The internet has largely penetrated for the half of the global population, predominantly in the developed world. The future growth comes from proliferation into the second-half of the global population, mainly in developing countries. The report claims that the nature of the second half of the internet would be very different from that of the first half which has happened so far.
The first application used by the second half is entertainment (Timepass in Indian English), not business nor learning. Video is the main means of communication used in developing countries for timepass, more than in the developed countries. Vast majority of the second half users may speak plural languages, but tends to be illiterate. Voice-to-text apps are heavily used. Voice search is important in developing countries as searches by other means in the developed world.
If this report is true, there can be two important implications.
First, importance of literacy may wane in future. This will have significant implications on how we teach and how we communicate in future. In the classroom, we may be teaching more of oral communications then on written communications.
Secondly, some 90 years ago Keynes noted “… for the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem-how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares, how to occupy the leisure, which science and compound interest will have won for him, to live wisely and agreeably and well.” Well, it seems people at last have found how to occupy the leisure, but perhaps not necessarily to live wisely and agreeably and well, if we consider our pressing needs for better educating the second half.
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