Although Juárez is a newcomer to technology, her four children depend on it. For now, using a computer at school or the local library has to suffice until the family can afford a new one.
Technology has created a generation gap in Boyle Heights. Many adults are left behind as their children gain digital literacy at school.
The proportion of Latino households in California with a broadband connection nearly doubled between 2007 and 2011, according to a 2011 survey by the California Emerging Technology Fund. But it still lags behind white households, 72 percent of which have broadband connections. Progress is slowest for Spanish-speaking Latinos, with 55 percent of them lacking broadband access at home, compared with 14 percent of English-speaking Latinos.