Net Access Has Many Barriers
Money, education and location are major factors in determining who uses the Internet, according to a new government study.
The study by the U.S. Commerce Department also found that children who live in homes with fathers present are much more likely to have Internet access.
A white child growing up in a home with two parents is nearly twice as likely to have access to the Internet as a white child in a single-parent household, researchers found.
Other key findings:
* The families most likely to own a computer are of Asian ethnic origin, with 55 percent having one in the home. About 47 percent of whites own computers, but only 23.2 percent of blacks do. About 25.5 percent of Hispanic families own computers.
* A white child in a low-income, two-parent family is three times more likely to have Internet access as a child in a comparable black family, and four times more likely than a Hispanic child.
* Regardless of income, people living in rural areas are lagging in Internet access. At the lowest income levels, those living in urban areas are more than twice as likely to have Internet access, compared with those earning similar amounts in rural areas.
Here are a few new, interesting or amusing Web sites that you can check out regardless of income, race or geographic location:
Advertainment: If, after a hard day of surfing the Internet, you feel the urge to watch a few commercials to reconnect with the real world, Advertain.com will be happy to oblige.
This new online destination claims to provide “the most compelling interactive entertainment available online.”
The site gives advertisers a place to showcase their “next generation entertaining advertising,” the company says, while surfers get to “have fun and win great prizes in the over 100 sweepstake draws every month.” You be the judge.
http://www.advertain.com
Finance primer: Teens are a major economic force, but few have the financial savvy needed to spend and save wisely.
So a former Wall Street banker has established a Web site to help fill the void. DoughNET.com aims to create “a free, safe environment for teens and their families to learn about finance in the real world,” according to site developer Ginger Thomson.
On the doughNET site, teens can learn about personal finance through tips on how to play the stock market and links to online brokerage companies and mutual funds.
http://www.doughnet.com