Shifting Perspectives: How COVID-19 and in-home information and communication technology (ICT) impacted U.S. residential internet perceptions

• In Event: Law & Policy - Top Research Papers

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many changes to the ways individuals access and use internet. The present study seeks to understand how the pandemic has altered individual perceptions of internet service providers and internet importance, reliability, and status as an essential public utility (EPU). We used an online survey (n = 1,991) of residents from California and Florida, and we found that the pandemic generally lowered internet perceptions and perceptions of internet service providers. However, there were significant demographic differences. Lower income, younger, women, and racial-ethnic minority participants had lower perceptions of their ISPs, internet reliability, internet importance, and internet as an EPU than their counterparts. The results also show that the percentage of participants who thought that internet should be an EPU increased 14.7% from before to during the pandemic; more participants in California thought internet should be an EPU than participants in Florida. Lastly, the reasons for internet reliance varied across demographics. Significantly, women relied on internet for health reasons more than men during the pandemic, and racial-ethnic minorities relied on internet for entertainment than white participants. These findings have many implications for future research and policy.

Author

• Jamie Greig, University of Tennessee - Knoxville.