Technology and poverty

I hope this is the last time I write about computers and internet access. I've done some reflecting about how computers connect to simplicity and poverty.

Technology has the ability to both simplify and complicate our lives. Lately, I've seen how complicated life can be without a computer and internet access and how complicated it can potentially be to attain these things. Aside from how frustrating it's been to actually attain a working computer, it's hard to live in a new city and not have internet access to do simple things like find directions and what times the metro runs.

What if I didn't have parents who could and were willing to buy me a new computer as a graduation gift? Would I be able to apply to graduate schools with a 17 minute time limit at the library? No. What if I'd never had a computer? I'm sure I could have gotten through college using the library computers that don't have a time limit, but it certainly would have been more complicated.

Yesterday I had a one-on-one meeting with one of the support people for CCSC and we talked about how someone not having a computer can contribute to keeping them in the cycle of poverty. In most schools there are computer labs for students to use, but they probably have limited hours that may be at the same time a student wants to socialize with their friends, so if they don't have a computer at home doing their homework can be a challenge. Then, we talked about how many job applications are online. Some people might not be able to get to the library use the internet to apply, and then there is the issue of the time limit (though I'm sure many libraries are more generous with their time limits than the library that is the closest to my house). If someone already had a job, but maybe it was a minimum wage job and their work schedule prevented them from going to the library to use the internet, they would have that significant barrier to finding a better job.

There are so many obstacles to education and employment that I've thought about before (previous education, child care, transportation, etc.), but this is really the first time I've thought about technology, or rather the lack of technology, being a barrier. I guess I've always been privileged enough that I've never had to worry about what it would be like not to have a computer before.

I find it interesting how the simple lack of a computer is tied into three of the four CCSC pillars. The obvious one are simplicity, but there is also social justice and community (I relied on my community members to borrow their computers while I didn't have one). Really, it's tied to spirituality too: I wasn't able to research for the spirituality night I organized for my community and it was kind of a flop.