US’s digital divide ‘is going to kill people’ as Covid-19 exposes inequalities.

A touch sensationalist for a headline, but an issue worth considering. A key point worth remembering in this context is also our population, and our geography. The United States has a population in the 300 ~ 330 million range, last I looked. We’ve also got a pretty vast quantity of land. Figures of 20-40 million probably ain’t bad in that context.

Actually, it’s always been kind of amazing how wide spread electricity, phone, and running water has been across the country. In my lifetime: you’ve usually been able to take those three things for granted, or you may end up carving red rum on your walls.

Connectivity has exploded in my life time. I can still remember having to be cautious when selecting dial up phone numbers, back when the phrase long distance has a billing context. Today, well: I’m pretty swell on the networking front. Many places not so much.

One thing that is for sure: we won’t be using less Internet as society marches on into tomorrow. Well, unless the mushrooms start a sprouting….