| This study examines the long-term impacts of the digital divide on a community of low-income, minority computer and Internet users on the southeast side of Chicago. Using ethnographic methods, this study focused on the use of computers and the Internet at the local and individual level.;Interviews and participant observations were used to investigate access and use of computers and the Internet at one local, public high school. These methods were also used to investigate the computer and Internet literacy skills of three individuals within the community. The individuals were selected because of their affiliation with the generation of users most at-risk.;The findings reveal that, at the individual level, people were successfully acquiring computer and Internet literacy skills that were useful to them in their everyday lives. However, the available training and access provided at the school was limited. By focusing on a strict program of preparing students to take a certification test as a way of addressing concerns raised by the digital divide, this program promoted a form of literacy that resulted in the digital marginalization of students based on their (perceived) lack of skills and abilities. |
