7,252,033,744. That’s how many people are currently in the world this second.

Seven billion, two hundred and fifty two million, thirty three thousand and seven hundred and forty four people have the potential to be reading this.

This raises a few significant problems for me.

Firstly, the idea of being online where anyone can see you, contact you and watch your every move. The world is filled with many beautiful people, all ready to encourage you and pick you up when you fall and if this was everyone on the internet then the world would potentially be a much better place. However, this is totally unrealistic. There are a lot of humans out there who get some sort of joy out of being discriminatory, whether it be racist, sexist, classist or ageist. These people also feel the need to write these views online and it can be extremely damaging. The internet can be a place of discovery, knowledge and endless information but it is also a place of a new form of social contact. This is not a physical contact but people sitting behind screens unable to see the full impact of their actions. The internet is a dangerous place, it can bring out the worst in people and destroy others. I’m not saying this doesn’t happen in the ‘real world’ or the world of physical contact, but at least in that world you have to face the person who you are talking to. And I believe, if those people online had to face everyone that they made mean comments to they probably wouldn’t have said what they did. People can hide behind their screen or use it as a weapon. If only we could all gather our weapons together and make a difference, which leads me onto my next problem.

I said that all of the seven billion people alive have the potential to be reading this but that is absolutely and categorically untrue. The internet is something that we now take for granted. We say that its helping globalisation that its bringing the world closer. The truth is, it brings the first world closer, those who are lucky enough to live in a place where the infrastructure is there for the internet. The people online are those who sit in their desk chairs in big high-rise office blocks or plush couches in the warmth of their homes under blankets in winter or even school children wearing uniforms and perfectly polished black shoes and of course the uni students in clean classrooms and big lecture halls. In reality, there are only 2,925,249,355 people who can read this. Where did the 4,326,784,389 people go? Out of 7 billion people, 4 billion don’t have internet access. So the big ‘World Wide Web’ isn’t even connecting half of the world. We say it has broadened our vision on life but we still have no concept of the other half of the world and how they are living. I say every time we type www into the URL think about those who don’t have a URL to be typing.

Technological determinism. It’s something we all suffer from. We are those people who sit behind their screens – lets not turn into those full of hatred and make mean comments but let’s take these weapons and make a difference. The internet has the capability to be great and I believe we should embrace it rather than exploit it.