(WWJ) – Earlier this week the Biden administration announced Michigan will receive $1.5 billion in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law to expand high-speed internet access, with hopes of connecting every resident and business.
The goal is to “close the digital divide once and for all” and make sure everyone can be connected. On a new Daily J podcast, WWJ’s Brian Fisher not only learns how they plan to do that, but just why it’s so important.
Why has there been so much emphasis on internet in recent years? Tim Maylone, CEO of Cherry Capital Connection, an internet provider in Northern Michigan, says the answer is “pretty simple.”
“I think that answer is pretty simple, at least from my perspective – COVID,” Maylone said. “Prior to COVID, people were like, ‘ehh, it’s nice to have the internet.’ Then COVID hit and all of the sudden, high-speed internet became an essential service, at least from the consumers’ standpoint.”
While Americans have become more reliant on the internet in recent years for work and school, experts say it goes beyond that – it can be an important mental health tool, especially in rural communities.
Dr. Jason Wasserman, a mental health expert at Oakland University says being able to connect online with others can be a “lifeline.”
“Digital connectivity is a way of forming community. We see research that shows, for example, among people who are 80 years and older, social media decreases depressive symptomology,” Wasserman said. “Getting that infrastructure to people, especially in remote areas where that isolation can be exacerbated, is gonna improve the mental health and just overall quality of life.”
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