4/7 internet access and indeed some households had second phone lines installed into their homes solely for internet access-Roughly two-thirds of all Internet servers reside in the U.S. The Internet influencers, Web publishers, are concentrated in America. -Four out of five Web pages are in English -- the unofficial language of the Net. All of these factors have contributed to the westernization of the Net. The downfall to this is that the small proportion of the world’s English speakers who control the net have forced the rest of the world to confirm to their standard. Compounded with the fact that computing is an expensive business requiring relatively pricey equipment and phone service, is it now really feasible that a poor hungry child in Africa can see the “great leveller” that is the internet, let alone understand it?The Internet divide between the haves and have-nots is even visible in the United States itself. While the use of Internet in schools has grown exponentially in the last few years, College Board (the board which presides over America’s all important SAT’s) Online researchers warn the trend has had a negative effect on disadvantaged children. They report that lack of Net access at home may cause kids to fall behind at school, exacerbating the gap between the rich and poor (Source: Zdnet.com/anchordesk).On top of all of this, the computer itself is a very westernised object. With it’s alphanumeric keyboard and it’s anglicised web browsers, it is not a very welcoming sight to those non-English speakers in disadvantaged countries. Granted, special keyboards and software are available, but are few and far between. Learning English is still the only way to go. Many say that the ‘great leveller’ will promoted increased globalisation but I think that is only because it is turning everyone the same by forcing to conform to its standards.This cannot go on forever though. The...
