Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.91.951211115014.2320A-100000@badger.ac.BrockU.CA> Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 12:03:58 -0500 From: Martin Sieg <mailto:ms94dk@BADGER.AC.BROCKU.CA> Subject: Re: African and the Internet To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Television and the print media are biased, regardless of various efforts
made to achieve objectivity. Some people feel that the internet is even
more biased, because it allows individuals to state their own opinions,
without being open to the large volume of potential criticisms that more
public forums must face.
Through the internet, only a relatively few people read and react
to any one message that is transmitted, so it is possible that someone
will mistake individual views as valid fact. However, if used
intelligently, the internet can provide people all over the world with
such a large variety of opinions that they will be able to decide for
themselves what to accept, and consequently will have a much better
understanding of world issues than they could ever get from the few other
news sources available to them.
I feel that the internet will be very useful in developing
countries because it will help people escape from government censorship
and allow them to have the communication they need to learn - and what
they learn will be what they choose, not what others decide to give them.
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Martin Sieg
Secretary for the World University Services of Canada Student Committee
at Brock University, Ontario, Canada.
E-mail: mailto:ms94dk@badger.ac.BrockU.ca
phone: (905) 688-8950
addr: 4 Marwood Circle, St. Catharines, ON L2T 1Z5 CANADA
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)