Youth digital inclusion key for optimal web utilisation
The World Population Prospect 2022 report, issued by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in July 2022, has projected that the global world population will reach eight billion by 15 November 2022.
Our current global population is estimated to be around 7.96 billion people.
Sub-Saharan populations are expected to continue growing until 2100 and to contribute more than half of the global population increase anticipated by 2050.
With this growing population and the advancement of technology, a lot has changed and developed in the world of technology.
This can be dated back to Web 1.0, the first stage of the World Wide Web evolution, which consisted of a few content creators, while the majority of users were mostly content consumers.
In 2004, Web 2.0 became famous as a participative social web and an improved version of Web 1.0.
This social web contains several online tools and platforms where people can share their perspectives, opinions, thoughts and experiences.
As such, the end user is not only a user of the applications but also a participant via tools such as podcasting, tagging, blogging and social media, to name but a few.
More interestingly, the world is moving towards and thinking about Web 3.0, which refers to the evolution of web utilisation and interaction; a world that envisions a semantic web, artificial intelligence, ubiquity, connectivity and 3D graphics.
One should also realise that this is the same world in which young people continue to dominate the global population and are the most prolific users of technology and its advancements.
Much is currently happening online, such as verification of information, both formal and informal communication, as well as creating content both for entertainment or commercial purposes.
Access and affordability
However, with these advancements and developments, there are implications that are can hinder internet freedom and digital inclusion.
About 61% of all active SIM cards in the country are used to access the internet, which translates to 1.8 million SIM cards and mobile data continues to increase.
Namibia is one of the most expensive countries in Africa for mobile broadband.
For example, one gigabyte (GB) of monthly prepaid usage in 2021 cost US$8.3, according to a continental benchmark.
One of the contributing factors to the high costs is the monopoly in the market, which pushes the prices up.
It should, however, be noted that with the high costs, advancement in the digital world, including media and information literacy, is affected, as accessibility and affordability continue to be a challenge.
In order for anyone to make an informed decision and contribute meaningfully to any dialogue, there is a need to access and analyse information.
Additionally, one needs to reflect on the information you are exposed to, which requires a different level of thinking before you act or contribute meaningfully. For all of this to be possible, internet affordability and media literacy have to be considered as a priority to any nation’s development.
All of these issues are tied to the importance of digital inclusion.
Young people have a role to play in enabling a country to be inclusive and contribute to sustainable development.
However, for young people to contribute meaningfully, there is a need to engage and deliberate on some of the stumbling blocks present. These include internet accessibility and affordability, the national interest and support on the importance of media literacy and, lastly, a platform to engage on digital inclusion and literacy.
Josaphat Tjiho is an internet and media literacy enthusiast with a passion for youth development in the digital space.
Twitter:@JoeTjiho
Our current global population is estimated to be around 7.96 billion people.
Sub-Saharan populations are expected to continue growing until 2100 and to contribute more than half of the global population increase anticipated by 2050.
With this growing population and the advancement of technology, a lot has changed and developed in the world of technology.
This can be dated back to Web 1.0, the first stage of the World Wide Web evolution, which consisted of a few content creators, while the majority of users were mostly content consumers.
In 2004, Web 2.0 became famous as a participative social web and an improved version of Web 1.0.
This social web contains several online tools and platforms where people can share their perspectives, opinions, thoughts and experiences.
As such, the end user is not only a user of the applications but also a participant via tools such as podcasting, tagging, blogging and social media, to name but a few.
More interestingly, the world is moving towards and thinking about Web 3.0, which refers to the evolution of web utilisation and interaction; a world that envisions a semantic web, artificial intelligence, ubiquity, connectivity and 3D graphics.
One should also realise that this is the same world in which young people continue to dominate the global population and are the most prolific users of technology and its advancements.
Much is currently happening online, such as verification of information, both formal and informal communication, as well as creating content both for entertainment or commercial purposes.
Access and affordability
However, with these advancements and developments, there are implications that are can hinder internet freedom and digital inclusion.
About 61% of all active SIM cards in the country are used to access the internet, which translates to 1.8 million SIM cards and mobile data continues to increase.
Namibia is one of the most expensive countries in Africa for mobile broadband.
For example, one gigabyte (GB) of monthly prepaid usage in 2021 cost US$8.3, according to a continental benchmark.
One of the contributing factors to the high costs is the monopoly in the market, which pushes the prices up.
It should, however, be noted that with the high costs, advancement in the digital world, including media and information literacy, is affected, as accessibility and affordability continue to be a challenge.
In order for anyone to make an informed decision and contribute meaningfully to any dialogue, there is a need to access and analyse information.
Additionally, one needs to reflect on the information you are exposed to, which requires a different level of thinking before you act or contribute meaningfully. For all of this to be possible, internet affordability and media literacy have to be considered as a priority to any nation’s development.
All of these issues are tied to the importance of digital inclusion.
Young people have a role to play in enabling a country to be inclusive and contribute to sustainable development.
However, for young people to contribute meaningfully, there is a need to engage and deliberate on some of the stumbling blocks present. These include internet accessibility and affordability, the national interest and support on the importance of media literacy and, lastly, a platform to engage on digital inclusion and literacy.
Josaphat Tjiho is an internet and media literacy enthusiast with a passion for youth development in the digital space.
Twitter:@JoeTjiho
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