Internet Usage in Third World Countries?

Categories: Global Web, Social Media, Web UsagePosted on August 21st, 2006

After the TechCrunch Silicon Valley elite party, I had some time to unwind and spend the weekend in Seattle area with my family. The first thing I noticed was the crispness of the air, the vibrancy in the lights, and the bustling of the Market area in Seattle.

I had an interesting conversations with some of my cousins, as we talked about social work, helping cultures in needs (third world countries) and how the internet can and cannot help. We talked about blogs, the laptop for every child program, Chinese censorhip, and impoverished nations and cultures.

While I’m certainly pro-web, and have a strong beliefs that the internet will democratize information, unite individuals and cultures and create a global conversation. My cousin stopped me dead of course, as she asked “What about the countries that aren’t online” and are still struggling to get the basic necessities before climbing Maslow’s pyramid.

These stats tell it well, see this diagram of World Internet Usage Stats with a breakdown by region, percent of population of world, and then overall percentage and growth rates.

North America is only 5% of the world although 68% is online
Asia is 56% of the World 10% is online (but the largest amount of internet users anywhere)
Latin America is 8% of the world, but has 14% online
Europe is 12% of the world with 36% online.
The growth column shows Africa, Middle East, Latin America to explode in internet usage over the last 5 years

Cousin, yes, our discussions and your parting words did in fact impact me, I’ll be giving this more thought over the future.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 21st, 2006 at 8:29 am and is filed under Global Web, Social Media, Web Usage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I appreciate your thoughts. I noticed that the Laptop for Every Child program website says that the laptops will be distributed through government initiatives, which sounds to me that children will only get access to those laptops if the government leaders themselves take the initiative to utilize the program. The problem is that most third-world countries are governed by corrupt officials, uninterested in caring for the needs of children left behind. I think it’s a great program, but I’m also concerned that connecting children to the internet where they can obtain information, be part of the global network, and possibly even spread awareness of the unlivable conditions in which they live, will only be long-term change. Meanwhile, we overlooking the fact that these children spend their days selling trinkets on the street, or digging through garbage to help bring in family income. What these children need is to be able to go to school, where they can be connected to the internet, and where they can be fed with the proper nutrients. Their parents of course would lose them as “employees”, but they wouldn’t have to feed them either. A good example of this is in the documentary Born into Brothels, where a photographer in India gives cameras to children, and they take pictures of anything and everything around them. They manage to capture amazing shots, portraying the conditions in which they live, and their artwork moves people of power (in the US and Europe) to send the children to school.
So anyway, what I’m trying to say is yes, I agree that education and connecting children to the internet well help, but is there a way that we can do both?, as we established already that we can’t do all internet, and not necessarily all basic needs.
I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on this subject in the future! Thanks!

Posted by Merry on August 21st, 2006 at 11:59 am

Excellent points,

I wonder if the born into brothers movie (I saw it) helped to get the story out to the world. If so, did it help their situation? It’s possible now that awareness was raised (they could were able to communicate using those cameras to the audience) so that their situation was improved?

I’m agreeing that communciations will NOT directly put food into kids mouths, but it could raise global awareness, as we can hear FIRST hand from those in need.

Check out this videoblogging project done for the homeless (I heard about this at a video blogging conference in SF)
http://homelessnation.org/

As well as how blogs were used to help folks in Slidell–Brian Oberkirch is a friend of mine, and is a hero for his neigborhood. He took pictures of homes after the storm and used blogs to communicate with the whole world. (Without a reporter, a government, etc)
http://slidell.weblogswork.com/

Before changes can be made, minds must be made aware (like you did for me this last weekend) so I first understand

Technology can enable communication which will raise awareness that can make changes.

Merry, perhaps one trial would be to start a blog yourself, and chronicle your amazing journey, it touched me, maybe you can touch the whole world.

Love cousin Jeremiah

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As an Internet Marketer from Suriname/South-America I know that the Internet should be available for our kids in schools. We have a lack of teachers who are willing to go and work in the small communities,where the Amar Indian and the Maroons live,so that there are schools with about sixty kids from different grades with only one teacher.
The internet would make it possible for these kids to be able to watch the lessons from a school in the capitol,and the only teacher they have could assist them if they had a question,or if something should be clarified. I think the internet is top priority for the third world.-

Posted by Ruth on January 14th, 2009 at 11:05 am

I live in Cancun, Mexico. And even I have been using technology for quite a long time now, it was not until I started traveling to the US that I started to understood how internet could actually change one person’s life. Although there are several executives using the Web widely, pda’s, iphones and all sort of smart phones, there is no Internet culture in my country. Most of the people still uses the news paper to find a job, services and places to go. I now as a fact that Chile is the fastest growing latin american community on facebook. While Carlos Slim stands as the richest man in the communication sector, Mexico, his own country lacks of a solid infrastructure to extend the access to Internet to people. I want to state I ain’t complaining bou Mr. Slim, in fact I do admire him, I am complaining about the lack of interest of our government in its people.

But like complaining does not really help that much, I have started to follow people like yourself, to get a wider perspective on how Internet can be used to democratize the information, and spread the word to my country mates and people in the latin american world.

Thanks again!

Iaax Page