My eldest son is 9 years old, and is studying Communication Channels… So, I took the opportunity to do a quick interview to see how they perceive communications in the modern world:

• Today’s homework was to describe how I would invite a friend to spend time at our house when he lives far from us.
• And what did you say?
• Mobile Phone, a phone and a computer.
• A phone?
• Yes, that one that we have at home that ends the battery fast.
• And what is the difference between a phone and a mobile phone?
• One is big and does not fit mommy’s purse. The other one is small, and we can take everywhere.
• And what do you use them for?
• The one at home is to be used when we run out of battery in the mobile.
• And what is the most important one?
• For me? The mobile.
• Why?
• Because I can play, see email, read books, listen to music, like what you do in your iPad.
• And talk?
• That too.

Modern times. This generation was born connected, and they already know that the Internet works everywhere. It is already embedded in his brain; he is connected without knowing. His friends are organizing online parties in Club Penguin, he is using Google at least once a week to do some research and a couple of weeks ago he did his first presentation: Sharks. I taught him how to use Keynote in 10 minutes, and he created the presentation by himself: 6 slides with text, images and decent quality. Then, he took my usb drive to school, plugged in and presented the material. Last week we went through some free math lessons on Kahn Academy (I will talk more about this in a later post).

That is why digital inclusion is so critical. We cannot have part of our planet living in a connected world and part living without any access to all the benefits. This digital divide is getting worse every day; it is up to us to change this scenario.

Tagged as: internet