As a new social, economic or technological phenomenon sweeps across populations, so do its descriptive terms. We all recognise the terms pandemic and contact tracing, we relate to words like climate change and pollution, we maybe even advocating against crypto investments nowadays and if you’re a big social media follower or a writer on Youth Ki Awaaz, you might understand what User Generated Content means. It means that on a platform or website, multiple users make their own content in the form of text, video, audio or a mix of all these and more.
Internet is an enabler and the original inventors of internet prescribed it as an essential tool for democratising access to information, much like its predecessors – the printing press, radio or television. The fundamental difference between the internet and its predecessors is the much more enhanced interaction of the user with the medium itself. We could interact in a very limited way with the print, radio and TV media. But with the internet, humans have defined the way they want to interact with it and with each other on it.
Web 1.0 allowed users to consume and browse content but it was primarily one way interaction with the users making little to no feedback. This created the need for the user to share their thoughts with the websites that they consumed content on, hence leading to Web 2.0 – the Facebook and Youtube revolutions. Today, the users’ need for privacy and to own the content they make, to decide what to do with it and how to do it, and to make the virtual into more and more real, has translated into the development of Web 3.0 . And all this has happened over a few intense decades and on its way, the Internet has also revolutionised the way its predecessors are used today. The Internet’s users now have changed the printing, radio and TV media as well.
‘The measure of intelligence is the ability to change’ -Albert Einstein.
And the internet changes the collective intelligence of its users. If you are a social media user, then you have seen how Instagram and YouTube have embodied their algorithms around TikTok-style short videos and features. So a relatively smaller company from China could force 2 of the biggest companies on the planet (Meta and Alphabet) to adapt is a perfect example of user behaviour changing the internet.
The next such changes are expected from other emerging countries such as India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Congo, Peru and more. Many entrepreneurs realise this, and that is why Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and many others are trying to provide internet access through newer technologies like high-altitude balloons and low-earth orbit satellites. On March 26, 2023, ISRO, through its LVM 3 rocket, put 36 satellites on a low earth orbit for a private UK-based company to provide better internet access to humans.
All big tech companies and other big companies which are increasingly becoming tech-based want to know what people, their users, want so they can offer services and products to them. We as users generate a lot of data of our usage patterns on the internet which is then used to refine the platforms where we create and consume content. And more often than not, these companies abuse the data to their advantage until a newer, more transparent, sometimes safer and easier way to access the Internet emerges.
Why does all this happen? Internet has made all our lives better. In India, Right to access Internet is an integral part of Right to Education and Right to Privacy under Article 21A and Article 21 of the Constitution of India respectively. Studying, playing, networking, complaining, campaigning, advocating, supporting, bringing light to issues and so much more is being done on the internet. Because the users decide how they wish to use it and create solutions to their unique problems.
They innovate using the internet’s tools and create solutions which were not possible before, definitely not with the same speed, flexibility and scalability. This is why we need Internet, so we can maximise User Generated Innovation. Innovation to solve our problems collectively, reach consensus after long deliberations, give voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless.
So along with the infrastructure development we talked about earlier, Internet and Mobile Literacy workshops continue to be organised with real life applications of the technology in the user’s lives by many non-profits all over India. Mini-power projects based on solar panels allow the continued usage of devices. But what is also needed is the knowledge of platforms and online outreach. Half the planet is on the Internet, so most users get lost in the crowd and don’t exactly know how to leverage the power in their palms.
Just literacy isn’t enough, continued mentoring is needed. In my experience, even the most privileged youth falls for that content and those platforms which serve just the content creators’ needs and not the consumers. Eventually, youth think that is the power of internet and fall into the trap of repeating meme dialogues and trying to do anything to become famous. Out of some 8 crore creators in India, only about 1.5 lac make money but very few understand this bit.
I have introduced mentees to good blogging and learning platforms; and continuously motivated them to write research papers which can propel them forward in their careers and lives. But to reach that level, students will have to explore all platforms, understand the futility of most of them and then eventually use the Internet in an empowering way. This learning curve takes a lot of time but with mentorship, it is just a matter of months! These empowered youth can then start a chain reaction by teaching other young people in a more direct and efficient manner!
Samarth Pathak, communications officer with the UNODC (South Asia), created the program called Lockdown Learners during the COVID-19 lockdowns to engage at-risk and marginalised youth all over India. Paramjeet Kaur Dhillon, Principal of a rural school in Phagwara used the IT infrastructure at her school to empower her students, teachers and parent stakeholders to become more resilient, adopt the SDGs and perform better than before the pandemic struck. Ankit Chhabra, co-creator of Sanjhi Sikhiya or the Punjab Youth Leaders Program used the downtime during the lockdown to engage Punjabi youth, inspire them, guide them and in many cases dissuade them from migrating abroad and instead contribute in the state’s and nation’s development. Soum Paul and Debasri Rakshit are creating Supercraft to enable better control over content to its creators by using blockchain to secure transactions and access to content. I, myself, have been able to reach many more youth than was previously possible by creating counselling and mentorship frameworks for high school students, university students and youth in 25+ countries for cyber-bullying, sustainability, tech4good, psychology and more. There are millions others who are innovating using the internet and making lives for themselves and their communities much better than before.
It’s true that the Internet has also led to the percolation of a lot of negative activities as well. If the Internet helped in the Jasmine Arab Spring revolution, it is also the one which spreads hate at 6 times higher rate then positive news. It allows students to explore their creativity but has also increased self-esteem issues and suicide rates among teenage girls.
Internet enables young Indians to express themselves but also makes Indians the biggest cyber bullies in the world. It has helped people access products which would normally be not available but that is true for both e-commerce and the dark web. It facilitates net banking and instant financial transactions but has increased online scamming to unprecedented levels as well. You can read all the world’s news, yet more than half of all news online is fake. The medium lets people spread rumours and awareness alike. The data collected from us makes our lives better but also lets powerful corporations misuse it for their profits.
Like all technologies, the Internet is a double edged sword. There are millions who want to use it for good. But if someone doesn’t have access to internet, knows not how to use the internet to help themselves, then the Human Civilisation is losing out on those precious solutions. We are losing out to understanding Human needs and problems and the numerous User Generated Innovations to solve those needs and problems. Being the biggest youth population in the world, Indian youth can be the harbinger of solutions for the world but for that they need internet access.
The solutions will come from them but only through the Internet. We are all soldiers today, trying to keep the world from falling apart amid, pandemics, climate crises, migration crises, divisive politics, corporate greed, trade wars and real wars, but soldiers can’t fight on an empty stomach. Internet is the food they need.
#Contest: Digital Access
The featured image in this article is AI generated.