What’s Your Dream Internet?
A YouGov survey conducted in 2015 of 1,500 teenagers, 41% of them felt that online hate had increased in the past year. And just last year, another survey of more than 4,700 teenagers revealed that almost half think cyberbullying is a bigger issue than drug abuse among young people
It’s no wonder that people, both young and old, are wondering if the Internet is a safe place to be.
But there’s another side of the story.
On May 4th, the United Nations Day of Anti-Bullying, we’re launching a campaign to celebrate young people around the world who are building their dream Internet.
People under 25 are shaping the Internet as we speak. They’re building apps; they’re changing the way the world socialises and how we organise politically.
Through their drive to help their communities, they’re boosting trust in the online world.
“In 2004 we had the tsunami. Everything was destroyed, there were a lot of orphans. Actually, I’m one of the victims myself, but I think that’s why God gave me the challenge for me to still live, to improve myself, improve my community.
You have to think that you can make something that can change the world.”
Ayu ‘Ulya is a 25-year-old teacher and game designer from Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Two years ago, ‘Ulya took a course in cloud gaming funded by an Internet Society grant. She had limited tech skills and was looking for a way to help her family after the 2004 tsunami.
She came out of it with a passion for online games and tech. Her game called Cempala: Prime Numbers, teaches students maths while also talking about ecology and Indonesian heritage.
“We need to share and preserve culture through the Internet. We have to be open-minded and think outside our boxes. We have to think creatively. Because I’m staying in a corner of Indonesia and am far away from western culture, it doesn’t mean I can’t learn about it. I can learn everything from Internet think and compare. Take the good things and throw out the bad things.”
And yet, when it comes to official discussions on the future of the Internet, the kind had by global standards bodies or national regulators, the voice of young people could be stronger. That’s why we need to bridge the gap between policymakers and youth. It needs to be standard practice to have youth at the table for these decisions, not only for the sake of the young people who are shaping the Internet today but for those who are about to be connected.
Adela Goberna is 23 and a newly minted lawyer living in Buenos Aires. She’s also one of the founders of Internet Society’s Youth Observatory, an arm of the organisation meant to bring youth voices to Internet governance discussions.
By raising her voice she has become one of the few representatives of young people at high level policy meetings. She has created a direct line between young people and the movers and shakers of the Internet world.
Just yesterday, in fact, she spoke at the UN’s World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2016 and reminded policy makers that young adults shouldn’t just be targets of policy — but be involved in policy-making.
“The Internet needs to feel more like chatting in a bar. You need to be able to say ‘OK, our opinions are different, but I respect what you’re saying and I’m getting something from this conversation.’ And I think that type of conversation makes people much more relaxed and willing to speak.”
Benjz Gerard Sevilla is 23 and is part of the Internet Engineering Taskforce, a group whose mission is to make the Internet work better.
He is also a Planning Officer with the Philippine government’s Department of Science and Technology.
He believes the open Internet is key to global development and a tool to help communities around the world build opportunities.
“I think getting the Internet into the countryside needs to be a priority. My role is to create ways that governments, businesses, and people can talk to each other to make the Internet better in the Philippines. It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s about making sure there’s content, and there’s equal access to it.”
Balpreet Kaur is 22 and is in her last year of International Development at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. In 2012, a post on Reddit mocked her appearance. Rather than getting angry, she posted a response talking about the importance of her Sikh faith and provoking a thoughtful discussion of how we treat strangers. Her response went viral and sparked an incredible discussion about the power of positivity online.
“There’s nothing special in what I did. We all have that capacity. And so to label one person as inspiring and the other person as not so inspiring, it’s kind of difficult for me to reconcile. If there are parts of me that are inspiring, then I’ll take it. I’m glad that even if I don’t intentionally want to inspire you, there’s something in me that you see that is inspiring, and that inspires me that you’re seeing this!”
Elif Sert is a 22-year-old law student and blogger living in Istanbul. She also manages Internet Society’s Chapter Turkey’s social media channels.
Sert believes the Internet is key to building friendships around the world — something she believes is essential to break down barriers and to help us all become global citizens.
“You can share your love on the Internet. I can just go to the Philippines, buy my tickets, meet people and go. This makes me feel alive and makes me feel like a world citizen. It allows me to have friends everywhere.”
Let’s work together to help Internet be the best it can be. Whether you long for more relevant content in your native language, want to eliminate all forms of online harassment, or wish for a more secure Internet by working together, you’ve probably daydreamed about ideas to change the online world.
We want to hear them. Let’s brainstorm a #dreaminternet together, and talk about ways we can make those dreams come true.
Pictures by Kemal Jufri (Indonesia), Nicolas Goldberg (Argentina), Sanjit Das (the Philippines), Hossein Fatemi (U.S.A), Aytunc Akad (Turkey) — Panos Pictures for the Internet Society.
