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Friday 20 September 2013

Is Internet Reliance Leaving Some People Excluded?

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the internet. I use it all day, every day. Want to know something - google it. Want to buy something, check the net. Whereas some people will trawl the High Street to look, then buy on line, I'm more likely to look on line and pick up from the shop.
    But what about people who don't have internet access? There are some, you know. Not everyone has a Smart phone. They are useless where I live, no signal. Not everyone has a computer. Not everyone can get to a library.
    So should organisations, especially government departments, only be accessible through the internet?
    An elderly gentleman who lives near me wanted to report a water leak. Not in his own house, fortunately, but he was trying to do what he considered a public duty. But when he tried to telephone he was given a web address to contact. This gentleman is in his eighties, can't hear very well and has no interest in using a computer or the internet.
    If you are a business you now have to do all your tax affairs on line.
    Apply for a school place - on line.
    There is not much you can do these days without using a computer or the internet. Are we increasingly excluding a part of society, the poor, the elderly, anyone who hasn't got a computer?
Should we be surprised that the kids of today put technology high on their wish list when schools are asking for homework to be submitted on line?

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