Access to technology in daily life affects personal productivity, according to “Digital Age Literacy for Teachers” by Susan Brooks-Young. Lower class job seekers may have less interaction with technology. An individual without a home computer or internet access has fewer opportunities to search for work. The ability to use email or a simple webinar program may limit his development of current skills.

Students now learn to use technology as an essential skill in school. Children begin using simple technology in elementary school. Access to technology at home may stymie the student’s ability to compete with other students. For example, a teacher gives her sixth grade class an assignment. The assignment must be formatted as a Microsoft Word document and submitted by computer. If his family doesn’t have a home computer, he must stay after school to complete the assignment.

Lower class parents may not know of their student’s struggle to compete in a level playing field in school. The lifestyle associated with upper and middle class technology use may seem nice-to-have rather than essential to these parents. Generations of working poor families rely on libraries or friends for occasional access to technology. Students of lower class families must sometimes ask for extensions on their assignments because they don’t have home computer access.

Middle class families understand the need to introduce technology to children at an early age. Middle class parents use technology in the work place and throughout daily life. Costs of Internet access, computers, software, mobile phones and devices factor into the middle class lifestyle, according to “Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society” by Margaret L. Anderson and Howard Francis Taylor.

Upper class parents assume the use of technology in daily life. Acquiring better technology for the upper class family’s home isn’t materialistic. Communicating with family relationships, business associates and contacts requires the use of technology.