It seems a bit strange to me that, in this age of computers and their ubiquitous presence, especially in relation to the Web, my coworkers generally don’t surf the Web or use computers outside of work. They are, or so I have found, only dimly aware of what goes on online; their opinions about the Web — about a lot of things, really — seem to come mainly from the television news. None of them, so far as I know, have a blog or a MySpace page. It almost flies in the face of reason that, out of about a dozen coworkers, none of them seem to use the Internet beyond what one would call a minimal amount.

According to the Internet World Stats page for North America, Internet usage has a population penetration of 68.6 percent in this part of the world (Pew puts it, based on a more recent poll, at 73 percent in America). What’s the likelihood of so many of my coworkers being Web ignorant? And what does it mean that they are?

Two of my coworkers have asked me (at least one of them sincerely) if I thought that we, humanity, are living in the “End Times” described in the Bible and, I inferred, in the so-called prophecies of Nostrodamus. I have overheard a few discussions about this — on the surface ridiculous — topic. These are two people I know to be generally ignorant about current world events beyond what they see occasionally on whatever news network happens to be playing on the television in the break room at work. I also know that they do not understand how one would go about keeping up with current events and news online. Another coworker recently asked me, apropos of the weather, if Ohio is located near Texas. This coworker has no computer at home and does not really want one.

I bring this up because it seems to me that the less educated one is (and the less one cares about education), the less interest in or use of the Internet will be demonstrated. It would seem that the Pew Internet and American Life Project (using data gathered in 2002) found this to be true; the vast majority of Internet users in America, 83.7 percent, have a “post-graduate” level of education. Pew also found that

Over time, internet users have become more likely to note big improvements in their ability to shop and the way they pursue their hobbies and interests. A majority of internet users also consistently report that the internet helps them to do their job and improves the way the get information about health care.

A number of my coworkers have children or will likely have children, and I wonder how their children will fare. If these current and future parents have no interest in the Internet or information technology, and if their kids are not taught how to effectively utilize computers and information technology, what will become of them? Are these coworkers, themselves condemned to the wrong side of the digital divide, — are they condemning their kids to the same end?

Although it is clear that more children are now being educated in computer-equipped classrooms, it is just as clear that underfunded schools in low-income districts need help if their kids are to access the computers they need in modern America. It doesn’t take a Bill Gates to notice that American schools desperately need computers and higher technology in their classrooms if students are ever going to compete in the world marketplace. It does take, perhaps, Bill Gates to bring it to the attention of governors:

When [Melinda and I] looked at the millions of students that our high schools are not preparing for higher education – and we looked at the damaging impact that has on their lives – we came to a painful conclusion: America’s high schools are obsolete. By obsolete, I don’t just mean that our high schools are broken, flawed, and under-funded – though a case could be made for every one of those points. By obsolete, I mean that our high schools – even when they’re working exactly as designed – cannot teach our kids what they need to know today.

My daily life is inextricably tied to my access to the Web. What’s on my mind, what predominates and prevails in my consciousness, leads me to the Web like thirst leads a horse to water; I need the Web to slake my thirst for expansion, — the expansion of my knowlege, my understanding, my comprehension. I would go so far as to posit that this thirst, and this desire to quench or assuage this thirst, is necessary for any human being who would thrive as fully as she or he is capable. That we have the Web is not accidental, not dislodged from cause and effect. It is a manifestation of that thirst and desire, and it is an example — the marketplace aside — of our minds continuing to evolve and struggle to survive.

Therefore, it falls on us, each of us, to promote the Web and to do our best to ensure that it is available to all, regardless of any societal divisions. We can do that by obtaining/maintaining access to a computer for our kids and encouraging them to learn how to use the Web effectively, by fighting for the rights of all to have such access, and by supporting organizations like the Community Technology Centers’ Network. If you are reading this, then you have that responsibility to a greater or lesser degree, because you are positioned to do something to help. Even if all you do is advocate computer and Web use to your peers, friends and family, you are doing something good for society as a whole. The goal is, ultimately, to push people toward a necessary paradigm shift that considers the Web to be an everyday utility like electricity or the phone. In other words, the Web must become transparent in society, something really thought about only when it’s not working right.

Then again, it may be that what I’m really arguing for is the promotion of education and the love of education generally. And that I am, certainly. But it’s guaranteed access to and effective use of the Web that levels the playing field presently. Though the Web is not perfect, and though it has its pitfalls and dangers, it is still the most important tool in one’s toolbox, a Swiss Army knife for education, news, general information, mind expansion, entertainment, and many other things. It is a Swiss Army knife with a passkey to the world’s ongoing life told in first, second and third person (limited and omniscient). Used intelligently and effectively, there are very few limitations to what a person can learn or discover on the Web. Such a tool should not be denied to anyone.