The global online populations reaches a new milestone. Now, three billion people, more than 40% of the world’s population, is online.
Internet usage has grown online 6.6 percent in 2014. In less developed countries, about 2/3 of the population has Internet access, an 3.3 percent growth in this calendar year. In fact, in the developing world, online use and access has doubled in the last five years. These numbers are compiled by the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union, committed to improving IT systems all over the world, especially where it’s most needed. Mobile network systems worldwide are booming too. By December 31, 2014, there will be 7 billion mobile technology accounts, from phones to tablets to laptops, even the smartwatch. That’s almost to the tune of one account per every citizen in the world.? Despite these encouraging stats, there is still work to be done. In the world’s bottom 42, the 42 nations with the least Internet access, communication technology remains very foreign, especially in rural areas.
For instance, there may be 7 billion mobile technology accounts, but only because in many western developed countries, many people have two or more multiple devices at once. In case you’re wondering, the top five nations with the best IT infrastructure are Australia, New Zealand, Singapore,?Bahrain and United States. But 450 million people still have no access to any mobile web service. Many tech leaders, like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg, are working ceaselessly to get online access to all. Now that’s a cause that I can believe in. Being in the comfortable US, I often take for granted there are hundreds of millions who have yet to send or receive an email. They have yet to see a You Tube video. They have yet to send a Facebook post or Tweet. They may not even want to. We shouldn’t be forcing anyone to use this technology. But it should be available for all people to use. How long do you think it will be before that will happen?