Earlier this year, I was doing some research on the availability of technology in certain communities, specifically communities of color. In college I had read about the “digital divide,” but I hadn't really conceptualized its overwhelming impact.

Put simply, the digital divide describes the discrepencancy between people who have access to the internet, its resources, and communcation tools, and those who do not.  

Beyond the jarring statistics, I was surprised by the lack of information in the blogosphere and traditional publications on the topic. As the Internet becomes the central access point for information, the separation between "creators" and "consumers" is becoming increasingly noticeable throughout the United States. Among those that are the most affected are millennial groups in communities of color. 

Because of inventions like the smartphone, a majority of millennials have access to the Internet, but 46 percent of African Americans and 51 percent of Latinos are more likely to access the internet via their smart phones, compared with 33 percent of whites, according to a July 2010 Pew poll. It's possible that African Americans and Latinos are consuming the internet in a very different way due to "mobile-first" or mobile-only access to the internet. For example, some sites do not work on mobile devices, and other sites are simply better on mobile, like social networking sites, than others. 

We can all agree that improving access and usage is a good thing, but there's an important caveat: how are those with limited access using the internet now? What are they doing on it? Does that need to change? And if so, who can help change it? 

In minority communities, millennials are using their power to engage in entertainment at a greater rate than other age demographics. This can be seen particularly through Twitter, where studies have found that 26 percent of African Americans ages 18-29 are consistent users of the social network, compared to 14 percent of whites.  

African Americans dominate the Twittersphere with their usage of hashtags, which often lead those hashtags to be represented in trending topics, like #wheniwaslittle and #beyoncebelike.

As a black woman, I fall into this demographic. Though I do not have a Twitter account, I wonder what other information these Twitter users are sending out to their followers. Are they engaging in conversations that spark curiosity about technology or politics that affect their communities? Or just entertainment? 

We may be able to reduce the digital divide and limited access to information for minority communities by taking the time to introduce issues and civic resources like Black Girls Code, Yes We Code*, and Senator Elizabeth Warren’s bill to not require credit checks when seeking jobs. Since we know minority millennials are using their internet access for entertainment purposes, how do we get minority millennials using the internet for education and civic engagement?

How will the tech world engage the minority millennial community so that they can share their voices? Will companies, non-profits, political campaigns and other organizations start to design their websites for mobile or optimize for mobile? Doing so would likely get their ideas and brand in front of a much larger, more diverse community.

Mobile access is becoming the standard for internet usage now, as more and more people are accessing the web on their phone, and even using it as their primary device for checking email and Facebook. However, we must be particularly aggressive in seeking ways to engage minority millennial communities in our work.

Please share your thoughts on how to accomplish this in the comments section below! 

*Designed and developed by Fission Strategy!