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Only One Quarter of the Planet To Be Online By 2012

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the that's-not-really-that-much dept.

Stony Stevenson writes "Researchers are predicting that one quarter of the world's population will be connected to the internet within the next four years. According to the report by Jupiter Research, the total number of people online will climb to 1.8 billion by 2012, encompassing roughly 25 percent of the planet. The company sees the highest growth rates in areas such as China, Russia, India and Brazil. Overall, the number of users online is predicted to grow by 44 percent in the time period between 2007 and 2012." Is it just me or does that seem incredibly small?

15 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. It may be small... by scubamage · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It does seem small, but you have to consider that most of the world doesn't live up to 'industrialized' and 'information age' standards of living. Its actually a pretty incredible number.

    1. Re:It may be small... by defnoz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In other news, 1/3 of the world's population don't have access to clean water and/or enough food. If only they could write about it in their blag.

    2. Re:It may be small... by aurispector · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seriously! Doesn't anyone read the news? Most of the world's population lives in abject poverty compared to western standards. All you need to is see that pic of the world at night from space - lights visible in the US, Europe, Japan and a few scattered major cities - everything else is dark.

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    3. Re:It may be small... by cunamara · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But then again, roughly one half of the Earth's population lives on $3 per day or less. I would imagine that their priorities aren't broadband and a laptop. Not dying today from malnutrition might rqank a little higher on their priorities.

    4. Re:It may be small... by IWannaBeAnAC · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They try to, but most countries discourage (at the point of a gun) such mass immigration. What do you think would happen if 2 billion poor people tried to enter the USA? Firstly, how would they get there? Secondly, would the USA let them in?

    5. Re:It may be small... by benwiggy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think you fail to understand how difficult it is to move out of the sort of extreme and dire poverty that persists in the world.
      Try moving to a more abundant farming area, whose inhabitants look upon you as an outsider who is muscling in on their scarce resources.
      Try moving from a rural existence, where your food comes from your labours, to the city, where you must buy your food with money. (Where unskilled labour is dirt cheap.
      Try getting a passport without spending a large amount of money.
      Try getting a visa to Europe or US if you come from Africa.

      Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes.

    6. Re:It may be small... by westlake · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Civilians in areas requiring aid could...report the movement of warlords...that might interrupt food shipments.

      How do you keep the lines of communications open against the opposition of either the local warlord or whoever represents legitimate - centralized - authority? It can shorten your life to be in possession of a radio. The mesh network has the potential to expose everyone who is part of the mesh.

    7. Re:It may be small... by T-Bone-T · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You are right about the military being able to set up advanced communications in a war zone but I doubt those systems are meant to stay for very long. It is a noble goal, but there are goals that should be reached first. The Internet is a luxury, not a basic necessity. Once the basic necessities are taken care of in a place, only then can we consider helping them acquire luxuries.

    8. Re:It may be small... by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 3, Insightful

      >> What if we did get people without food and clean water online?

      C134n H20 4 ch34p!!! G3+ h3r w3t and h341thy!!! Fa5+ 5h1ppi4g, 10w pr1c3z!!!

  2. 1.8 Billion with a B by sweatyboatman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seriously, it's just you.

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    It breaks my pluginses, my precious!
  3. Is it just me... by debest · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... or do you not realize how poor most of the planet is?

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  4. It is small, but... by tidewaterblues · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Without seeing the survey I can't confirm this, but I would suspect that they are only counting Internet connections to the home or office. The number is much larger when you consider the number of people in developing and 3rd world nations who access the Internet in public venues, like cafes and libraries. But getting a good count here would be very complex.

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  5. Not small at all by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's easy for us 1st world Westerners to forget what life is like most people in China, India, Africa, etc. Sure, things are getting better in those places, but that's only for the middle and upper class.

    --
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  6. IPv4 by smitty97 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So then 4,294,967,296 addresses should be enough for everybody

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  7. It's just you... by bushboy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... in reality, it's incredibly large!

    Having lived in what is effectively a third world country, South African, for about 15 years, one thing is painfully obvious when compared with life in a first world country. The vast majority of people have little to no access to electricity, let alone the internet!

    It's very hard to understand this unless you witness it first hand - it's all to easy to think "but surely everyone needs to be on the internet?"

    The reality is for most of humanity, the struggle to put food on the plate and shelter themselves is the main driving force in their daily lives.

    I'm therefore suprised at how many people are online, not how few - completely the opposite reaction to the parent.

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