Why Net Neutrality Matters (Part 3)
OK, so far, in the first two parts of this thread, I have attempted to paint a picture of how the end of net neutrality has been greeted by the telecom industry and how it is likely to impact consumers and how it is already impacting some edge providers. The basic summary? everything is about to get more expensive as either a direct or indirect result of net neutrality's absence.
Direct impacts on individual consumers include the possibility of different types of internet usage requiring different types of fees (such as streaming, downloading, uploading, and gaming packages and what not). The indirect costs will be what edge providers pass onto their customers now that the cost of doing business has gotten higher for them (for example, Netflix customers should expect to pay higher rates now that Comcast is getting paid for distribution).
Combine higher internet access rates with rising costs of gaming hardware and software, and the likelihood of our lowest economic classes having access to this kind of technology decreases. Video gaming could very well become the past time of "middle-class and up" households only. Now, you might be thinking "so what, who cares about video games?" If that is what you're thinking- then you aren't seeing the big picture.
As mentioned earlier in my previous thread on the video game industry, studies have shown that video games act as a "gateway" in terms of generating interest in STEM related technologies and careers. The more expensive these kinds of technologies become- the less likely households in lower economic classes will be able to afford them- and it becomes more likely that children in these households will not develop any interest or understanding about how the underlying technology that makes video games possible works.
At the moment this may not seem like a big deal; after all, not every video game is expensive or is designed for expensive hardware. However, technology improves rapidly. As it improves, as computers, consoles, and mobile devices can handle more and more information in less and less time- the software designed for them tends to grow larger and more complicated. When the internet first came out, the data being transferred was adequately measured in kilobytes- as time has gone on, even casual emails commonly exceed this size limit and now everything is measured in megabytes of even gigabytes. The same is true for games. Even the cheapest games available today far exceed the technical limitations and sizes of what was possible ten of fifteen years ago. How is a household of limited means supposed to keep up with all of this and thus increase the chances of their children winding up with a high paying STEM job some day? Especially if they are being charged for each gigabyte worth of information they download?
The quick answer? They won't be able to. Even today lower class households have to make difficult choices regarding the internet. Those that are fortunate enough to be able to afford it, often gain access to it using outdated technology at speeds so slow that even streaming a YouTube video isn't possible. These kind of situations will only grow more common as the internet becomes something that provides more and more differentiated experiences to consumers. Some experts predict the emergence of a "fast lane and a slow lane"- but such labels hide the fact that there is more than speed and convenience at stake. In the digital world, fast and slow makes the difference between having access to a service that is available online and not having access to it. Period. And it's more than just obtaining information, its also about putting that information out there so that others can gain access to it for the purpose of sharing or making a living off of the internet by providing a service for others.
Already many experts theorize that the growing income gap between the rich and poor has a lot to do with the growing pay checks in STEM related fields and the shrinking pay checks in other areas of our economy. If net neutrality isn't re-instituted, that gap is about to grow even larger- and our already diminishing rates of social mobility will shrink to even more depressing levels.