TOWARDS A TECHNOPHILIC CULTURE

TOWARDS A TECHNOPHILIC CULTURE

Have you ever stopped to think whether you are technophilic or technophobic?

The answer to that question might take you aback to realize how important it is to be interconnected. Interconnectivity nowadays can make the difference between learning and/or getting something done in seconds as supposed to having to wait years and even decades to be able to get the results you wanted.

The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location. Writing. Print. Television. These are the three great revolutionary developments in communication and cognition, each one ushering in a new level of human civilization. And now we are in the midst of another revolution in human communication, based on the development and spread of computers and the Internet.

Just as the development of the printing press 500 years ago dramatically expanded the information available to individuals and society, the development of the Internet is doing so today. With a single computer and a telephone line, a young child in a rural village can access more information today that was available by any means to the greatest scientists of the world a century ago.

The Internet is reshaping nearly all aspects of society. On-line advertising, marketing, and sales are growing at exponential rates and shaking up the world's financial markets. Many scholars in the developed countries are now wired for the Internet, inspiring grassroots efforts to reform education in order to take better advantage in the industrialized countries use the Internet to share ideas, conduct research, and collaborate in the production of knowledge. Music, media, politics, entertainment, name the field, and it is being transformed by the Internet. Nor are all these changes taking place in the wealthier countries. Many developing countries rightly view the Internet as a potential tool for leapfrogging to higher stages of information. Individuals, institutions, and governments in emerging economies are putting substantial resources into computers and the Internet, and the fastest growing computer markets in the world are in places like China and Egypt. It is only a matter of time before students in much of the world will have at least some access to the Internet and will need to use it for a wide range of personal and occupational reasons once they graduate.

Take a look at statistics below according to http://www.nationmaster.com
Country Description Definition: The number of users within a country that access the Internet.
Statistics vary from country to country and may include users who access the Internet at least several times a week to those who access it only once within a period of several months.Amount

1. China 94 million (2004) 2. Japan 57.2 million (2002) 3. Germany 39 million (2003) 4. Korea, South 29.22 million (2003) 5. France 21.9 million (2003) 6. Italy 18.5 million (2003) 7. India 18.481 million (2003) 8. Canada 16.11 million (2002) 9. Brazil 14.3 million (2002) 10. Mexico 10.033 million (2002) 11. Australia 9.472 million (2002) 12. Poland 8.97 million (2003) 13. Malaysia 8,692,100 (2003) 14. Netherlands 8.5 million (2003) 15. Indonesia 8 million (2002) 16. Russia 6 million (2002) 17. Iran 4.3 million (2003) 18. Romania 4 million (2003) 19. Austria 3.73 million (2003) 20. Portugal 3.6 million (2002) 21. Chile 3.575 million (2002) 22. Philippines 3.5 million (2002) 23. Belgium 3.4 million (2002) 24. Hong Kong 3,212,800 (2003) 25. Peru 2.85 million (2003 26. Denmark 2.756 million (2002) 27. Colombia 2,732,200 (2003) 28. Czech Republic 2.7 million (2003) 29. Egypt 2.7 million (2003) 30. Finland 2.65 million (2002) 31. Norway 2.288 million (2002) 32. New Zealand 2.11 million (2003) 33. Israel 2 million (2002) 34. Greece 1,718,400 (2003) 35. Hungary 1.6 million (2002) 36. Saudi Arabia 1.5 million (2003) 37. Pakistan 1.5 million (2002) 38. Belarus 1,391,900 (2003) 39. Ireland 1.26 million (2003) 40. Croatia 1.014 million (2003) 41. Latvia 936,000 (2003) 42. Morocco 800,000 (2003) 43. Costa Rica 800,000 (2002) 44. Nigeria 750,000 (2003) 45. Lithuania 695,700 (2003) 46. Bulgaria 630,000 (2002) 47. Jamaica 600,000 (2002) 48. Puerto Rico 600,000 (2002) 49. Ecuador 569,700 (2003) 50. Kuwait 567,000 (2003) 51. El Salvador 550,000 (2003) 52. Dominican Republic 500,000 (2003) 53. Algeria 500,000 (2002) 54. Jordan 457,000 (2003) 55. Estonia 444,000 (2002) 56. Guatemala 400,000 (2002) 57. Kenya 400,000 (2002) 58. Lebanon 400,000 (2002) 59. Azerbaijan 300,000 (2002) 60. Bolivia 270,000 (2002) 61. Kazakhstan 250,000 (2002) 62. Bangladesh 243,000 (2003) 63. Senegal 225,000 (2003) 64. Cyprus 210,000 (2002) 65. Bahrain 195,700 (2003) 66. Iceland 195,000 (2003) 67. Oman 180,000 (2002) 68. Ghana 170,000 (2002) 69. Honduras 168,600 (2002) 70. Luxembourg 165,000 (2002) 71. Libya 160,000 (2003) 72. Kyrgyzstan 152,000 (2002) 73. Georgia 150,500 (2003) 74. Moldova 150,000 (2002) 75. Mauritius 150,000 (2003) 76. Armenia 150,000 (2003) 77. Reunion 150,000 (2002) 78. Qatar 126,000 (2003) 79. Guyana 125,000 (2002) 80. Cuba 120,000 (2001) 81. Paraguay 120,000 (2003) 82. Panama 120,000 (2002) 83. Malta 120,000 (2002) 84. Macau 120,000 (2003) 85. Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of 100,000 (2002) 86. Barbados 100,000 (2003) 87. Bosnia and Herzegovina 100,000 (2002) 88. Cote d'Ivoire 90,000 (2002) 89. Nicaragua 90,000 (2002) 90. Bahamas, The 84,000 (2003) 91. Nepal 80,000 (2002) 92. Haiti 80,000 (2002) 93. Ethiopia 75,000 (2003) 94. Papua New Guinea 75,000 (2002) 95. Madagascar 70,500 (2003) 96. Benin 70,000 (2003) 97. Namibia 65,000 (2003) 98. Cameroon 60,000 (2002) (Cameroon also had more than 100 cyber-cafes in 2001) 99. Botswana 60,000 (2002) 100. New Caledonia 60,000 (2003) 101. Gaza Strip 60,000 (includes West Bank) (2001) 102. Fiji 55,000 (2003) 103. Mozambique 50,000 (2002) 104. Mongolia 50,000 (2002) 105. Congo, Democratic Republic of the 50,000 (2002) 106. Guam 50,000 (2002) 107. Burkina Faso 48,000 (2003) 108. Angola 41,000 (2002) 109. Martinique 40,000 (2002) 110. Guinea 40,000 (2003) 111. Malawi 36,000 (2003) 112. Brunei 35,000 (2002) 113. French Polynesia 35,000 (2002) 114. Gabon 35,000 (2003) 115. Bermuda 34,500 (2003) 116. Albania 30,000 (2003) 117. Cambodia 30,000 (2002) 118. Belize 30,000 (2002) 119. Burma 28,000 (2003) 120. Iraq 25,000 (2002) 121. Faroe Islands 25,000 (2002) 122. Mali 25,000 (2002) 123. Gambia, The 25,000 (2002) 124. Rwanda 25,000 (2002) 125. Andorra 24,500 (2001) 126. Aruba 24,000 (2002) 127. Lesotho 21,000 (2002) 128. Cape Verde 20,400 (2003) 129. Guadeloupe 20,000 (2002) 130. Liechtenstein 20,000 (2002) 131. Greenland 20,000 (2002) 132. Guinea-Bissau 19,000 (2003) 133. Monaco 16,000 (2002) 134. Congo, Republic of the 15,000 (2003) 135. Sao Tome and Principe 15,000 (2003) 136. Chad 15,000 (2002) 137. Grenada 15,000 (2002) 138. Niger 15,000 (2002) 139. Bhutan 15,000 (2003) 140. Laos 15,000 (2002) 141. Maldives 15,000 (2002) 142. San Marino 14,300 (2002) 143. Burundi 14,000 (2003) 144. Saint Lucia 13,000 (2002) 145. Dominica 12,500 (2002) 146. Antigua and Barbuda 10,000 (2002) 147. Saint Kitts and Nevis 10,000 (2002) 148. Mauritania 10,000 (2002) 149. Eritrea 9,500 (2003) 150. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7,000 (2002) 151. Djibouti 6,500 (2003) 152. Gibraltar 6,200 (2002) 153. Micronesia, Federated States of 6,000 (2002) 154. Comoros 5,000 (2003) 155. Central African Republic 5,000 (2002) 156. Samoa 4,000 (2002) 157. Cook Islands 3,600 (2002) 158. French Guiana 3,200 (2002) 159. Anguilla 3,000 (2002) 160. Kiribati 2,000 (2002) 161. Netherlands Antilles 2,000 (2000) 162. Equatorial Guinea 1,800 (2002) 163. Marshall Islands 1,400 (2003) 164. Liberia 1,000 (2002) 165. Afghanistan 1,000 (2002) 166. Saint Helena 500 (2002) 167. Nauru 300 (2002) Total 448.17 million