If the entire world had Internet access.....

I'm in two minds. Would the world be more productive or less productive...

Not that these things aren't related ideas in the grand scheme of things, but considering that more than half the people in the world (just a guess) are illiterate, I'd say Internet access isn't really the first order of business.

Also, even if people are not literate, the fact is that most information is not going to be in a language that most people speak.

But in the long run I think it's got the potential to make people more inquisitive and more critical. Not to mention giving them greater exposure to porn.

miloblithe said:

Not to mention giving them greater exposure to porn.

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Well, at least it does not have a literacy prerequisite.

The World Wide Web has contest in many languages, and if more people got access then there would be more languages for those people. That is not an issue, but being needed to be able to read for the net is a bit of an issue, it isn't a major one. Pictures could tell things. Who knows what it would be like, but lets get internet across the major countries first, still many in the the UK and US that lack net access

I already have to leave my house to escape the Internet. If the whole world had it, there would be no escape! I'd have to rely on my own self-discipline to get any work done.

Now, everyone can experience the joy that is g***se.
I say it's required viewing. You have not really lived until you've seen the g***se man.
Will society be made better or worse, I have no idea, but it'll certainly be interesting.

mh10190 said:

If all the people in the world had equal access to the internet, what kind of a world do you think we'll live in.

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Oh.. the pr0n!!

don't you guys think we have to deal with the wars first?
with the fact that there are millions dying of hunger?
millions that don't have access to clear drinking water?
kids that are working in sweat shops in asia making clothes?
internet is and will be a priviledge for the priviledged
if not for ever,at least for the next 100 years

sk3pt1c said:

don't you guys think we have to deal with the wars first?
with the fact that there are millions dying of hunger?
millions that don't have access to clear drinking water?
kids that are working in sweat shops in asia making clothes?
internet is and will be a priviledge for the priviledged
if not for ever,at least for the next 100 years

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The internet can have a dramatic impact on information dissemination and education. If we understand education to be at the root of solving a lot of the problems you list, then internet access for the poor is as much a social justice issue as anything else.

sk3pt1c said:

don't you guys think we have to deal with the wars first?
with the fact that there are millions dying of hunger?
millions that don't have access to clear drinking water?
kids that are working in sweat shops in asia making clothes?
internet is and will be a priviledge for the priviledged
if not for ever,at least for the next 100 years

Click to expand...

No... the Internet is a technology, not a solution

It is FAR easier to keep rolling out new technologies than it is to actually create solution to real problems.