Another (methodological) look at knowledge gaps and the Internet’s potential for closing them

Abstract

Members of the World Economic Forum recently identified the economic, health and knowledge disparities between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the world as one of the central risks in the global risk landscape. However, research on the role of communication in reducing knowledge disparities for emerging technologies is rare. More importantly, little research has tracked knowledge gaps about emerging technologies in representative populations over time. In this study we examine U.S. public knowledge levels across different levels of education and media use using data from two nationally representative telephone surveys. Our results show that increased science Internet and television use among low education groups can help narrow, or significantly reduce the growth of knowledge gaps that are forming based on educational disparities.