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at Google. Author of numerous articles about digital youth and co-author of
Affinity Online: How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel Learning (2018), he is
also a Senior Researcher at the Stanford Ethnography Lab. A penchant for quality
qualitative research is evident in Rafalow’s highly structed development of his
argument, as the brief summary of each extensive chapter suggests. The inclusion of
specific and detailed examples from each school, as well as direct comments from
teachers, administrators, and students, is a major
strength as readers are drawn into the settings and
cultures of three distinct schools. In particular,
Rafalow provides many examples of digital play In sum, Rafalow suggests that

to create an operational definition of an otherwise the digital divide does not rest
somewhat abstract concept.
Because the argument is so tightly structured on equipment and support
and coherent, readers may find the text somewhat
repetitive as key points are made repeatedly to or on social standing but on
emphasize connections. Some may take exception
to the limited sample involved in the study, although educators’ perceptions of
this is not an unusual limitation in qualitative what should or should not be
research, particularly considering the depth and
breadth of data-gathering strategies. In a similar “allowed” in digital interaction.
way, some readers may find that conclusions
about the impact of educators’ perceptions about
race and class to be somewhat restrained—but
that is simply an accurate reflection of the complexities of these factors.
Linking the digital divide and consequent inequality in education to disparities
in equipment and support—or to family background—has been the norm for many
years as schools have integrated technology more and more thoroughly. Rafalow
adds a new perspective indicating that educators’ pedagogical choices may play
as significant a role as access and technical support in determining differences in
achievement among digital youth. His deeper dive into the digital divide provides
intriguing food for thought for educators in all settings.

References
Gao, N., & Hayes, J. (2021, February). The digital divide in education. Public Policy Institute of
California. https://www.ppic.org/buplication/the-digital-divide-in-education/

McClain, C., Vogels, E. A., Perrin, A., Sechopoulos, S., & Rainie, L. (2021, September 1). Parents,
their children and school during the pandemic. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science &
Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/0901/parents-their-children-and-school
-during-the-pandemic/

Mizuko, I., Martin, C., Cody, P. R., Rafalow, M. H., Salen, K., & Wortman, A. (2018). Affinity
online: How connection and shared interest fuel learning. NYU Press.

North Carolina Department of Information Technology. (2022). What is the digital divide? https://
www.ncbraoadband.gov/digita-divide/what-digital-divide
Pew Research Center. (2021, April 7). Internet/broadband fact sheet. Author. https://www.
pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/

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