Alongside all of my thoughts about social media and privacy, and the fear-mongering that sometimes come along with that, I've been repeatedly coming across articles on Mashable! about the good that social media is doing. Look at this great infographic that Robin tweeted.
Really, I've been blown away by the sheer number of articles I've seen. (I'll admit to not getting much of a chance to read them. Will be trying to make a point of doing so soon.) One of the things I'm very curious about is how others see this playing out.
In a way I see technology as the great leveler. Put a computer in someone's hands with the internet, and they can take open courses from MIT. Or write a blog post that gets their ailing mother attention. Or a YouTube video that lands them on the Today! Show, or use social media to try to save lives from disease.
On the other hand, what does it mean for those who can't get their hands on the technology? Who live in places where the internet sounds like magic? Or who can't afford internet in their homes, but have to rely on public libraries or schools?
I don't pretend to know the answers, and maybe the gap is much smaller than I think. But I wonder...
It's a good question. I remember first talking about the "digital" divide more than 15 years ago. Then it was more about the have/have-nots and computer ownership/access. Now it seems like we're still facing that problem, but have added another have/have-not category around internet speed and bandwidth. And personally, I have concerns about net neutrality and data caps also creating have/have-nots as well as putting a crimp on innovation!
ReplyDeleteI wonder as well. Maybe it's what always has been and so it's really more of the same or status quo just with sexier gadgets at faster speeds. Haven't we always had some sort of gap? Some had acces to books, some not, some had access to school, some not, and on and on. Somehow progress has found a way to occur. I do believe that this innovation cycle is actually available to more people from a global perspective. To your point of technolgoy potentially being the great levelor. I'm not sure about it either, but it seems that more people are working to provide access across the globe than ever before. It will be interesting to see what happens!
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