Up until a couple of years ago, if you want to respond and voice an opinion to a magazine or newspaper article, you actually have to write a letter to the newspaper, and wait for it to get publish at a late date. But now, you can instantly provide feedback on an article you have just read on the Globe and Mail and voice your comment, in the Comments area. This is a great form of democratic debate and participation (whether it is civilized or free of personal attacks is a different story). And they also provide an option to share this article with your social network such as Facebook, del.icio.us, Digg etc.
The New York Times have a fantastic website, in addition to the sharing capability, when you are reading an article and come across a word that you don’t understand, you can double click on it and a dictionary will pop up instantly. This is extremely helpful for users that don’t need to open a separate browser window for an online dictionary or have a printed version on their desk. This is a priceless addition to the website. I wish more website could utilize this function.
It is ironic that with more technology we are introducing, the more we are starting to exclude, because most people just can’t keep up with the next “in” thing (either lacking financial or technological resources).
The online forums and discussion boards provide a space for people to gather; this is great for the individuals that are technologically literate. But for the ones that cannot have access to technology, they are “digitally excluded” from the online world, and that includes not just the technologically challenged, but also individuals with accessibility issues such as the visual impaired.
It is unfortunate that even in Toronto, the communication fee is ridiculously high compared to other metropolis of the world. Cell phone and Internet connectivity is astronomically higher then even US and UK. Take a look at an older chart (shown below) from 2007 comparing mobile access rate. In July 2008, the CBC provided a very interesting iPhone Index, where the key comparison is total monthly phone cost in relation to the GDP that reflect the consumer wealth of a country. And once again, Canada is the second most expensive country to own an iPhone.
The Canadian government need to do more to connect people wirelessly. Affordability is the crucial part in this problem. Internet and mobile service are just too expensive in this country. In the present economic condition, many household have to decide which service they need to cut or reduce spending on, such as internet access, cell phone plans, HD TV subscription. Most would agree that they don’t really need 300 channels or to have a $60 monthly Internet or cell phone plan. These subscriptions would either be reduced to the basic plans or ultimately be cut from the monthly household budget. May be they will just give up watching Youtube and all the media rich websites and stick to dial up. Since a reduction of $30 from their communication subscription might go a long way, such as using it for groceries or fill up on gas. Eventually they will just give up using the Internet at home because dial up is just too slow, so what's the point in waiting 10 mins for a Youtube video to load?
The government need to address this issue or else a generation of non-users would get left behind and simply be forgotten and neglected by society. If we can change as a society and adopt an accessibility plan for the physical disable, by building ramps to entrance of restaurants, and wheelchair accessible bathrooms, we should do the same for affordable mobile access for the mass.
PS:
In the class discussion we mentioned several forms of literacy, such as health, technology, financial, etc. Here is an example of a popular financial educator. Some people love him, some thinks he’s just another promoter. But if you have heard about the Rich Dad Poor Dad books, then you will know who Robert Kiyosaki is. He is the guy that keeps talking about getting rich by being financial literate. Similar to another TV financial advisor Suze Orman, they preach about how everyone should be smart financially, educating themselves with financial knowledge. Like everything else in the media, you should decide for yourself how valid are these strategies. There’s seven parts to this series. I have embedded part 1 of 7 in this blog. The rest can be found here.
