We use to the internet so much; we look for the fastest connection for all our different devices. Looking for information online feels like second nature, we enjoy the internet and we take it for granted. However, not all the people in the world have access to the internet, in fact more than 54% of the world population has not internet connection.
This lack of internet is called digital divide, it is an economic and social inequality, a gap in the demographics of the regions that have access to modern technology and information, and the regions with restricted access.
People who don’t have access to the internet are low-income, in rural areas, and elders. In addition, People that can’t access the internet are in undeveloped countries, countries where violations of human rights are committed, and countries with lots of barriers, firewalls, and filters that isolated their internet, like China.
There are lots of initiatives to try to overcome the digital divide:
· Project Loon is an idea by google. The goal is to launch lots of balloons in the stratosphere and transmit high speed internet across the balloon network. Users could connect to the internet wherever they go, because there would always be a balloon in that part of the world.
· The University of Edinburgh has the idea to use LiFi, a way of transmitting data using solar energy.
Knowledge is power, and if everybody gets access to the internet, people will have more opportunities to achieve their goals. Besides, people in countries with bad governments could obtain new ideals through the internet and change their governments for something better.
