ED112: Internet Trends and the Impact to Poverty Law September 19, 2008

Todays Presenter Jeff Narabrook, NTAP Training Coordinator

Agenda Today Latest Demographic Trends Income Race Education Age Geography Broadband Online Activities Mobile Users Implications for Legal Aid LiveHelp Statewide Websites A2J Texting

Is there a Digital Divide in 2008? Digital divide discussion increasingly focus on international issues Broadband is current policy focus Although much progress has been made in creating an accessible network, the work of removing more complex barriers remains: Literacy Computer and internet literacy Lack of interest in using ICT

Problems with Available Statistics Imprecision; inconsistent terminology African American, Blacks, Black Americans Hispanic, Latino Little data available on Native Americans and Asian Pacific Islanders Generalize about Americans rather than habitants Difficult to ascertain who would be low- income according to LSC standards $30,000 or below numbers can reflect students with future earning potential well-above poverty line It does not take family size into account

Frame of reference 2007 Client Stats Source: LSC 2007 Factbook

Analysis by income Quiz Stats Most common points of access among low-income users WIC participant study

Income Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project (

Income and Time Spent Online Source: Internet adoption and usage patterns are different: Implications for the digital divide, Information Economics and Policy, March 2008

WIC Participants and Internet Use 2 year period of multiple studies to determine how internet can help eliminate health disparities 52-95% of WIC participants interviewed reported easy access to internet Nearly 50% owned a computer Source: Abstract of Internet access among low-income WIC populations,

Analysis by Race Quiz Stats Case study: Latino users online

Race Source: Pew, Demographics of Internet Users, July 2008

Race: Latinos Online As a group 56% of Latinos are online 78% English-dominant 76% bilingual 32% Spanish-dominant 76% of U.S. born Latinos go online, as compared with 43% foreign-born Some of this is related to language, but being foreign- born seems to be an independent factor associated with a decreased likelihood of going online Source: Pew, Latinos Online, March 2007, (

Analysis by Level of Education Basic stats Education and Race

Education

The percentage of those who have not completed high school and are online: White 32% Hispanic 31% African American 25% However, there is higher percentage of Latino adults who have not finished high school compared to non-Hispanic whites and African Americans Source: Pew, Latinos Online, March 2007, (

Analysis By Age Stats Demographic age shifts in coming years

Internet Use by Age

Population Age Projections Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Projected Population of the United States, by Age and Sex: 2000 to

Wired Seniors Although they are the fastest growing group, most growth comes from those just entering their senior years, rather than new adoption by current seniors In 2006, 34% of 65+ went online, but only 28% of 70+, which has remained a relatively static number Source: Pew, Are Wired Seniors Sitting Ducks?,

Analysis by Geography

Why does rural adoption lag? Population tends to be older Higher share of low-income families Rural Americans are, on average, less educated than urban and suburban Americans Source, Pew, Rural Broadband Internet Use, February 2006 (

All Whites (76%) All Blacks (56%) English-Speaking Hispanics (79%) Years Old (92%) Years Old (85%) Years Old (72%) 65+ Years Old (37%) No High School Degree (38%) College Graduates (93%) <$30K Income (61%) >$75K Income (93%) Men (76%) Women (74%) *Source: Pew Internet & American Life Survey, December ** This statistic comes from the Pew Internet Projects Latinos Online data, collected June-October, High School Graduates (67%) Urban (77%) Rural (64%) Suburban (77%) Spanish-Dominant Hispanics (32%)** Who is online?

Broadband Adoption Source: Pew, Home Broadband Adoption 2008, July

Why is Broadband Important? Necessary to access many online tools and services Broadband includes many options, including DSL Cable Modem Fiber Wireless Satellite Broadband over Powerlines (BPL)

Broadband as Predictor of Online Activity 78% of home broadband users look online for health information, compared with 70% of home dial-up users. Home broadband users are twice as likely as home dial-up users to do health research on a typical day -- 12% vs. 6%. Pew, The Engaged E-patient Population, August 2008,

Broadband Adoption Growth in broadband adoption was flat among the poor 25% of low-income Americans – those whose household incomes are $20,000 annually or less – reported having broadband at home in April This compares to the 28% figure reported in March 2007 among those living in households whose annual incomes are $20,000 or less. Source: Pew, Home Broadband Adoption 2008, July

Broadband Adoption African Americans showed slow growth as well, with 43% saying they had broadband at home in April 2008 versus 40% who said this in March Source: Pew, Home Broadband Adoption 2008, July

Broadband Adoption Rural broadband grew but still lags behind urban and suburban 38% of those living in rural American now have broadband at home, compared with 31% who said this in 2007, or a growth rate of 23% from 2007 to By comparison, 57% of urban residents have high-speed connections at home now and 60% of suburban residents have such connections. Source: Pew, Home Broadband Adoption 2008, July

Broadband Availability Source: NTIA, Networked Nation: Broadband In America 2007,

Whites (55%) Blacks (38%) English-Speaking Hispanics (57%) Years Old (74%) Years Old (62%) Years Old (49%) 65+ Years Old (20%)No High School Degree (22%) College Graduates (74%) <$30K Income (40%) >$75K Income (77%) Men (58%) Women (50%) High School Graduates (43%) Urban (60%) Suburban (56%) Rural (42%) *Source: Pew Internet & American Life Survey, December Who has broadband?

Online activities Conducting searches Multimedia Using the internet to find services

Do you use a search engine on a typical day? Pew, Search Engine Use, August

Multimedia

Multimedia

Do you use the internet to address common problems that might be linked to government? Information searches that solve problems: How people use the internet, libraries, and government agencies when they need help. Pew Internet and American Life Project,

Are people using the net to address legal matters? Information searches that solve problems: How people use the internet, libraries, and government agencies when they need help. Pew Internet and American Life Project,

Low-access users are less likely to search for solutions online The low-access population is older, poorer, and less well-educated than the general population: 55% of low-access group live in households earning less than $40,000 a year, compared with 24% of the high-access group. 39% of the low-access group is age 63 or older: only 9% of the high-access group in this age bracket. 64% of the low-access group has a high school education or less, compared with 33% of the high- access group. Information searches that solve problems: How people use the internet, libraries, and government agencies when they need help. Pew Internet and American Life Project,

Mobile Access 62% of all Americans are part of a wireless, mobile population that participates in digital activities away from home or work 84% of English-speaking Hispanics have cell phones. 74% of white Americans have cell phones. 71% of black Americans have cell phones. Source: Pew, Mobile Access to Data and Information, March

Cell Phone

Whites (74%) Blacks (71%) English-Speaking Hispanics (84%) Years Old (88%) Years Old (83%) Years Old (70%) 65+ Years Old (50%) No High School Degree (63%) College Graduates (86%) <$30K Income (61%) >$75K Income (92%) Men (77%) Women (73%) High School Graduates (67%) Urban (79%) Suburban (77%) Rural (62%) *Source: Pew Internet & American Life Survey, December Who has a cell?

User Attitudes and Preferences Sometimes behind the differences in adoption across age, gender, race, etc, are attitudes and assumptions that add a layer of complexity

Non-broadband adopters 62% of dial-up users say they are not interested in giving up their current connection for broadband. Source: Pew, Home Broadband Adoption 2008, July

Non-broadband adopters When asked specifically what it would take to get them to switch to broadband: 35% of dial-up users say that the price of broadband service would have to fall. 19% of dial-up users said nothing would convince them to get broadband. 14% of dial-up users – and 24% of dial-up users in rural America – say that broadband service would have to become available where they live. Source: Pew, Home Broadband Adoption 2008, July

Non internet users Non-users are more than twice as likely to live in low-income households 27% of adult Americans are not internet users Lack of interest (33%) No access (12%) Too difficult or frustrating (9%) Too expensive (7%) It is a waste of time (7%) Source: Pew, Home Broadband Adoption 2008, July

What kind of user are you? A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users, by John Horrigan (May 2007)

Tech Adoption Among Lawyers Source: ABA Journal, Web 2.0 Still A No-go, September

Tech Adoption Among Lawyers Source: ABA Journal, Web 2.0 Still A No-go, September

Implications for Poverty Law

Does these statistics reflect your field experience? Connecticut Legal Services report on client use of technology in their state: 51% of callers had access to a computer 42% of callers had internet access 35% of callers had an account 31% check at least once a week 58% of callers had a cell phone

The Debate Our clients dont use the Internet. Our clients shouldnt use the Internet for their legal problems. Computers and the Internet are luxury items. We need to focus on serving clients who come through our doors.

Nevertheless… Large numbers of potential and current clients clearly are online, and these numbers are likely to increase as the population ages

Online Delivery Models in Poverty Law LiveHelp A2J Program and Statewide Websites Cell Phone Educational/Informational Videos YouTube

LiveHelp Usage Trends Timeline: LiveHelp was soft-launched on MontanaLawHelp and IowaLegalAid.org in June 2006, on LawHelp.org/LA in September 2007, on GeorgiaAdvocates.org and ARLegalServices.org in January 2008, and on LawHelpMN.org in May Information provided by Liz Keith, Pro Bono Net.

LiveHelp Usage Trends Self-reported household income of Montana LiveHelp users ( ) Under 10K: 24% 10K-15K: 26%

Area of law Montana LiveHelp Users Sought Help in ( )

A2J Author and NPADO Server Being adopted by both legal aid programs and court systems Has grown immensely in the past year Illinois Legal Aid Online NYC Civil Court Idaho Legal Aid Services NYC Housing Court

Program and Statewide Websites LawHelp consumer site usage in 2007: 2.7 million visitors 12.6 million page views 2.2 million resource downloads 628,000 referral profiles viewed Websites can be a tool in helping to bridge the broadband divide Colorado Legal Services lists information about where to find library and Wi-Fi hotspots all across the state.

Cell Phone Website browsing still not that viable on mobile technologies Texting holds great promise for distributing basic legal education information that can tie into your intake system Tenants Rights Domestic Violence Immigrant Rights

Educational/Information Videos More and more common in legal aid Legal Services Alabama Arkansas Legal Services Asian Pacific American Legal Center Atlanta Legal Aid LawHelp California Iowa Legal Aid Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty

Where do we go from here? What will happen with access to broadband? How will online behaviors trend? How can mobile technologies be incorporated into delivery of services?

Questions or Comments?