Stansberry, assistant professor of strategic communications, underscored the importance of access to high-speed internet access to job searches and educational opportunities.
A recent report looking at differences in access to high-speed internet in North Carolina by the Burlington Times-News includes insights from Assistant Professor of Strategic Communications Kathleen Stansberry.
The article by reporters Elizabeth Pattman and Michelle Shen titled “Do you have the broadband blues? Thousands in the Piedmont hurt by lack of affordable access to internet” details the gap in access to high-speed internet between rural and urban areas in the region.
Stansberry explained the issue of access to information and services such as internet is not new, nor is it unique to North Carolina given the cost of extending service to less-populated areas.
“What I do see right now, what I see is the most pressing concern is just that it’s difficult now to fully participate in things like a job search or education opportunities without high-speed internet access,” Stansberry said.
Stansberry noted that beyond the educational or economic impacts, a lack of access to high-speed internet can impact a person’s ability to connect with society. “When you can’t participate in the marketplace of ideas, your ideas don’t get heard,” Stansberry said.
Read the entire article here.