Today’s kids literally cannot believe there was a time without the Internet. Without live streaming. Without Facebook. Even I get the creeps when I think about it.
The Internet is arguably the most consequential thing we have ever done. With it, we challenged the very nature of human society, which stood unchallenged for millennia. If cyberspace had memorial plaques, the first would read “On this day, 6, August 1991, the world was changed forever”.
Anyone who has never heard of the Internet is either:
a. Recovering from an accidental fall through a time warp
b. Living in the Amazon rain forest
But these people are precisely what this article is about—the fallout of digitization (not the time travelers), those who, either by choice or by accident, were left behind.
The Amazon rain forest is the largest rain forest in the world, and the most bio-diverse region on Earth. It is home to over 16,000 species, which, unsurprisingly includes humans.
Put simply, there are a group of people (an entire community) who don’t use the Internet. They aren’t educated, they are isolated (that is, they don’t leave the Amazon), and more importantly, have virtually no access to the Net.
Most Americans and Europeans are used to super fast internet speeds and unlimited usage, but only 21% of Africans used the Internet to any substantial degree in 2019. That is still greater than the 3% of Amazonian tribes with access to computers.
Granted, large companies like Facebook and Google have initiated efforts to enable wider internet access, but these are yet to reach the vast majority of people in remote areas.
Everyone knows what happens when you’re offline. Missed appointments. Inefficient work. Productivity goes down the drain. Not to mention mind-numbing boredom, and possibly depression.
Being offline sucks.
Gladly, a few progressive Amazonians (no pun intended) are developing their tech skills. They’re proving that battles to save their home are not won with bows and spears, but with a well-executed social media campaign (and possibly coding).
They’ll need all your support though. You can help by donating to organizations like a4ai. Heck, even spreading the word on social media helps. Let’s get everyone online, one step at a time.
#society #charity #software-development #internet #coding
