When was the last time you checked your email? If you were in Egypt right now, it probably would have been last Friday, when the Egyptian government shut down all but one Internet service provider. Remember the last text you sent? Most Egyptians haven’t been able to do that since Friday, either. But when your country is engaged in a serious revolt against a dictatorship, being disconnected from social media means more than missing a viral video. This disconnection means a compromise in civilian safety and in the fight for democracy.
Internet access has become a serious human rights issue. A 2010 BBC World Service poll indicates that four in five people internationally believe Internet access is a fundamental right. According to BBC, the UN is pursuing universal Internet access for its member nations, and the EU has adopted the provision that all EU citizens are entitled to “fair and impartial procedure” before their Internet access is limited by their government.
Aside from its obvious use as a disseminator of information and a forum for ideas, the Internet creates a unification platform in democracy-seeking countries like Egypt. Prior to the communication crackdown, the Egyptian people had been using their cell phones and social networks to distribute news and plan demonstrations.
Furthermore, the information generated by the people in Cairo granted the kind of access necessary for balanced representation in the news media. In Obama’s statement on Egypt last Friday, he called the Egyptian government to “reverse the actions that they’ve taken to interfere with access to the Internet, to cell phone service and to social networks that do so much to connect people in the 21st century.” In another interview Obama went on to say, “It is very important that people have mechanisms in order to express their grievances.”
As Americans, I think we take our reliable connection to the Internet for granted. My friends and I, for example, often toy with the idea of cutting out technology. A lot of us even take “days off,” often with the attitude that we’re defying “The Man.” It’s as if we’re so oversaturated that we’ve become ungrateful. Feelings like these make it obvious that we’re using the Internet the wrong way most of the time. We don’t always respect it as a privilege and space of infinite potential anymore. Sure, we see grassroots movements pass through our Facebook inboxes and hey, Beextroaordinary.org started at Northwestern. But most of us are just procrastinating online. Think of what we could do with the time we spend glued to a keyboard. Would we even know where to start?
With technology literally becoming a life or death issue, I don’t think lay-Americans are working hard enough. As philanthropic and digital leaders, we of all people should be fluent in this global language. Everyone getting a college education should know how to code. Ideally, it’d be taught earlier in our public schools, but that would take eons to implement. At a private university like ours, a computer science requirement would be a much smarter allocation of time and resources than a fine arts requirement (and this is coming from a former art major).
If we want to compete on the global stage, or more importantly, do good on the global stage, we need to get our priorities straight. We aren’t the only ones creating the Internet experience anymore. The fact that we aren’t racing to incorporate it into every learning opportunity is unbelievable. Basic computer science knowledge could give everyone the potential to be a global humanitarian now. You wouldn’t even have to leave your room.
In spite of all the gadgets we have in our pockets, we know very little about technology. The fact is we, too, are vulnerable and need to be educated at every level to ensure our security, success and impact. We also need to be grateful and do great work with our privileges. Use the Internet to connect, not waste time. Peace, love and computer science.
Alex Hollander is a Medill senior. She can be reached at [email protected].
