Communication & Technological Advances:

October 23-2005:
Communication & Technological Advancement:
Do you remember the days when all the news we had access to were from the radio, and how we and our families jostled each other for radio time, to listen to our favorite stories.
The latest pop songs and teenage programs were especially interesting to the young, and they were the medium through which we expressed our teenage crushes, and fantasies, just by listening to our favorite music, anchors, and DJ's.
Those of us who were adventurous sought Pen Pals from abroad. This was a great thing for many of us, because the novelty of having a friend overseas, in another country, someone who we may never meet personally in life, but is able to communicate via Postal Mail, was indeed very stimulating.
Telegrams & telegraph mail was for grownups. It was the thing that adults did to communicate urgent messages about a death in the family, an imminent wedding of a relative, or something that required the consent of a relative urgently. These messages usually cost a few dollars per word. So brevity was necessary, to avoid exorbitant costs.
Then came the television medium. Most of us were marvelled at this phenomenon, and only a few of us in poorer countries, could afford the luxury of owning one of these new and amazing apparatuses. So if our friend/s had one, we snuggled in with them on some special nights, for a family television treat.
This was all done in friendship, and on occasion, to show off on those who could not afford it too!
With the advent of The Internet/Web, communication became instantly international in access. Anyone who was able to own or access a computer with Internet Service, had access to this medium,
and the world was no longer the same anymore.
Today, I bask in the glow or sunshine of this new technology. I scrambled to get a computer as soon as I could afford it. And when I finally had my own computer, sought to get an Internet Provider that I can afford. And the rest is history in the making!
But there are still millions of people who cannot access the Internet. Governments like China's, North Korea, some Arab countries, and Asian countries, statutorily regulate how this medium is used, and what areas of the Web is allowed access by it's populations. Stringent regulations/laws are also enforced, in order to ensure compliance with these Regs/Laws.
So those countries that allow freedom or total access to the World Wide Web, must be
congratulated, and the populations therein, should be always vigilant, to ensure that this privilege/right, is never taken away from them.
Om Shanti.
Derryck S. Griffith.
Educator & Advocate..