Digital Delusion Digital Divide9/5/2000; 1:37:45 PM 'The digital divide is a delusion because its proponents confuse access with opportunity. The notion that digital access both perpetrates and perpetuates economic and racial disparities would be laughable were it not for the fact that so many solemn-faced pundits and pols insist that it is so. Still, even the best of intentions should not be allowed to substitute for the rigors of genuine thought and integrity.'... The happy reality is that market forces have given more people more computing and telecommunications power cheaper year after year. Digital technology is becoming a mass medium quite independent of public policy initiatives that seek to replicate a "welfare state" ethic in cyberspace.'The American challenge is not "How do we improve access to the growing array of digital media?" but "How do we encourage people to make these media a productive part of their lives?"'