Pew Internet: Why Broadband Matters
Why does access to a high-speed Internet connection at home matter? That's the key question raised in a recent report titled "Broadband: What's All the Fuss About?" by John Horrigan, Associate Director for Research at the Pew Internet & American Life Project. What might be surprising to some is the answer that Horrigan proposes. Rather than focusing on broadband as a tool to increase economic activity or productivity, he makes the case for the social and cultural benefits that also come with high-speed connectivity.
His premise is this: user-generated content plays an important social and cultural role in fostering dialogue and collaboration among Americans, and more broadband at home equals more active participation by individuals.
According to the report, data from a 2002 Pew Internet Project study indicates that "broadband users are far more likely than dial-up Internet users to create or post content to the Internet." To critics who might dismiss the role of user-generated content by saying few people actually do things like blog or post videos online (Pew's own stats support that reality), Horrigan points to examples of music downloading, blogging and online video where he says "a minority of users have impacts that outnumber their ranks."
So what's the upshot? More research and inquiry, of course.
He concludes that, "while inherently difficult to measure, these kinds of social and cultural capital are important elements in ongoing debates about the use and consequences of broadband access."
Download a PDF of the full report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Published October 18, 2007.
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