Computer accessibility in different ethnic backgrounds, social status, gender and age are growing at a surprisingly fast pace.  This site shows the different statistics in the many different catagories that are listed above.

    Although computers are becoming increasingly prevalent, internet users are divided by race and income levels, according to a recent Commerce Department study.  Rather than reflecting society as a who;e, Computers are largely used by whites with an income of 50,000 dollars a year.  Households with an annual income of 50,000 dollars and above are also more likely to have internet access than homes at the lower income levels. Meanwhile, households that identify themselves as african american or hispanic are just forty percent as likely white households to have internet access.  Though all households are gaining internet household are gaining internet access at a growing rate, the divide between white households and african american and hispanic households has increased six percent since last year among families earning fifteen thousand and thirty five thousand a year.

Percentages of computer accessibilty in different ethnic backgrounds

39%    Asian and Pacific Islanders

28%    Caucasian

20.7%  American Indian

13.1%  Hispanic

11.1%  African Americans

*  French internet users are estimated at one half million subscribers compared to one million to both UK and Germany.

*  Annually,  more than one third white families own computers compared to the one in five ratio for African American families

Computer accessibility in different age groups

    Seventy two percent of eight to twelve year olds reported spending time on a PC during the last forty days; as apposed to fifty five percent of six to seven year olds, and sixty seven percent of teenagers, according to the 1996 Roper Youth Report.  While preteen computer use is roughly equal for both boys and girls, girls were more likely to use computers in school while boys tended to use them at home.
 

Percentages of Computer Use in different age groups

56%  18-24 year olds

39%  25-34 year olds

33%  35-54 year olds

7%    55 or older

Percentages of  Computer Accessibility in Households

38%  US families with children under eighteen now own a desktop
         PC along with a home computer system

85%  US families plan a purchase in the next year for children's
          educational use purposes

31%  US households contain a PC
 

46%  US teens own their own computers

* The number of US homes with one or more personal computers has increased by sixteen percent to about thirty eight million households up from thirty three million in 1995 and twenty five million in 1993

* Lower income houses purchasing computers now represent twenty percent of all homes with personal computers
 

Computer accessibility in schools

*  The number of computers in schools are increasing at an annual rate between three hundred thousand and four hundred thousand machines.

*  Between 1983 and the 1994 school year and 1993-1994 school year the ratio of students to computers improved from one hundred and twnety five to one, to fourteen to one.

*  College students have the most computer accessibility.  94% of them have access to computers, and 56% are on computers more than once a day.

*  Twenty eight percent of children use a CD Rom for educational purposes