With mobile phones issues it builds a participation gap

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.