Welcome to the ProRata podcast, a podcast that takes 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

Filling in for Dan Primack, I'm Kim Hart. On today's show, Facebook's latest headache coming out of the UK, and a day of remembrance for former president, George H.W. Bush.

But first, how the digital divide is shaping childhood. It's no secret that high-speed internet service has become

a necessity for modern life, and there are well-known chasms between the haves and have-nots

when it comes to broadband access. There's the geographic divide in which rural areas have

few options, or none at all, because it doesn't make financial sense for the big internet

service providers to invest in that infrastructure. And there's the economic divide in which broadband access is available,

but low-income families simply can't afford to pay for the connectivity

or the computers or smartphones needed to use it.

What's especially troubling is how these persistent divides are impacting the next generation.

Today's toddlers, schoolchildren, and teenagers have never known a world without the internet,

and the internet plays a central role in how they socialize, learn, and eventually earn a living.

For example, 12 million school-age kids do not have reliable enough broadband access at home to complete their homework.

According to the Pew Research Center, 35% of teens say they at least sometimes rely on their cell phone to finish their homework.

That number jumps to nearly half of teens in low-income households. But broadband access can be a

double-edged sword. Smartphones and data plans have become affordable enough to open up new opportunities

to children in less affluent families. In fact, kids in lower-income communities also tend to spend

more time on their devices. And as the debate over how much screen time is appropriate for children, there is a concern that children who rely more on smartphones may be more vulnerable to the negative impacts of technology.

In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper on this with Axios editor Meg Marco.

But first, this.

Axios chief technology correspondent, Ena Freed, shares breaking news and analysis on the most consequential companies and players in tech from the Valley to D.C.

Subscribe to get smarter faster at signup.axios.com.

...