Our Future

E-society

What are you going to do today?Perhaps you'll email your friends, watch a DVD or listen to your MP3 player.It's likely that sometime soon you're going to surf the Net. Today, we take new technology for garanted, so you may be surprised to learn that 50% of the people in the world have still never even used a telephone!

There is a new gap between those who have access to new technology and those who don't.It is called the 'Digital Devide'.The truth is that fewer than 17% of the people in the world can actually use the Internet.

To go online, you need a computer, the right software, a phone line, a modem and a subscription to an Internet service provider.These aren't cheap and a lot of people, especially in poor countries, just can't afford them.
Then there's the language barrier. Four-fifths of all websites are in English and many people around the world cannot even read or write in their own language, let alone a foreign language.If people can't read, it will be hard to teach them how to use a computer.
The technology gap also exists simply because many people do not understand how  technology can help them.They have an old-fashioned way of thinking and cannot imagine the difference technology will make to their lives.
Education is the key.  Goverments,   IT industries and educational institutions should work together to educate people and train them and at computer usage.When we bridge the digital divide, then everyone will have equal opportunities and the power that technology brings.

Facts

• Only 3.6% of nearly a billion people in Africa have Internet access.
• 0.1% of these have broadband.
• Almost 70% of the people in North America have Internet access.
• Africa, parts of Asia, South America and the Middle East are the least connected.
• 77% of the world's population has access to a mobile phone network.

56.5% of the world's population live in Asia, but only 10% of them have internet access.