Conflict and Warfare in the Digital Age

“One of the most prominent among the many and a varied claim about the social potential of the Internet is that it will enhance the democratic process,” writes Stephen Lax, author of Chapter 18: The Internet and Democracy in our Web Studies textbook. One way in which Lax says the government and the governed can be linked is through new information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Through these technologies, the Internet will revive the traditional political processes that have seen declining numbers in participation. ICTs can be used in two ways. The first is to allow pressure groups and Rcampaigners to organize and publicize more effectively to recruit new members and coordinate activities and campaigns, and the second sees the technology as creating a political forum where a debate is possibSDle and policies can be put forward.

What exactly are these “technologies?” Lax identifies one use as delivering information from governments and other organizations as a means of one-way and two-way communication. People will have access to forums, documents, audio, video, search engines and email, basically anything they need. Through the use of these technologies, democracy will be enhanced simply because it offers greater availability of information.

However, critics argue that forums, specifically, tend to be dominated by those who already dominate public discourse. The differences posed in the ‘real world’ are imitated online. Another issue is the digital divide. A large percentage of the world doesn’t have any access to the Internet or the education necessary to operate the Internet.

You can basically do anything and everything online, given the fact that you have access to the internet. In an article published November 5^th in Zambia discusses the use of ICTs in the school system. The article highlights an attempt to close the digital divide by how critical it is to discover the role that technology plays in schools today. In Zambia, Africa, education has produced a vast population that was able to apply ICT but they were unable to differentiate what was worth benefits of the technological advancement.

"The trouble with young people is not that they do not know but that they know so much that is not worthy." Says Dr. Phiri, Minister of Education. He believes that technology just like any other tool is a great opportunity but can also be of harm if not used in the proper way. he proposes the idea that we need to guidelines to go by to regulate the use of technology in schools today.

It is important for youths and our future leaders to be well prepared and equipped with the knowledge and skills to control ICT for development opportunities in education in future. This in turn will eventually help close the digital divide.