Predictor Digital access

Access to high-speed internet allows people to fully participate in a digital society. Lack of access adversely affects childhood cognitive development, educational attainment, and skill building, all of which are strongly linked to economic success and sense of power and autonomy.

Evidence on the Relationship between Digital Access and Upward Mobility Outcomes

As of December 2021, researchers have documented the following connections between this predictor and upward mobility. Asterisk (*) indicates primary reference. 

  • People are growing increasingly reliant on digital access: 93 percent of adults in the US use the internet. But there is a digital divide for people with lower incomes, people of color, people residing in rural areas, people living on tribal land, and people with disabilities, all of whom have less digital access than the rest of the country (Atske and Perrin 2021a, 2021b; Pew Research Center 2024; Vogels 2021a, 2021b; White House 2021; Wilson, Wallin, and Reiser 2003; Wodajo and Kimmel 2013).
  • Looking at students specifically, an estimated one-third of children residing in Black, Latinx, and American Indian/Alaska Native households lack high-speed internet access (All4Ed 2020; Ujifusa 2020).
  • A survey funded by the ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning found that 1 percent of students had no internet-connected devices in their home; and 14 percent had only one device, often a smartphone, implying limited availability of devices and internet access for schoolwork. The students with access to only one device were more likely to be students of color, in lower-income families, and have parents with lower educational attainment than students with two or more devices in their home (Moore, Vitale, and Stawinoga 2018).
  • The digital divide not only affects people’s access to computers and internet in the home, at school, and at work, but it also limits teachers’ capacity to educate students using technology in progressive and multicultural ways (Gorski and Clark 2001).
  • The digital divide affects access to educational opportunities and employment. A 2009 study by the Federal Communication Commission’s Broadband Task Force found that 70 percent of teachers assign homework that requires the use of the internet, resulting in a “homework gap” for students with limited digital access (FCC 2009; McLaughlin 2016).
  • The COVID-19 pandemic elevated the importance of digital access in education (Blagg et al. 2020; Starr, Hayes, and Gao 2022). During the pandemic, students who had previously relied on computer labs at their local library or community center to complete their assignments experienced even less access when required to stay at home.
  • Technology use in the home can increase confidence with using technology. Preliminary research on the Apple and ConnectED program, an initiative to increase digital access for students by providing devices and internet access and training school staff, found increased frequency of personalized learning and critical thinking–focused education, particularly at the elementary school level. Teachers reported that the program led to small but statistically significant improvements in student engagement as well as critical thinking and collaboration skills (Singleton et al. 2018). Technology use in classrooms can improve skill building and education outcomes. A comprehensive meta-analysis of studies investigating the impacts of technology on mathematics and science learning in secondary school found that, when used in tandem with other learning tools, digital tools had positive effects on student learning outcomes and attitudes (Hillmayr et al. 2020*).

Promising Local Policy Interventions

Research from both Urban and others in the field suggests the following policies could help communities improve this predictor. These suggestions are not exhaustive, and communities should work with residents and leaders to identify solutions that are best suited to their local contexts.

  • Addressing physical barriers to home broadband internet access, such as the lack of appropriate infrastructure or wiring.
  • Addressing financial barriers to home broadband internet access, including by providing direct cash transfers or subsidies for the costs of broadband service and devices, such as laptops, tablets, and phones. (This may also improve the Financial Security predictor.)
  • Creating free, public options for accessing the internet, including by providing Wi-Fi in public, accessible spaces like libraries. (This may also improve the Social Capital predictor.)
  • Providing digital literacy training for residents, particularly underserved residents, to close the digital divide.

Mobility Metric(s) Used to Measure This Predictor

Share of households with a computer and broadband internet subscription in the home

This metric reflects a community’s digital divide by measuring in-home access to a computer and the internet, including DSL, cable modem, cellular data, and fiber connections.

View the full suite of metrics used to measure all the predictors in the Upward Mobility Framework.

Mobility Dimensions Engaged

  • Economic success
  • Power and autonomy