FACT SHEET: Single-Parent Households At Information Disadvantage

FALLING THROUGH THE NET: DEFINING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, July 1999

This report on the telecommunications and information technology gap in America provides comprehensive data on the level of access by Americans to telephones, computers, and the Internet. It includes valuable information about where Americans are gaining access, what they are doing with their online connections, and provides trendline information since 1984.

According to the report, the number of Americans accessing the Internet has grown rapidly in the last year; yet, in the midst of this general expansion, the "digital divide" between information "haves" and "have nots" continues to widen.

Overview:

The structure of a household (such as married couples with children and single parent households) plays a significant role in predicting a household's connectivity level. Compared to two-parent households, single parent households have lower Internet, computer, and telephone penetration rates. Holding race constant, family composition still plays a role in determining Internet access. And for many demographic groups, family structure significantly impacts connectivity regardless of income.

Highlights:

• While 61.8% of households composed of married couples with children own computers, only 31.7% of female-headed households have a computer.
• Dual-parent White families are nearly twice as likely to have Internet access as single-parent White households.
• At all income levels, Black, Asian, and Native American households with two parents are twice as likely to have Internet access as those with one parent; for incomes over $35,000, household type begins to impact Hispanic and White households
• Black families with two parents are nearly four times as likely to have Internet access as single- parent Black households.
• Married couples with children under 18 exhibit the highest rates of total (inside and outside the home Internet access (37.6%).
• Single-parent households tend to use the Internet more often outside the home, while married couples and family households without children use the Internet more often at home.

Significant Findings:

The study shows that family households without two parents have lower levels of phone and computer ownership, as well as Internet access. While more research is needed in this area, the data shows indications that family structure does play a role in having access to information resources.