In an age overflowing with news and information, it seems as if everyone will come to know more. Since newspapers, broadcasting, and the internet hand out the same information equally to everyone, we expect the gap between those who know and those who don't to shrink naturally. Yet media research says the opposite can happen.
In media studies, the phenomenon in which, as the information delivered by the mass media increases, people of higher socioeconomic status acquire it faster, so that the knowledge gap between groups actually widens, is called the ‘knowledge gap hypothesis.’ It means that more information does not make everyone smarter together; those already ahead can pull further ahead.
In this article, we will look in turn at what the knowledge gap hypothesis is and the background in which it first emerged, why the gap widens, today's digital divide and examples, and ways to narrow the gap.
Understanding the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis
What Is the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis?
The knowledge gap hypothesis was first proposed in 1970 by Phillip Tichenor, George Donohue, and Clarice Olien, researchers at the University of Minnesota in the United States, in a paper published in the journal Public Opinion Quarterly.
Their argument is simple. The more a particular piece of information flows into a society through the mass media, the faster groups with higher education and income take it in compared with groups without them. As a result, even if both groups come to know more, the knowledge gap between them tends to grow rather than shrink.
The important point here is that this does not mean the less-informed group learns nothing. Everyone comes to know a little more, but because knowledge grows at different speeds, the gap widens; that is the core of the hypothesis.
Why Does the Gap Widen?
The researchers cited several factors explaining why the speed of taking in information differs by socioeconomic status.
- Communication skills: The more educated people are, the greater their ability to read and understand, so they digest even difficult articles quickly.
- Stored information: People with more background knowledge easily connect new information to what they already know and remember it better.
- Relevant social contact: Having many people around with whom to discuss the topic deepens understanding through the exchange of information.
- Selective exposure: People choose, take in, and remember information that suits their interests and circumstances.
- Nature of the mass media: At the time, information on topics such as science and public affairs was conveyed mainly through print media such as newspapers and magazines, which were read more by highly educated people.
In the end, even when everyone is given the same information, if the size of the vessel receiving it differs, the amount that accumulates differs too.
Cases That Showed the Knowledge Gap
A frequently cited example of the knowledge gap is research on the American children's educational program Sesame Street. The program was created to give learning opportunities to children from disadvantaged families.
However, a 1975 study that re-examined the program found that children from well-off families watched it more often and therefore learned more. It helped all children, but those who were ahead from the start benefited more.
This idea carries over to today's digital divide. Even after the internet and smartphones became widespread, the knowledge and opportunities people gain vary greatly depending on differences in their ability to use devices, their capacity to sort out reliable information, and the time they have to make use of information. It is how people use access, more than whether they have access, that creates the new gap.
Ways to Narrow the Gap
The knowledge gap is not an inescapable fate. Later studies showed that, under certain conditions, the gap can narrow.
Conditions under which the gap narrows
The gap sometimes narrowed when the issue was one the whole community cared about or a topic many people were actively discussing. A ceiling effect can also appear, in which those who already know a lot run out of things to learn and those behind catch up.
How to put it into practice
(1) Make information easy
If public information is conveyed in words and pictures anyone can understand instead of difficult jargon, the difference in the speed of taking it in shrinks.
(2) Deliver it through many channels
Delivering information not only in writing but through various channels such as broadcasting, video, and local gatherings lets it reach more people.
(3) Build the ability to use it
Media education at libraries and local institutions builds the ability to find and sort out information, narrowing the difference in communication skills that lies at the root of the gap.
The knowledge gap hypothesis reminds us that simply spreading a lot of information is not enough for everyone to move forward together. On the contrary, the more information overflows, the more clearly differences in the ability to take it in can show.
So what matters is not the amount of information but whom it reaches and how. Those who convey information should convey it so that even the people farthest away can understand, and those who receive it should build their own ability to seek it out and weigh it.
Working together so that information reaches everyone evenly: that is the first step toward a fairer knowledge society.
