A Resource Model of Computer-Mediated Political Life

Using Current Population Survey data, this paper examines the extent to which a person's resources impact his or her ability to participate in computer-mediated political life. Resources such as universal literacy, background capacities, skills, and training clarify the well-documented but poorly conceptualized gap in technology access between "haves" and "have nots." Telecommunications policy does not address seriously the resources one brings to the table beyond perfunctory attention to what is affordable. Until resource disparities are examined more closely by policymakers, the divide in access to the computer-mediated political public sphere likely will continue to expand.