Africa and the digital divide
This past winter break, my mother, sister, and I went to Tanzania to visit family and attend my uncle's wedding. The last time we visited was five years prior. I honestly was dreading the potential of having no hot water to shower with for two weeks and using my aunt's laptop that used a slow Ethernet connection. This time around was much different.
With just my iPhone, my aunt had bought a wireless internet router that she could carry anywhere and connect any device with Wi-Fi internet capabilities. I would have never thought that in the middle of East Africa, I would have wireless internet access, especially 5 years ago. What changed?
According to Wilson and Chock, in 2008, the number of internet users worldwide increased to about 1.5 billion people. However, Wilson and Chock also report that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) showed that in 2007, a little more than 10 percent of the world's population in developing countries were using the Internet, compared to about 60 percent of people in the developed world.
Moreover, according to Internet World Stats, although Africa accounts for 14.1 percent of the world's population, only 2.6 percent of Internet users live in Africa. In 2012, that number increased to 7 percent. To put these numbers in perspective, here are visual data charts from the 2012 Internet World Stats for Africa.
With just my iPhone, my aunt had bought a wireless internet router that she could carry anywhere and connect any device with Wi-Fi internet capabilities. I would have never thought that in the middle of East Africa, I would have wireless internet access, especially 5 years ago. What changed?
According to Wilson and Chock, in 2008, the number of internet users worldwide increased to about 1.5 billion people. However, Wilson and Chock also report that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) showed that in 2007, a little more than 10 percent of the world's population in developing countries were using the Internet, compared to about 60 percent of people in the developed world.
Moreover, according to Internet World Stats, although Africa accounts for 14.1 percent of the world's population, only 2.6 percent of Internet users live in Africa. In 2012, that number increased to 7 percent. To put these numbers in perspective, here are visual data charts from the 2012 Internet World Stats for Africa.