did you ever use the public library?
Yes, I used the library. But then with the time frame it was hard, because I would just take notes of everything really quickly, skim through the research, read it, not print out the pages and just write my own essay based on the notes that I took down.
Yes. To get all information down, write body paragraphs, write everything in 30 minutes. You know, I just want to print it out. I wish I was at home [and had] my own flexibility to do it.
Are there ever lines at your library?
Yes. Sometimes I just walk out and come back. I sign my name, then people skip you. For the most part, I wait. It's discouraging in a way. You have to wait in a long line, you just got out of school, time's going by, and then you have to go home and do more homework.
Do you ever worry about privacy and your data on public computers?
I do worry about that sometimes. I delete all my documents. I have also noticed on some computers they don't let you save it anymore. I mean, maybe that's good but it was kind of bad when I update a whole resume and wanted to send it to myself. Some of the privacy settings are good. Some are bad.
You're about to start college now. Was applying to schools without a computer difficult?
Yes. For instances, yesterday LaGuardia [Community College] emailed me and told me to go on their VIP page. I tried to click the link through my iPhone and it didn't bring me to the right page. I tried to set a new password for it and it didn't work. When that happens, I just forward the email to my college adviser, I go there and she uses her computer for me and we access everything together. And I told her that when she gets back into the office, we can work on whatever this email is when I see her.
Where does your college adviser work?
It’s called Options [College Counseling], it's on 110th street and Manhattan Avenue.
That's another issue, too. I can never handle it all by myself without asking somebody for help, who actually has internet and a desktop that runs well and a printer.
But your college advisor has been helpful? She has printed out your college application?
Yes. Then I'll say, "I need five copies of my resume. Can you help me with this CUNY application?" She sits there and helps me with everything.
Once you start school, you might need a computer. Can you afford to buy one?
Not right now. But I'm looking into a way of how I can possibly save some money, or I know I can always go to the Options office or a library, but that's tedious, [because] after class, I doubt they'll be open. I am working also and doing both is … eh.
What are some of the hardest things you've dealt with not having internet?
Applications when looking for better work. A lot of the good jobs you have to go through the application process online first, and then speak to them and give them [reference numbers] for after they verify your background check. That's been a hassle.
Is looking for jobs hard as well? Have you tried applying through Craigslist?
I have tried to do Craigslist from my phone, and then when I try to respond by email, the link takes me to somewhere else where I can't include my resume as an attachment. So I'm reaching out and they can barely see what type of person I am. So it's kind of hard because I just emailed all these places, I know I'm qualified and that I would be really good if they saw me in person.
I use internet for everything ≠ to look up where I'm going to go eat, to find directions, to find movie times. Do you do all of that on your phone?
Yes, I do all of that on my phone.
Do you have an unlimited plan on your phone? Did you ever use up all your data?
Yes, I have an unlimited plan because of that, 'cause at first I was paying like $200 for my phone [plan].
Did you not realize that you were going over your limits?
Yeah, going over the usage, because of apps I was opening. But now I have a lower price. It's $65 a month for unlimited everything. But still, using a search engine from an actual computer is way better than from your phone. Your phone doesn't open the same way. It doesn't let you access the same websites, the same links. It's hard.
And plus, I would want to write on it and not on my phone. I would want to open Word, save documents in favorites, open the next link, and have more sources for the paper. I would just prefer for my work to be better.
I bank online. It's how I make sure I don't go over and everything is paid on time. How do you bank?
I have a debit card and a checking account. I use an app on my phone but it only helps me with so much. Sometimes when I call and tell them I need to speak to customer service, they tell me to go on the computer. You can't access everything from a cellphone, I guess because of privacy settings. So I end up having to go to the bank. Luckily, it's right down the stairs from me, so I just speak to one of the representatives there.
I haven't, but I've thought about it. Because I know you can get free food through it. And I'm thinking, "Well, I wonder if I qualify."
[*You can apply for food stamps by mail, fax or in person.]
Have you ever tried to look it up?
I have tried to look it up. I looked up the address of where you're supposed to go, from my phone.
Do you think that if you had a computer, you would look it up and apply for it? Would that make it easier?
Yea, I would have already applied for an [affordable housing] apartment, because I know you can do it through nyc.gov – at least do the raffles in the city. I have wanted to do that for a while. Even though I am paying rent with my mom, I wouldn't mind paying rent on my own place.
What about applying for unemployment?
I haven’t, but I do think of it when I've gone over six months and then left my job, and then I think,"Ok, well I need to just rush and go find [a job]." I know for the unemployment process, you have to go online even after the first time, and you have to go online and register [to claim weekly benefits*]. I've seen people do it. And I'm just like, if I had to do this, I would be shit out of luck. I would have no way to control it and maintain it.
[*While one can initially apply for Unemployment Insurance by phone, the New York State Department of Labor websites advises that "it is best to apply for UI online."]
We often hear about people too much time online. Do you spend think you spend a lot of time on your phone – as much as some people do on their computer?
With the phone I get frustrated. Maybe if I was on the computer, I would be spending days online, too. But not like using a social website or something. The only thing I have is instagram. I don't have Facebook or Twitter. That's why when I was doing my college essay recently for my placement test, they spoke about Facebook. And it was so easy for me to write about it, because they were saying how everybody has bad time management skills, based on how they don’t do good research because they're too caught up on a social network.
Yeah. People watch movies online? [laughs]
Wait, you knew about this, right?
I knew you could put a CD-Rom in [the computer].
Have you heard about Netflix?
Oh, yeah, but I thought that was only for the PlayStation. I didn't know it was on the computer also.
Yes.
[Laughs] Oh my god. Learn something new everyday.
Do you watch YouTube videos?
Um, sometimes. But for my phone it takes a long time to load so to listen to music and download stuff it's a longer process. I have an iPhone, but I have no music on it.
Do you read news online?
No.
Where do you get your news from?
The TV. I will just sit there at 10 o'clock and watch the 10 o'clock news. If it's interesting and I want to know more about the topic or whatever is going on, then I will try to research it. But I don't know. As I said before, the internet service on your phone is not as good as on an actual desktop.
from: Guardian
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