Poverty and Technology: What we should be talking about

The conversation we are having about technology’s role in poverty alleviation can be rather incomplete.

 

We argue over and over about the technology gap between the rich and poor (I wrote about this topic here) and what that means for service delivery. This gap is shrinking at home and abroad, especially when you look at younger generations. I tend to focus on this fact.

 

But, as contrarians will point out, poor people still have less access to technology and the Internet. If we are talking purely about impacting very low-income families today, those who argue that people like me are too concentrated on technology may be right. 

 

An impasse in the conversation occurs because two groups of people are looking at the facts about technology usage in two different ways, which are both technically correct. So the conversation usually shifts to talking about the future.

 

“We need to get ready for this technology stuff because the kids are using it,” goes the argument of the technologist. Of course we can’t see into the future but that argument is pretty solid. Technology doesn’t tend to regress. In 211info’s case, we focus on texting and social networks as a way to bridge the current gap and prepare for the future.

 

The folks on the other side of the fence will then argue: “That’s all well and good but I’m trying to keep the doors open today. I don’t run a Fortune 500. We need to focus on our current clients.”

 

This is a valid point. Though I’d argue that people in our line of work and those who fund us should be paying more attention to R&D. But that’s a topic for another time. 

 

"Poor people don't use smart phones" and "Won't somebody please think of the children." That's where the conversation about poverty alleviation and technology stops 9 times out of 10. Neither party is wrong. And both parties have gotten nowhere.

 

But there is a third part of the debate that I think can bridge a gap in viewpoint.

 

What about low middle-income people right now?

 

We have seen time and time again both anecdotally and through statistics that the middle class is balanced precariously on the verge of becoming poor. Concentration of wealth at the top income bracket, health care costs, and unemployment numbers mean today’s charitable middle-class family is a job loss and an illness away from needing charity themselves. This is where technology might have its biggest advantages today.

 

Can we use technology to help people plan for the unthinkable? Can we use technology to counteract the planning fallacy  that leads us to underestimate how long it will take to get help or complete a task?

 

Recently our CEO remarked that more and more people are turning to 211info as their last ditch effort. And when they are about to get evicted, have their lights turned off or run out of food, the options are severely limited.

 

Our challenge, then, is to see if we can use technology to go “upstream” and find these vulnerable Americans 12 to 24 months before they slip into poverty. One or two years will likely mean they still have time to plan, and it will likely mean they have Internet, smart phones and computers.

 

The financial services and health industries are leading the way in these efforts. Apps that help you make smart decisions about spending and saving, and getting healthy, abound.

 

211info's goal is to use those bright spots to inform current conversations about poverty alleviation. It seems like a better use of time than discussing whether poor people use the Internet. 

 

Will you join us in this conversation?