The Diffusion of the Internet and Rural Development

This was a very interesting article in a sense of what technology such as the internet can do for poor rural communities, in this case rural China communities. As the technology, was introduced to the communities it was introduced into a city wide center in which the farmers or rural members could go. Once their they could surf the internet, but in this case it was demonstrated closely of how the internet can be a bridge for most users. For example, one user was able to learn more about different types of cotton seeds and which types would be most suitable for the land in which he is planting on. The result, is he had a much higher yeild crop than the rest of surrounding communities, which gave him an economic advantage. In other cases, the use of internet helped the farmers find more trustworthy buyers and eliminated middlemen who sometimes neglected to pay the farmers, which in turn gave the farmers more money.

Besides farming, it was also mentioned that with help of the computer center helpers, could help these undereducated, poor people recognize what the upper level society was doing to them, in some cases taking advantage of them. In one case, a family was able to learn how to file a lawsuit against a former doctor who gave a faulty procedure which left the child crippled. With help they were able to sue the doctor and gain a settlement, which was then used for other procedures to help the child get better.

The article simply shows how technology can connect people to the virtual world and eliminate some of the disadvantages they have for not having that connectivity. However, these trials were defiantly not natural to the villages and without institutionalized help they would not have happened. With that in mind, awareness of this technological dived between villagers and rest of the world must be spread more amongst the greater population. The farmers have no money to single handedly purchase these systems, nor do they have the will sense none of the farmers have an idea of how these new technologies can actually help them. In time technology will become so cheap these poor, rural villagers may be able to afford it, but will the time it takes for the technology to get that cheap be too long? Just something to ponder