9781422280744

A man accesses a computer at an Internet terminal in the airport in Singapore.

everyone, and you can go online from wherever you are with the right device, but the Internet and digital technology hold dangers that could threaten you directly. There are also global issues that involve you—how digitization affects people in other parts of the world has an impact on you, as it shapes global politics and economics. The Internet is used by 89 percent of the

population of North America, and more than 73 percent of the population of Europe and Australia. Those percentages are much lower in the Middle East (53.7 percent), Asia (44.2 percent), and Africa (28.6 percent). Does this further the economic and power gap between these regions? Within countries, there are groups of people who use the Internet constantly while other segments of the population may not even know what it is. If you are young, wealthy, and educated, you probably use the Internet for multiple purposes every day. If you are elderly, poor, less educated, or live in a rural area with poor communication links, you may not use it much, if at all. In what ways is it better or worse to be connected to the online world? REGULATING DIGITAL CONTENT In some countries, people are allowed to say what they think, however much it may hurt or upset others. This is called freedom of speech. Freedom of information, shared digitally, is also highly valued in many places. The law gives people a right to know what is going on, even if sharing the information may have damaging results. In other countries, content may be much more restricted—but keeping people in the dark can also be damaging. Should we be allowed to say things that are hurtful to others? Is our right to do what we want greater than someone else’s right to be free from being offended? How can we balance people’s rights to privacy with the need for a population’s personal information to keep society secure? These are some of the questions that have come up in the Digital Age, and the more informed we are, the better we can help make decisions for everyone’s benefit. We all have a right to be involved in choices about the world’s future. But in order to have the power to change things, we need to understand the issues that affect us all. You must be able to separate fact from opinion and reliable information from media hype. If you can do this and develop your own informed views, you will be able to play an important part in the Digital Age.

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