Girls and Digital Technology

I first want to start off with the interesting statistics that prove that income and class seem to affect whether a family has internet access or not. It's amazing to see that less than 20 years the internet revolutionized the world. Yet it seems, according to Kearney's book, "Girls Make Media", that the better-off family's making a larger income, have the bigger usage of internet, than family's making significantly less. If "in 2001, 51.7 percent of young people, ages 3 to 17 with family incomes of $75,000 had internet access", then I'm guessing by now much more families with the same income have access. (Kearney, 241) It makes sense that lower income families aren't as equipped in the digital revolution as higher income families, but I find it unfair that they are missing out on what the world has to offer. However, it is nice to know that schools have also upped their digital usage over the years to at least provide the youth with the technology that is taking over. As kids grow, it is important they are exposed to technology that has become part of everyday life and necessary in most occupations these days.

In Girls Make Media, (pgs 244-245), Kearney discusses how the computer world is still much of a man's world, where women "comprise less than 25 percent of IT professionals, only 8 percent of IT engineers, and 5 percent of IT management." These statistics are quite astonishing and disappointing, because as the world grows in digital literacy and digital oriented careers, it would be pleasant to see women growing in the numbers within participation as well. Whether its's because women aren't as interested or because of the "incredibly shrinking pipeline", it's still quite shocking. I hope in my heart that as the years pass, girls can break the mold of these "unquestioned values, beliefs, and expectations" mentioned and begin to pursue CS degrees. In some cultures women are known just to stay home and take care of men, a blurry past America once knew. In America today, it seems women are still limited by invisible restrictions. Guys don't seem to be very open or comfortable to letting females into the virtual world or letting their existance grow within it. I simply suggest that girls get more involved with the digital world and not let these boys push us around.

It is indeed very important to find out "what attracts women to electronic environments", as Kaplan and Farrell argue. (Kearney, 254) As for my own touch, well I came across this interesting female blogger, whose link is http://www.dooce.com/about. Although she is a professional blogger, she can be an inspiration to young girls.