The article that I read about mobile problems describes Participation
Gap
Participation Gap is when students have access to the
technology we use but not everybody is as skilled as others. I believe that the
Mobile Phone Problems article has a
Participation Gap because anybody can have access to a cellphone but they might
not know how to use the device. Boyles and Rainie state “some 88% percent of
American adults have cell phones” (2). Therefore, I believe it is not so much a
digital divide because as was mentioned earlier many adults have access to
technology and we are using them in our schools, which means children also have
access to the new technology. This is not as much an economic problem people
are having; it is more a lack of knowledge, which causes this participation
gap.
In the future Mobile problems will affect Participation Gap
I believe this because technology is going to become even
more and more advanced over the years. If mobile users do not start using
smartphones now, then in the future they will be even more confused of the
features of cell phones. I believe in the future that the participation gap
will increase because of this.
How can we decrease the participation gap on mobile phones?
I believe that the best way to decrease the participation
gap is to keep Americans up to date with the new technology. It also starts
with everybody being afraid of change. People who do not have a smart phone now
do not realize how convenient it is to have everything like email, text
messages and other social networks in their hand. In the next five years, I
believe that everybody is going to have a smartphone and those who do not have
one right now are going to be out of the loop.
What else will happen with mobile phones in the future?
In the future, a majority of small businesses will require
their workers to have smart phones, because they will need information on the
go for their job. Mobile phones can also change the way parents raise their
children. When I was growing up, my parents would not let me have a cell phone
until I was in high school but now kids in elementary and middle school have
phones. Parents need to give their children the phones early to keep track of
them but the children becoming familiar with the mobile device early could possibly
decrease the participation gap. The only downside of children having cell
phones so early is that is will decrease face-to-face communication. They will
start relying on their phones; the children’s grammar could be off since they
would be so used to typing. To conclude they’re pros and cons of the
participation gap decreasing, It is just something we have to control.
