Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Information Poverty
The emergence of the Internet benefits the developed countries, but at the same time it may leave many poor nations lag far behind. Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, a large segment of population live below the poverty line ($1.25 a day) and have no access to the internet whatsoever. In such poor countries, the primary concern of people is feeding themselves day after day rather than learning what is happening outside world. Additionally, Low benefit from investment on internet business would further widen the gap between rich nations and poor nations.
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This is mostly true. I'm from a country that is very much 'Sub-Saharan Africa'. I must say that information and access to it is is important even when you struggle, day by day, to live on less than a dollar. Information (and education) may actually be one of the ways in which the people in the poor countries of our world can come out of that bad situation.
ReplyDeleteIn my country, Kenya, the lack of information is used by politicians to keep the people poor and needy so that they can be manipulated easy. It has been so for years. It isn't lost to at least some people that access to information for everyone in Kenya is a lifeline that is needed to change our country for the better. This is probably true in most countries like ours.
How can we help solve this?
PS, If interested, here is a guy with a unique approach: http://www.facebook.com/zack.matere#!/notes/zack-matere-lusitche/inernet-for-the-poor/55072978684
Dear Choo and Wambere,
ReplyDeletethank you for the post and the link.
The question is what kind of user-generated news we will hear if the global media network is "downsized", and there is a lack of locals telling the story.