Disrupting Digital Divide Narratives: Exploring the U.S. Black Diasporic Immigrant Context

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to probe biased library and information science (LIS) presumptions of digital divides among U.S. immigrants. The stance of the foreign-born as “digital immigrants” departs from migration and population research which hold that gaps in immigrant Internet and technology access are rapidly closing, even when accounting for immigrant type. The research is based on analysis of the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data. Black immigrant households’ ICT device and Internet access were determined and then compared to those of the general population. Findings suggest that Black immigrant households primarily access the Internet through smartphone and laptop devices along with mobile and at-home hi-speed Internet plans. When compared to the general population, Black immigrant households demonstrate significantly greater smartphone access, and they maintain comparable levels of hi-speed Internet and computer/laptop device access. This study adds to a growing body of research on the narrowing digital divide gap among U.S. immigrants. Immigrants rely on the Internet to transition and integrate into U.S. society.