When people leave prison after decades inside, they’re not just re-entering society, they’re entering an unfamiliar digital world.
From smartphones and email to QR codes and online job applications, everyday technology can become an unexpected barrier to freedom for people returning home after long periods of incarceration. For many, the world they left behind no longer exists, and the rules of daily life have changed without explanation.
“Imagine coming home after 15, 20 years. The advances in technology are so wide,” said Cecilia Zavala, executive director of Nation Outside, a Michigan-based nonprofit led by people with direct experience with incarceration.
“It became apparent that our peers really just felt like they were coming home to an alien world.”
Teaching the basics and the emotional cost
That sense of disorientation is exactly why Nation Outside is creating peer-led digital literacy courses designed specifically for people returning home after incarceration.
Executive Director Cecilia Zavala describes what they will prioritize: “Making sure that folks are protecting their privacy and learning the dos and don’ts… digital safety and protecting your personal information, identifying scams and surveillance risk password and privacy protection.”
Before kick-starting the courses, they held a peer navigator training meeting where they decided which skills to teach students. Things that come naturally to many people are things they have to explain in full detail, from how to turn off a laptop to how to spot scams online.
Many of the instructors were once incarcerated themselves, entering the world unaware of how much had changed. Now, they’re the ones teaching others how to navigate this unfamiliar digital landscape.
One of those instructors is Rick Speck.
Speck was incarcerated in 1998 for fraud and armed robbery and released in 2014. When he entered prison, the latest technology was a pager and a flip phone.
“When I came out, they didn’t have either of those things. And I was introduced to a smartphone and it was one of the scariest things I’ve ever encountered.”
Today, he says, digital literacy is essential to survival outside prison walls.
“Even to apply for a job today, to get responses and be able to communicate, you have to have an email. You have to know how to use it. These are things that many of us just never encountered.”
The organization focuses not only on technical skills, but also on the emotional toll of navigating a world that has moved forward.
His coworker, Christine Harris, still has trouble with technology.
She spent 22 years behind bars for second degree murder, entering the system in 2001. After her release, she found support at Nation Outside and now works there as a peer support navigator, helping others adjust to life outside prison.
Still, she says technology remains a challenge.
“Oh, it was very hard. It’s still hard to this day," Harris said.
“When I came home and my family handed me a cell phone, my own cell phone, I think I blew it up in like a week. I had to get an entire new phone. Like, after a week of having my very first iPhone. I’ve been home for two years and seven months, and I’m still learning features on it.”
But some of the most difficult moments weren’t technical. They were emotional reminders of how much the world had changed.
“Going out to eat they changed the menus at the restaurant. They don’t pass out paper menus anymore. You have to scan a QR code. It was kind of funny… but it was also hurtful.”
From privilege to survival skill
The growing digital divide is something the Michigan Department of Corrections says it is now trying to address.
“One of the things we are very focused on is trying to prepare people who are coming out of prison to be able to survive in a digital world… so many people who have been incarcerated for a long time never lived in a world that was so full of automation and digital technology,” says Heidi Washington, director of the Michigan Department of Corrections. She says the department is expanding digital literacy efforts, enabling Wi-Fi in facilities, and providing Chromebooks to incarcerated students.
Bryan Harr has been incarcerated since 1995 for first degree murder. He entered prison when computers ran on green screens and floppy disks.
While enrolled at Calvin University, one of the few prison programs that allows laptops, Harr saw firsthand how steep the learning curve can be.
“We have men that are coming in to this program that have been 20, 30 years separated or removed from education, let alone technology. So you have men that have never touched a laptop before.”
Harr says digital literacy classes helped not just with school, but with preparing for life after release.
“Not only did I learn, you know, the difference between a web page and a web browser. That class actually lets you get on sites like LinkedIn and search for job positions.”
Still, access to technology varies. Zavala says there's still work to be done.
"They (MODC) have to change some of their policies to make technology more accessible and to be a tool for learning. I think they're moving in that direction, but it still has a way to go."
At Nation Outside, Zavala says the challenge isn’t just learning new technology, it’s learning how to live in a world that moved on without you.
“Technology is a part of our everyday life. Before, internet access was seen as a privilege. Now, it’s a survival skill. And if you're going to succeed, you have to learn how to use it.”
For people returning home after decades behind bars, Nation Outside hopes no one has to face that learning curve alone.
