digital world essay questions

Essay on Digital World

Students are often asked to write an essay on Digital World in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Digital World

What is the digital world.

The digital world is like a giant playground online. It’s where we use computers, smartphones, and the internet to talk to friends, play games, and learn new things. It’s made up of websites, apps, and videos that we can see on screens.

Learning Online

Schools are now in our homes too, thanks to the internet. We can watch lessons, do quizzes, and even talk to our teachers through our computers. It’s like having a classroom at your fingertips!

Fun and Games

Playing games has never been easier. With a click, we can join adventures, solve puzzles, or compete in sports on our devices. It’s all fun, and we can play with people from all over the world.

Staying Safe

While the digital world is exciting, we must stay safe. This means setting strong passwords, not talking to strangers online, and always telling an adult if something seems wrong or makes us uncomfortable.

Also check:

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250 Words Essay on Digital World

The digital world is like a huge playground on the internet. It’s full of websites, apps, and all sorts of fun and useful things that we can see and do using computers, smartphones, and other gadgets. Just like in a real playground, you can meet friends, play games, learn new stuff, and share stories.

Learning and School

In this digital playground, you can go to a place called ‘online school’ where you can learn about anything from dinosaurs to how to solve math problems. It’s like having a library that never ends, with books and videos that can teach you about every single thing in the world.

Playing and Having Fun

Games are a big part of the digital world. There are games that let you build cities, play sports, or go on adventures. And the cool thing is, you can play with people from all over the world, not just your neighborhood.

But remember, just like any playground, you need to be safe in the digital world. This means not talking to strangers, not sharing personal information, and telling an adult if something doesn’t feel right.

So, the digital world is a place where you can learn, play, and do lots of exciting things. But always be careful and use it in a way that is safe and good for you. It’s like a big city that’s always awake, always buzzing with new things to discover, but you should know the rules to stay safe and enjoy it to the fullest.

500 Words Essay on Digital World

The digital world is like a giant, invisible playground that exists on computers, phones, and other electronic devices. It is made up of all the information that we can send, receive, and share using technology. This includes everything from the videos we watch, the messages we send to our friends, to the games we play.

Communication in the Digital World

One of the biggest parts of the digital world is how we talk to each other. Long ago, people had to send letters that took days or even weeks to arrive. Now, we can send a message to someone on the other side of the planet, and they’ll get it in seconds! Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram let us share what we’re doing and see what others are up to.

Learning and the Internet

Schools are also a part of the digital world. Many classrooms use computers and the internet to help students learn. You can find information about almost any topic online. There are also special programs and games that make learning fun and interesting.

Entertainment Everywhere

Entertainment in the digital world is endless. We can watch movies, listen to music, or play games whenever we want. Websites like YouTube have millions of videos on every topic you can think of. And with smartphones and tablets, we can enjoy all these things not just at home, but anywhere we go.

Shopping with a Click

Shopping has also changed because of the digital world. Instead of going to a store, we can buy things online. This can be anything from clothes and toys to groceries. We pick what we want, pay online, and then wait for it to arrive at our door.

Staying Safe Online

While the digital world is fun and useful, it’s important to stay safe. We should keep our personal information private and think carefully before we share something online. Remember, once something is on the internet, it can be hard to remove it completely.

Jobs and the Digital World

Many people work in the digital world. They create websites, make apps, and help keep all the information online safe and organized. These jobs are important because they keep the digital world running smoothly for everyone to enjoy.

The Future of the Digital World

The digital world is always growing and changing. New inventions and ideas appear all the time. We might not know exactly what the future holds, but it’s sure to be exciting. We’ll see new ways to learn, play, and talk to each other.

In conclusion, the digital world is a big part of our lives. It helps us communicate, learn, have fun, shop, and work. As long as we use it wisely and stay safe, the digital world will continue to be a place where we can discover and explore new things every day.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Teens in a Digital World

• Posted August 19, 2022
• By Jill Anderson
• Counseling and Mental Health
• Families and Community
• Human Development
• Technology and Media

EDITORIAL article

Editorial: growing up in a digital world - social and cognitive implications.

• 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
• 2 Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
• 3 Department of Education, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
• 4 Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States

Editorial on the Research Topic Growing Up in a Digital World - Social and Cognitive Implications

Digital media availability has surged over the past decade. Most of us regularly check our emails, video chat, follow social media, search for new information, and play games. We frequently swap the real world for the digital world. It is the new “normal!” Children growing up today use digital media for learning and entertainment and to make social connections. The increasing usage of digital media has caused grave concern among parents and teachers. Rapid growth in access has been accompanied by similarly rapid growth in research on the effect of digital media. A search conducted in early July 2021 that included four major databases—Scopus, PubMed, PsycInfo, and ERIC—returned 1,777 hits when combining the search terms “digital media” and “screen time” with the age specifiers “infancy” and “preschool” (see Figure 1 ). A vast majority of the identified output, 1,269 hits, is from publications dated January 2016 to December 2020. Phrased differently, the mean average number of publications per year was 0 during the 1990s, 13 during the first decade of the twenty first century, and 176 from 2011 to the end of 2020. However, these publications often failed to consider the family context and socio-cognitive implications of digital media. As a result, there are many unanswered questions such as: What role do factors like content, context, and culture play in determining the impact of digital media, for good or for ill, on children's learning and development? The current Research Topic aims to tackle some of these questions.

Figure 1 . Returned hits from a search combining the terms “digital media” and “screen time” with “preschool” or “infancy.” Search date July 3, 2021.

The book includes 18 papers organized into three sections, one that focuses on book reading and language, one that covers potential risks associated with early media use, and one group of studies brought together under an umbrella we call New Developments. Some papers cut across sections and could have been included in more than one section. We are pleased to report that a majority of the papers result from international collaborations representing work conducted in nine countries. Six papers are from North America (Canada and USA), 10 from Europe (Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and United Kingdom), and two from Asia (Israel and Singapore).

Book Reading and Language

Digital media lends itself to storytelling, leading to an expansion in the ways children encounter stories. Apart from oral and traditional print books, even the youngest children have unprecedented access to film, apps, and games. The result is that most young children come across stories in formats other than traditional paper books. Therefore, it is not surprising that quite a few contributions focused on how these newly formatted stories relate to traditional book reading.

The current set of studies targets several sub-questions inherent to the new ways of encountering stories. The Courage et al. study tests whether 2- and 3-year-olds can operate a tablet purposefully to achieve a goal and, for instance, learn new information from a picture book app compared to a matched paper book. Others focus on the impact the digital book has on adult guidance. Müller-Brauers et al. zoom in on the narrative potential of a commercial digital picture book app and found that despite the helpful narrative animations provided by the app, most parents failed to fully exploit the narrative potential. In the same vein, Hoel et al. explore how early childhood educators prepare young children to participate in a shared digital-book reading session before the session and how successful they are in using typical features of digital books.

Crawshaw et al. explore a new storytelling technique, the film-like format, and how that contributes to story comprehension; to this end, they compare what children retain from a story after sharing a wordless picture book with the parent or watching a video of the same wordless story. Gaudreau et al. wonder how vital the physical presence of the adult is for comprehending a picture book. They compare the effects of a prerecorded pseudo-contingent condition with a video chat or live condition and report that 4-year-old children can comprehend a book equally well when read over video chat than when presented live.

Potential Risks

Contributors examined how the content and context of media exposure were associated with decreases in the quality of play and language interactions, sleep, and focused attention. Two short-term longitudinal studies by Gueron-Sela and Gordon-Hacker and McHarg et al. examined multiple dimensions of media exposure that predicted later poorer attention and executive functioning outcomes. The use of longitudinal designs and the more detailed media exposure measures are important current directions.

Three studies used the CAFE media assessment questionnaire, which is part of the CAFE set of tools described by Barr et al. In Italy, Bellagamba et al. found that Italian children were exposed to media at similar levels to English speaking children from the US and the UK. Higher levels of media exposure were associated with poorer sleep habits. In Sweden, Sundqvist et al. examined how a 2-year-old's language use across the day is associated with daily media use. More direct exposure to media without active parent involvement was associated with poorer language outcomes. However, joint media engagement and book reading were associated positively with language. In Germany, Konrad et al. found that parental quality decreased when parents received a message on their phone during a free play session. Some parents also completed a paper version of the questionnaire and the change in interactional quality was the same suggesting that texting may be similar to other everyday interruptions. These findings suggest that complex patterns of media usage are associated with several domains.

New Developments in Digital Media Research

This broad heading does not imply absolute uniqueness, but it is our view that these papers represent new and evolving subfields. Sun and Yin discuss how variation in input affects bilingual children's language learning. For bilingual children in Singapore, multimedia resources are more important for Mandarin learning than for English. This finding is explained by an unbalanced bilingual environment that provides poorer input for Mandarin learning than for English.

How do children evaluate information from different types of digital media? Hassinger-Das et al. studied this in a group of 117 children aged 3- to 8-years. YouTube videos are more attractive than smartphone or TV videos. This occurred despite the finding that the children tended to believe the YouTube information to a lesser degree.

Three studies focus on new aspects of co-media use. First, in an innovative study, Dore et al. analyses non-linear dynamics of how joint media engagement (JME) affects language development in 6- to 8-year-old children. Surprisingly, it is not until the number of hours children spend with digital stories (films, games, apps) exceeds 5 h per day that new media have a demonstrably negative impact on language development. Their findings pave the way for a more nuanced perspective on the effect of digital media in young children.

Low JME seems to be especially detrimental for children with high media use. In an experimental study of 2-year-olds, Heimann et al. report that JME did support learning from 2D media although not to the level of a 3D presentation. Finally, Ochoa and Reich show the influence of income and education in an interview study of Latin families. Parents graduated from high school stress the importance of co-using media but not parents with lesser education.

A different and new aspect of how children are affected by digital information is presented by Tolksdorf et al. who compared 4–5-year-old children's social interaction with a social robot and a human person. The children used social referencing in both interactions but significantly more so when interacting with the robot.

Future Directions and Theoretical Implications

In sum, the papers demonstrate both the potential risks and benefits of early media exposure. If the content and context are right, digital media might provide a rich window to learning in new and exciting ways; to explore the world and social connections. Studies on the role of JME suggest promising avenues in which to work with families to use media effectively. The content also matters. Books, for instance, take new exciting formats due to technology and new storytelling techniques may open up opportunities to enjoy and comprehend stories.

Due to rapid technological advances, however, there remain several gaps in the literature. For example, modern media are mobile, interactive, and often short in duration, making them difficult to remember when parents, teachers, relatives, or older children respond to questions about media use. Although standardized measures of media usage are still being developed, it was encouraging that many of the included studies used more comprehensive multi-dimensional exposure measure. But researchers should also move beyond the exclusive use of parent reports and integrate direct observation of behavioral, physiological, or neural responses and use longitudinal approaches to capture the trajectory of exposure patterns.

Although we were able to solicit manuscripts from multiple countries, the samples recruited for the Research Topic were still WEIRD. Thus, we need to know more about cultural variation and for whom does media work. Notably, only Ochoa and Reich and Sun and Yin directly examined cultural implications. Future research should consider how patterns of media use are similar and differ between countries as a function of different parenting practices and include detailed multiple-dimensional media measurement.

Digital media provides exciting new opportunities for learning that have not been fully explored. In the current Research Topic, researchers examined different approaches to storytelling and social interactions. However, most research is based on standard materials and does not experiment with new technology-enabled possibilities. For instance, most contributions to this collection of papers targeting book reading do not control the enhancements in the target books but use what the commercial market offers. The fact that commercial design is more or less accidental may partly explain why findings are often inconsistent and hard to interpret. Digital book reading research will improve if researchers use materials grounded on conceptual frameworks. For example, Kucirkova and Littleton attempt to advance the digital-book format by theorizing about the distance between the familiar and the novel words of the story and propose to narrow the gap between reality and the interpretations of reality by adding other senses (e.g., taste and smell).

Instead of materials available on the commercial market, it might be essential to create materials that align a conceptual framework. None of the studies produced new technology to explore the hidden potential of technology. Research grounded in multimedia learning that tests how the format optimally benefits young children's story comprehension and incidental word learning is sorely needed. To achieve that goal, we need new collaborations between app developers, computer specialists, literacy educators, and specialists in digital learning, which seem indispensable to forward our insights on effective use of technology during early childhood.

Finally, we hope that the collection of papers will serve as a window to our current state of knowledge, inspire new researchers to enter the field, and motivate new collaborations among those already active.

Author Contributions

MH, AB, and RB contributed equally to the writing of the Editorial and all authors approved the submitted version.

This research was in part supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (2016-00048) to MH.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Keywords: early childhood, digital media, learning, language, book reading, joint media engagement, technoference, robotics

Citation: Heimann M, Bus A and Barr R (2021) Editorial: Growing Up in a Digital World - Social and Cognitive Implications. Front. Psychol. 12:745788. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.745788

Received: 22 July 2021; Accepted: 06 September 2021; Published: 30 September 2021.

Edited and reviewed by: Christiane Lange-Küttner , University of Bremen, Germany

Copyright © 2021 Heimann, Bus and Barr. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Mikael Heimann, mikael.heimann@liu.se

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

The Digital Divide Essay: the Challenge of Technology and Equity – Essay Example

Introduction, what is the digital divide, causes of the digital divide, reducing the divide, digital divide: essay conclusion, works cited.

The invention of the computer and the subsequent birth of the internet have been seen as the most significant advances of the 20th century.

Over the course of the past few decades, there has been a remarkable rise in the use of computers and the internet. Sahay asserts that the ability of computing technologies to traverse geographical and social barriers has resulted in the creation of a closer knit global community (36). In addition to this, the unprecedented high adoption rate of the internet has resulted in it being a necessity in the running of our day to day lives.

However, there have been concerns due to the fact that these life transforming technologies are disparately available to people in the society. People in the high-income bracket have been seen to have a higher access to computer and the internet. This paper argues that the digital divide does exist and sets out to provide a better understanding of the causes of the same. Solutions to this problem are also addressed by this paper.

The term divide is mostly used to refer to the economic gap that exists between the poor and richer members of the society. In relation to technology, the OECD defines digital divide as ” the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard both to their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities.” (5). As such, the digital divide refers to the disparities in access of communication technology experienced by people.

While the respective costs of computers and internet access have reduced drastically over the years, these costs still remain significantly expensive for some people in the population. As a result of this, household income is still a large determinant of whether internet access is available at a home.

Income is especially a large factor in developing countries where most people still find the cost of owning a PC prohibitive. However, income as a factor leading to the digital divide is not only confined to developing nations. A report by the NTIA indicated that across the United States, internet access in homes continued to be closely correlated with the income levels (3).

Education also plays a key role in the digital divide. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration indicates that in America, certain groups such as Whites and Asian Americans who possess higher educational levels have higher levels of both computer ownership as well as access to the internet (3). This is because the more educated members of the society are having a higher rate of increased access to computers and internet access as opposed to the less educated.

A simple increase in the access to computer hardware resources through the production of low cost versions of information technology which is affordable to many does not necessarily result in a reduction in the digital divide. This is because in addition to the economic realities there are other prominent factors.

The lack of technological knowhow has been cited as further widening the digital divide. This means that even with access to technology, people might still be unable to make effective usage of the same. Sahay best expresses this problem by asserting that “just by providing people with computers and internet access, we cannot hope to devise a solution to bridge the digital divide.” (37).

Another cause of the digital divide is the social and cultural differences evident in most nations in the world. One’s race and culture have been known to have a deep effect on their adoption and use of a particular technology (Chen and Wellman 42).

This is an opinion which is shared by Sahay who notes that people with fears, assumptions or pre-conceived notions about technology may shy away from its usage (46). As such, people can have the economic means and access to computers and the internet but their culture may retard their use of the same.

The digital divide leads to a loss of the opportunity by many people to benefit from the tremendous economic and educational opportunities that the digital economy provides (NTIA 3). As such, the reduction of this divide by use of digital inclusion steps is necessary for everyone to share in the opportunities provided. As has been demonstrated above, one of the primary causes of the digital divide is the income inequality between people and nations.

Most developing countries have low income levels and their population cannot afford computers. To help alleviate this, programs have been put in place to reduce the cost of computers or even offer them for free to the developing countries. For example, a project by Quanta Computer Inc in 2007 set out to supply laptops to developing world children by having consumers in the U.S. buy 2 laptops and have one donated to Africa (Associated Press).

Studies indicate that males are more likely than females in the comparable population to have internet access at home mostly since women dismiss private computer and internet usage (Korupp and Szydlik 417). The bridging of this gender divide will therefore lead to a reduction in the digital divide that exists.

In recent years, there has been evidence that the gender divide is slowly closing up. This is mostly as a result of the younger generation who use the computer and internet indiscriminately therefore reducing the strong gender bias that once existed. This trend should be encouraged so as to further accelerate the bridging of the digital divide.

As has been illustrated in this paper, there exist non economic factors that may lead to people not making use of computers hence increasing the digital divide. These factors have mostly been dismissed as more attention is placed on the income related divide. However, dealing with this social and cultural related divides will also lead to a decrease in the divide. By alleviating the fears and false notions that people may have about technology, people will be more willing to use computers and the internet.

A divide, be it digital or economic acts as a major roadblock in the way for economic and social prosperity. This paper set out to investigate the digital divide phenomena. To this end, the paper has articulated the issue of digital divide, its causes and solutions to the problem.

While some people do suggest that the digital divide will get bridged on its own as time progresses, I believe that governments should take up affirmative action and fund projects that will result in a digitally inclusive society. Bridging of the digital divide will lead to people and nations increasingly being included in knowledge based societies and economies. This will have a positive impact to every community in the entire world.

Associated Press. Hundred-Dollar Laptop’ on Sale in Two-for-One Deal. 2007. Web.

Chen, Wenhong and Wellman, Barry. The Global Digital Divide- Within and Between Countries . IT & SOCIETY, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 7. 2004, PP. 39-45.

Korupp, Sylvia and Szydlik, Marc. Causes and Trends of the Digital Divide. European Sociological Review Vol. 21. no. 4, 2005.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Falling Through the Net: Towards Digital Inclusion . 2000. Web.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Understanding the Digital Divide . 2001. Web.

Sahay, Rishika. The causes and Trends of the Digital Divide . 2005. Web.

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Essay: My Digital World

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Ever imagined flying cars, artificial intelligence , holographic screens and robotic helpers? Inventors are bending backwards day and night trying to make these virtual dreams into a reality. The advanced technology that could help mankind, positively change the way we live our lives and change the way we view the world through augmented reality. The sci-fi movies might have probably predicted that it would exist in the near future and looking at what the world has achieved till this day, the time when these sci-fi imaginations come alive might be sooner. This futuristic era is identified as the New Digital Age. The video above is a tidbit from a book written by Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, and Jared Cohen, founder and director of Google ideas. It talks about how the New Digital Age could contribute to a better, worse or different physical world. As everyone is connected to each other through the Internet, a virtual world is created. Government would have to adapt and create policies for both virtual and real world to prevent cyber-war. When the virtual shapes up, it is not only the government that has to adapt, businesses need to adapt as well. The Internet provides easy access for everyone to dig personal information for positive purposes and even negative purposes. Stealing and creating identity has made possible through the Internet. Possibilities for cyber terrorism will rise because of the world’s most important information is stored online and can be hacked by skilled hackers. Schmidt and Cohen said that in the digital age the most important question will not be ‘who is their charismatic leader’? but rather, ‘ who is their chief technology officer’? The challenges that were described in the digital age are significant, but ultimately the outcome of a digital age is favourable. Billions of people will be connected online and it will accelerate the changes in our world than any period in the history of mankind, which is mainly contributed by the increasing use of handheld devices. Making us only a touch away from the virtual world. As the digital age develops, inequality abuse of power will still exist. But on the bright side of this digital age, everyone is connected; with broad connectivity and technological inclusion, equality of power can be dealt with through freedom of speech on the Internet (Schmidt and Cohen, 2013). It amazes me how the Internet gives everyone the power to speak up and express him or herself. Enough said that the Internet, social media to be specific, is a powerful tool to empower, enlighten, and provoke the public. Getting exposure on the Internet is effortless when there is demand and supply. Here is a link to an article about an anonymous guy that uses Facebook to create a page called ‘We Are All Khaled Said’, to stand against the Egyptian’s officials that is full of conspiracies. The Facebook page allows people to post their findings on the dirty government conspiracy in Egypt and the page had actually made a difference on the outcome of the government’s action. It vividly shows an example of how Facebook has empowered people with no voices in the real world through anonymity in the virtual world. As a conclusion, I would like to ask a digital expert; the developed technology nowadays gives power to the small people to speak up and influence and strengthen the public, however some people misuse those power and spread negativity instead such as cyber-bullying. So my question is, how can inventors of the technology prevent the spreading of negativity such as cyber-bullying’? Digital Disconnect I took up the 24-hour offline challenge whereby I would not connect to my social media and online entertainment for one whole day and here are my thoughts. At first I thought it wouldn’t matter much because on the day I was going to do the challenge I would be going out with my friends but I have never been so wrong in my entire life. It created problems that I wouldn’t and couldn’t have imagined when I was still connected online. First thing in the morning, out of habit, I grabbed my phone to check if I had any messages and after then I realised that I was doing the no connection challenge. And so I put down my phone after I checked the time, it was 8.30 am. Because of web 2.0 that has enabled humans to do social networking, generate and share content, my usual morning routine goes on to checking on my social media timeline to find out what my friends are up to. But since I was devoted not to I went on straight to breakfast. It felt rather empty without knowing what your friends were up to last night and this morning. I know I am a tad bit exaggerating, but I really felt that I was living under a rock with no Internet connection. When usually news just comes to my handheld device in blink of an eye, this time I had to walk in front of the TV and browse through the channel to discover the latest news topic and sitcoms to fill in the emptiness. As social media allows people to connect, share and find new people online, it’s also used as a medium for news to travel, so when one is not connected online information travels slower, thus falling behind the pace of the digitized world we live in today. After my breakfast, I went on to get ready for the lunch date. While getting ready, I turned on my iPod playlist and realised that the songs playing had gone out of date because normally I would open the Spotify application, which has recent and up-to-date songs that keeps me entertained throughout preparation. In this situation I realised that the Internet is a very easy medium of transacting, even when opening a simple app that allows me to listen to free music, it is considered as a transaction of service, whereby we allow ourselves to be exposed to the ads in exchange of free music, which is what the purpose of web 2.0 is. As I proceed, it is to my disbelief that I had forgot to inform my friends on going through with the challenge. So they were trying to reach me through the instant messaging app, Line. And when I finally texted them that they had to reach me through text message or phone call they were outraged, telling me that it was so hard to get through me without Internet connection, because getting in touch with the traditional methods are not as fast as the conventional way. The increasing use of the Internet has made the world to become so reliant on instant messaging and has adapted to the ways it connects people easily that if we were to go back to the olden days it would slow down the pace this digitized world is moving Proceeding to meeting up for lunch, I had to struggle on the way to the restaurant location. Without Google Map, I am as blind as a bat with directions. I had to ask the locals where Dempsey Hill is. When I finally reached my location, I was one hour late because I was misguided along the way. Everyone had already ordered their lunch and carried on with their meals. To that I was displeased and wished that this day could just be over in a second. At the end of a very long day, I crashed my bed and sighed loudly thinking how dependent I am with such a small and light device that is present in my life. I believe that I am speaking this on behalf of people who live their lives on the habit of holding their handheld devices for entertainment or business purposes that without online connection living in this digitized era, is just simply dreadful. Power ‘The world has changed. The consumer has changed. Marketing has not.’ ‘ The Digital Revolution The role of a consumer in marketing has changed during this information age, where technologies allow people to be connected in a split second. In the past, marketers would push their ads into the lives of the consumer through television commercial, brochures, physical banners and so on. Even though it is still being used in today’s world, it is less affective compared to the conventional media. Why? You wonder? According to an article in BBC News UK, people have less attention span than a goldfish and therefore it is not easy to expose an ad that consumers do not want to willingly view it. Because of the web 2.0 developments, they have gotten used to the fact that they can skip an ad or do other things to occupy themselves (such as opening another tab while waiting for the ad to finish) when an ad is running and choose what to view and not to view. Therefore consumers are now controlling the marketing system and have short attention span. Consumers connect, create, enjoy, learn and transact with others on web 2.0. Majority of the consumers use the Internet to influence one another. People trust peer recommendations more because they believe that they would not only tell their good experiences but also the unfavourable experiences as well. This article will give you the breakdown of changing consumer role in marketing (Mcintyre, 2013). As a consumer, of course I have given some reviews and recommendation to colleagues and peers. Giving them the tidbits of a product or service I had tried using. Whenever I try a product or service that satisfy my needs and wants I would definitely recommend them to my circle. The reason behind it is because, as a good friend I believe that it is a good deed to recommend something nice to bring them a smile to their faces, when they are also satisfied with my recommendation. So in a way, it also brings satisfaction to myself for making others happy. In contrast, whenever I had a bad experience over a product or service I would babble on until I am satisfied and feels there is nothing to get anything out of my system anymore. The intention is not because I want some kind of revenge for wasting my resources, but more to prevent my friends or colleagues for making the same mistake as I did. In order to connect with my entire circle at a time, I usually use the most effective tool, which is social media. I feel a sense of usefulness to my community whenever I recommend a good stuff and all of my peers thank me for giving such a good recommendation. Although the sense of influencing others is such a rush to me, I have never tried to influence the public. Therefore I have never used a famous reviewing site such as Change.org or TripAdvisor to write down my experiences for an establishment. However I have read a review from TripAdvisor to find a decent hotel during my visit to Sydney, Australia. And quite a shocking turn out for me, the reviews were very much useful to decide whether I should stay in that particular hotel or not. In the end I chose a hotel with a decent review that came with a great hotel location. After that experience I choose to believe the reviews on TripAdvisor. However I still would not want to contribute a review because I care about my close peers more than being a public influencer. As there goes a saying, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’

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Civil society in our extremely digital world

Cassie Robinson

Senior Head, UK Portfolio, the National Lottery Community Fund

To thrive in a digital world, civil society must play an active role in responding to the opportunities and challenges of technology. Doing so, means both making use of technology for social good and influencing its future direction, developing new local digital infrastructure, and supporting this work with responsible funding and philanthropy.

The pandemic has underlined how essential civil society is to all of our lives. Social norms have kept us safe; communities have looked after our loved ones and helped us feel connected; neighbours and volunteers have made sure we have food, support and activities to sustain us. Throughout the turmoil, uncertainty, grief and fear of these past months, civil society has held us together with rainbows in our windows and acts of mutual aid and care.

It’s also exposed how intertwined the internet has become with our social fabric. Lockdown moved all social connections online overnight, confined to digital spaces of Zoom or Facetime. New communities emerged on Facebook and WhatsApp to make sure we could stay in touch and organise. These past 6 months have been an acceleration of how we – as a society – are making a huge, uneven transition, from a world that runs on paper and mechanical technology, to a world that runs on computing technology and the internet. Civil society is not exempt.

‘Technology’ – the tools, craft, techniques of a way of making or doing things – is not in itself good or bad. It’s how it is applied that matters. Civil society has always had to adapt to the way technology has changed industry and society and respond to the new behaviours and expectations that such changes can bring. Yet there are few parallels to the sheer scale and pace of change we are experiencing now, and the dilemmas this creates for civil society in our extremely digital world.

How can civil society support more people in a world where technology both individualises and connects individuals, families, workers, learners and whole communities? What does it mean for civil society to rely on privately owned platforms that exist to generate advertising revenue? How should communities respond to the effects of technology on local economies – from automation’s impact on jobs, to online shopping’s impact on the high street?

“Digital social infrastructure — where many of us conduct our most important relationships — has emerged organically throughout the 21st century: Google, Facebook, Amazon and many other businesses now power most of the do-it-yourself, self-organising bits of the web that bring people together in the ways community centres and street corners used to. The spread of these amenities and community platforms, which are mostly (but not all) free at the point of use, has seen the locus of many (but not all) communities shift away from the physical world to the digital world.” Rachel Coldicutt, Careful Industries [1]

This essay explores the vibrant and varied ways civil society can respond to the opportunities of technology, and how a more powerful, active civil society could prevent the threats technology poses in terms of equality and social inclusion. I believe this needs to go beyond how civil society can use technology as a consumer, and confront how civil society can play a role in shaping the direction and application of technology in policy and development. Finally, I want to reflect on the role of funders in supporting this work, and helping civil society to thrive in a digital world.

Using technology for social good

Technology is ethically neutral but many civil society organisations – from large charities to informal community groups and networks – are grappling with ways to adapt and use technology in how they deliver their mission. In the past decade, we’ve seen a huge change in how organisations use websites and other digital channels, as well as applying technology to help them work more efficiently, for example tools to recruit volunteers. The pandemic has accelerated this trend, with many organisations now reliant on these platforms to do their work.

At the same time, there has been a groundswell of entrepreneurs and start-ups using technology to tackle social issues – everything from healthcare to ageing to climate change. Social ventures like DrDoctor [2] , GoodGym [3] , Provenance [4] and Organise [5] have all grown and established new markets that span across the private, public and household economies, showcasing a new path and potential for civil society in using technology for social good. I mention these whilst also recognising that many complex social and environmental issues can’t be “solved” by a venture or legitimised as a market.

But this work on individual applications or services does not necessarily, of itself, create an environment where technology can be seen as a social good.  Without systemic work to ensure freedom of access and agency online we risk new digital divides being just another form of exclusion or deprivation.

Beyond being a savvy user of technology, civil society has a crucial role in making sure that technology works for and is a force for good for everyone. Unlike our role as consumers in a market, or recipients of services from governments, civil society is about us taking part. For me, this is about more than better understanding or improving digital skills; we need civil society to have a stake in what technology is for, who owns it, and how it shapes our lives.

Civil society influencing technology

Shaping the future upstream.

There is a powerful, under-explored and under-utilised role for civil society: that of using its collective intelligence and wisdom to shape the future. Orienting us in both the public’s and the planet’s interest will never be achieved by market forces.

Civil society organisations often have unparalleled insights into people’s lives and experiences that could and should shape policy decisions and legislation. From a societal point of view, social sector organisations have a kind of sensing opportunity to understand where the biggest challenges are across our communities: where you see particular peaks of demand or where you see the implications of policies, it’s often felt first by charities having to provide, having to step in. This insight should be shaping how technology is used in their lives and communities, instead of the other way around. If we positioned civil society further upstream, instead of perpetually pushing it downstream only as the problem solver, then some of our larger societal challenges could be prevented or addressed sooner.

Communities participate in shaping the future

New technologies are creating new inequalities and exacerbating existing ones. This is especially the case in a pandemic world, which is creating a new class of the ‘tech left-behind’: kids without laptops who can’t do school work from home; elderly relatives in care homes without good Wi-Fi; people living homeless without access to data to reach support from services.

But in a world where you can write yourself into being with your social media account and an app created in a bedroom can challenge a national policy on immigration [6] it’s not enough for people just to be passive consumers of technology.  It’s important therefore that civil society is also well-placed to equip communities with greater understanding of technology, beyond improving digital skills and confidence. While new skills are helpful in terms of using new technologies, skills don’t shape the future. To shape the future, communities need to understand how technologies work: the rules and structures they rely on, and their implications. This is the first step towards having more power and agency over technology and its role in our lives. The Community Tech Fellowship in Greater Manchester is a good example of how to do this. [7]

As Doteveryone says:

“Digital understanding is not about being able to code, it’s about being able to cope; it’s about adapting to, questioning and shaping the way technologies are changing the world.” [8]

No one can – nor should they have to – comprehend the workings of each and every digital interaction they encounter in their lives. The complexity is mind boggling and ever increasing. But there are underpinning dynamics to technologies – the economic contract implicit in the exchange of data for services, or how algorithms are used to direct decision-making or consumer choices – which are important to grasp. These skills would mean that communities are better able to realise that prices can vary online, be alert to illegitimate companies, know how tech companies make money, and be aware of their consumer rights online.  More importantly, with this understanding communities are better able to advocate for themselves and ultimately reshape the technology sphere to greater levels of fairness and mutual interest.

New local digital infrastructure and civil society

Many of the platforms we rely on in our day to day lives (WhatsApp, Google or Facebook, for instance) are free to use and instantly accessible. But they generate income from the data they capture about us, and use this to drive advertising. They are also run by US-based private companies, who could change how they work or their pricing model at the drop of a hat. As charities and civil society organisations grow more reliant on these tools, we may see a future where much of our social and civil society infrastructure is run by these ‘tech giants’ and as such could be at odds with civil society’s unique role and purpose.

There are some examples – set out below – of civil society starting to build its own foundations for a new local digital infrastructure, where communities have more control over how these tools are used and importantly the value that is created.

Building community power

In both New York and Detroit they have Community Tech initiatives that demonstrate what happens when a community’s understanding of technology is used to go further than advocacy work, and instead has led to imagining better community futures. The Detroit Community Technology Project’s mission is to “use and create technology rooted in community needs that strengthens neighbors’ connection to each other, and to the planet” . [9] They have a neighbourhood-level digital infrastructure that was built by the community, is owned by the community and is maintained by the community. In the UK, the Equal Care Co-op is a cooperatively owned technology platform that is co-created by and accountable to members, putting power into the hands of people who give and receive care and support. [10]

Generating value

The Open Food Network is building an important piece of everyday digital infrastructure for a fairer food distribution system. [11] This vibrant, richly-connected network of independent Community Food initiatives work to meet the needs of local communities with healthy, sustainable food. The platform is open source, owned and controlled by the people who grow, rear, process and eat the food.

Creating meaningful dialogue

The vTaiwan initiative [12] – developed by the civil society movement g0v at the invitation of the Taiwanese government, following the 2014 Sunflower Movement protests – is a leading example of how digital platforms are being used to build consensus between industry, civil society and the public around complex policy issues. The platform has been a great success: it’s supported the ratification of new ride-sharing regulations and the resolution of a disagreement between civil society activists around internet alcohol sales. It is a leading global example of digital democracy, demystifying the process of policymaking and involving citizens directly in decisions.

These examples are stories of how civil society can create new forms of social infrastructure that provide a foundation for different ways of community engagement and organising – that in turn can achieve social change. In our fractious and polarised world, civil society has a crucial role in self-organising and creating links between different communities, whether through local places and activities, or through actions that form new connections and shared experiences, like voting.

The role of funders and philanthropy

A strong civil society is more important than ever – one that is led by communities, and is able to anticipate, adapt to and shape the future. For this to be possible, and for communities to thrive, funders have some clear responsibilities in relation to technology, digital and data.

Working to ensure that civil society has a role in shaping new technologies and technology infrastructure

The first responsibility is to ensure that we make visible the tensions and trade-offs of technological change. Data and technology have dramatically changed society over the last two decades, and have created great opportunities; but they have also deepened existing inequalities and brought with them new social challenges. The roll-out of cashless payments for instance, is fraught with such tensions. Without acknowledging them, resources cannot be put in place to take care of those who might be left behind, or to limit the velocity of change. Levelling up has significant meaning when it comes to technology in our communities.

Ensuring that we have in place the social infrastructure to match our technological ambitions

The second is to support how civil society responds to new technology. To address the systemic changes technology is bringing to society, there is an important role for philanthropy to ensure social infrastructure keeps up. As everyday life becomes more screen-based and automated, there is an urgent need for new and different thinking about the support structures we need as individuals, and the shared amenities that communities need to thrive and survive.

WhatsApp might be a convenient and accessible venue for many people but it doesn’t mean that everyone with WhatsApp on their phone is also a good host. What was learnt from the Glimmers research published earlier this year, is that new online communities came together during Covid because of good facilitation which was often supported by offline activity (such as leafleting and flyering) and existing community expertise. [13] It also revealed that mutual aid was quite asymmetric in some neighbourhoods: lots of people wanting to help, fewer people wanting to ask for help. If the underlying social structures and inequalities are writ larger then further roll out of mutual aid will not be a means for levelling up, but for deepening local inequalities.

Similarly, the low take-up of the NHS volunteering app showed this asymmetry. Catalysing a community response requires more than just technology, it relies on there already being social infrastructure in place. It showed that this is not just a matter of opening the floodgates but how necessary it is to create meaningful, long-term and durable structures for the development and maintenance of social infrastructure.

Making sure that social and civic infrastructure is maintained

Thirdly, it’s not enough just to build these things once.  Infrastructure in all its forms needs care, maintenance and futureproofing to ensure that it is not overtaken by the next wave of social change.  This doesn’t bring the currency of novelty but requires the deep and reflexive work of iteration and refinement.  For platforms and networks to thrive in a constantly changing world they need to be supported to change and develop themselves.

By choosing what kinds of work to support, funders send a message about what kinds of work are valuable. Alongside a renewed social infrastructure, the creation and maintenance of digital infrastructure is essential to the resilience and renewal of a digital society.  However, these activities suffer from being perceived as neither very innovative nor very visible – both qualities on which funders especially tend to focus attention. “The world at large needs more maintainers rather than resource takers” [14] to contribute to the local fabric of our life together.

A more equitable, digital future

Lastly, philanthropy has a role in raising aspirations of what is possible and setting out a better, more equitable future for more people. It needs to support the creation of a civil society that is not just instrumental but that is imaginative, with social infrastructure that is renewed for these technology-driven times. We need much bigger transformations than looking for the first-order efficiencies created by data sharing, better administrative systems and the reliance on for-profit platforms: this is an opportunity to regroup, to rethink structures, and to imagine the unimaginable. Technology cannot do that on its own – it needs the power of community.

[1] careful.industries

[2] drdoctor.co.uk

[3] goodgym.org

[4] provenance.org

[5] organise.org.uk

[6] E Cresci, “ Chatbot that overturned 160,000 parking fines now helping refugees claim asylum “, The Guardian, 6 March 2017

[7] communitytechfellowship.com

[8] medium.com/doteveryone/tagged/digital-understanding

[9] detroitcommunitytech.org

[10] equalcare.coop

[11] openfoodnetwork.org

[12] info.vtaiwan.tw

[13] glimmersreport.net

[14] themaintainers.org

"Social capital: the economy’s rocket fuel"

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acknowledgment on thesis

World Bank Tokyo Online Morning Seminar “Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023”

URL for livestreaming（YouTube）： To be posted on this webpage. 

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented acceleration of digital transformation across the globe – with spikes in data traffic, app usage, IT sector growth, digital business resilience, and much more. All countries saw a significant uptick in digital adoption, though the gains in low-income countries were not enough to keep the gap with high income countries from growing or to close the digital divide within their borders. In low-income countries, only one in four people are able to access the internet.

The World Bank Group’s new “Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023”  provides a sweeping analysis of countries’ production and use of digital technologies—from digital jobs, digital services exports, and app development, to internet use, affordability, quality, and more.

Gaps in internet speed, data traffic, and digital use are hampering digital gains for individuals and firms in low- and middle-income countries. The use of digital technologies during the pandemic led to a surge in data traffic, driven by video streaming. Average mobile broadband traffic per capita in richer countries surpassed that in low-income countries by over 20 times, and fixed broadband traffic by more than 1700 times. In 2023, median fixed and mobile broadband speeds were five to ten times faster in high-income countries than in low-income countries.

Still, prices remained much higher for the poor, with the median fixed broadband prices in low-income countries accounting for one-third of monthly income in 2022. Even the cheapest smartphone accounts for more than 14 percent of annual income for persons living on less than US$2 a day. Today, connectivity is most expensive in Africa, while uptake of digital financial services is lowest in the Middle East and North Africa region.

At this online seminar, Yan Liu, Senior Economist, Digital Development Global Practice, and the report’s team leader, will introduce the main findings.  This online seminar will be conducted in English, without interpretation into Japanese.

8am-9am, Tuesday May 7, 2024 (Japan Standard Time)

Yan Liu Senior Economist, Digital Development Global Practice, World Bank

Questions to the speaker:

Please send your questions to the speaker via online form posted on this webpage.

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• CONTACT:  Koichi Omori, World Bank Tokyo 
• [email protected]

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3 Career-Building Strategies for an Increasingly Complex World of Work

• John Winsor

How to leverage platforms, open talent, and AI.

Most workers used to have fixed roles within a hierarchical organization, but today the nature of work today is becoming fluid and dynamic. Project-based work and freelancing are increasingly common, and many roles are now defined by outcomes rather than hours spent at a desk. Success in this new work environment requires not only recognizing that this shift has taken place but also actively strategizing to leverage it to your advantage. It’s crucial, in particular, the authors argue, to adopt three key strategies: leveraging digital platforms and networks, utilizing open talent and freelancers as a secret weapon, and harnessing the power of AI to augment your capabilities.

In today’s dynamic work landscape, driven by rapid technological advancements and a global shift towards more fluid and flexible work arrangements, the importance of cultivating a learning mindset, building a diverse skill set, adopting a flexible work ethic, and prioritizing work-life harmony has never been more pronounced. These elements are foundational, the very minimum required to navigate the complexities of modern work. However, simply possessing these qualities is no longer sufficient to ensure success. The nature of work has evolved, and so too have the strategies we must employ to thrive in this new era. The emergence of the new world of work that includes project-based freelance work, remote work, digital-collaboration platforms, and AI, or what we call the open-talent economy, has fundamentally altered how work is performed, valued, and conceptualized.

• John Winsor is the founder and chairman of Open Assembly and an executive-in-residence at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH).

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Guest Essay

José Andrés: Let People Eat

By José Andrés

Mr. Andrés is the founder of World Central Kitchen.

In the worst conditions you can imagine — after hurricanes, earthquakes, bombs and gunfire — the best of humanity shows up. Not once or twice but always.

The seven people killed on a World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity. They are not faceless or nameless. They are not generic aid workers or collateral damage in war.

Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Zomi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby and Damian Sobol risked everything for the most fundamentally human activity: to share our food with others.

These are people I served alongside in Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, the Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, Gaza and Israel. They were far more than heroes.

Their work was based on the simple belief that food is a universal human right. It is not conditional on being good or bad, rich or poor, left or right. We do not ask what religion you belong to. We just ask how many meals you need.

From Day 1, we have fed Israelis as well as Palestinians. Across Israel, we have served more than 1.75 million hot meals. We have fed families displaced by Hezbollah rockets in the north. We have fed grieving families from the south. We delivered meals to the hospitals where hostages were reunited with their families. We have called consistently, repeatedly and passionately for the release of all the hostages.

All the while, we have communicated extensively with Israeli military and civilian officials. At the same time, we have worked closely with community leaders in Gaza, as well as Arab nations in the region. There is no way to bring a ship full of food to Gaza without doing so.

That’s how we served more than 43 million meals in Gaza, preparing hot food in 68 community kitchens where Palestinians are feeding Palestinians.

We know Israelis. Israelis, in their heart of hearts, know that food is not a weapon of war.

Israel is better than the way this war is being waged. It is better than blocking food and medicine to civilians. It is better than killing aid workers who had coordinated their movements with the Israel Defense Forces.

The Israeli government needs to open more land routes for food and medicine today. It needs to stop killing civilians and aid workers today. It needs to start the long journey to peace today.

In the worst conditions, after the worst terrorist attack in its history, it’s time for the best of Israel to show up. You cannot save the hostages by bombing every building in Gaza. You cannot win this war by starving an entire population.

We welcome the government’s promise of an investigation into how and why members of our World Central Kitchen family were killed. That investigation needs to start at the top, not just the bottom.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said of the Israeli killings of our team, “It happens in war.” It was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by the Israel Defense Forces.

It was also the direct result of a policy that squeezed humanitarian aid to desperate levels. Our team was en route from a delivery of almost 400 tons of aid by sea — our second shipment, funded by the United Arab Emirates, supported by Cyprus and with clearance from the Israel Defense Forces.

The team members put their lives at risk precisely because this food aid is so rare and desperately needed. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification global initiative, half the population of Gaza — 1.1. million people — faces the imminent risk of famine. The team would not have made the journey if there were enough food, traveling by truck across land, to feed the people of Gaza.

The peoples of the Mediterranean and Middle East, regardless of ethnicity and religion, share a culture that values food as a powerful statement of humanity and hospitality — of our shared hope for a better tomorrow.

There’s a reason, at this special time of year, Christians make Easter eggs, Muslims eat an egg at iftar dinners and an egg sits on the Seder plate. This symbol of life and hope reborn in spring extends across religions and cultures.

I have been a stranger at Seder dinners. I have heard the ancient Passover stories about being a stranger in the land of Egypt, the commandment to remember — with a feast before you — that the children of Israel were once slaves.

It is not a sign of weakness to feed strangers; it is a sign of strength. The people of Israel need to remember, at this darkest hour, what strength truly looks like.

José Andrés is a chef and the founder of World Central Kitchen.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Impact of Technology — Global Perspectives Individual Report

Global Perspectives Individual Report

• Categories: Impact of Technology Progress

About this sample

Words: 637 |

Published: Jan 15, 2019

Words: 637 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Works Cited

• Einstein, A. (1952). Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal. Journal of Technology Critique, 10(3), 45-57.
• Ellul, J. (1978). The irresistible and menacing force of technology. Sociological Perspectives, 25(2), 87-99.
• Johnson, R. S. (2016). The negative impacts of gaming technology. Journal of Digital Society, 32(4), 201-215.
• Keller, M. L., & Thompson, L. A. (2009). Examining the role of technology in changing human outlook. Technology and Society Review, 18(3), 156-168.
• McMillan, C. D., & Simmons, J. M. (2010). Critiques of technological advancements: A global perspective. Global Perspectives Quarterly, 45(2), 112-127.
• Roberts, H. A., & Watson, B. R. (2012). Assessing the reliability of technology in the digital world. Journal of Technological Studies, 30(4), 201-215.
• Thompson, M. J., & Davis, K. L. (2014). Media portrayal of the impact of technology on youth. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 40(3), 123-137.
• Williams, P. R., & Lewis, S. G. (2006). The role of technology companies in shaping society. Journal of Social Impact, 24(3), 112-127.
• Young, A. J., & Mitchell, E. R. (2019). The influence of technology on communication patterns. Journal of Communication Studies, 48(1), 35-49.
• Zeng, H., & Li, W. (2021). Exploring the limits of technological advancements. Journal of Global Technology, 52(2), 78-92.

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