Ask yourself, “What do you consider Internet access? Is it a privilege for people or a human right? Over the years, society has been debating about whether the Internet is one or the other. Different perspectives have already gone over this topic but at the same time, new ones are joining in on the conversation. I will be explaining why Internet access should be considered a privilege, rather than a human right.
One reason why the Internet is a privilege is that the government is not the one providing it to us. There are many organizations that are Internet service providers, giving people access to the web. Certain people will have access because they are choosing to use it and the government isn’t handing it out to them. Internet access does not come free and costs money which would consider it a privilege because certain people are able to go online. Today, almost everywhere you go, the Internet is accessible: restaurants, stores, schools, libraries, and etc. Basically, all the public services that are available to the community and not everybody has this. From a Business Wire article, it states “Over two-thirds of Americans (68%) say Internet access is a privilege, while only 32% responded saying that it is a human right”. It also stated that another survey got results of 42% versus 41%. One side of people believed that the ISPs are held responsible for the safety and security of the Internet, while the other side of people are believing that the government is held responsible for the safety and security. Would you want your privacy and the separate world in the hands of the government or in the hands of ISPs? Many people are beginning to be concerned about that being a problem for them.
Another reason why the Internet is a privilege is that it is not required in your day-to-day life. Back then, going online was not an option for everyone in the world until January 1, 1983. They could not rely on this new technology and did not have a problem with that. There are various forms of old communication, such as newspapers, handwritten letters, telegraphs, and etc. Today, you will most likely see people on their phones or typing on computers. According to one of the many surveys on Debate.org, one of the respondents says: “The Internet is a privilege or a luxury that most of the human race is lucky to be able to enjoy in life. You don’t need the Internet to survive. I take online classes for college but I do understand that there are schools and libraries for research. Just be happy we have it”. Yes, libraries have and are still available to check out books and investigate through them. Yes, there are schools, universities, and colleges where you can interact face to face and not communicate or learn through a screen. People will have various choices to pick from and it is not mandatory for everyone to use the Internet as the only option of learning about the world around us.
The opposing side will consider the Internet a human right for everyone in the world, but why? Well, we need the Internet for easy access to information we never had, and humans would not be connected to each other without it. Yet before any of this technology, the old-fashioned way of doing all of these things were looking through books and papers. Not typing words into a search bar to get results. According to an MIT Technology Review article, Americans since the year 2000, have spent from nearly 9 hours online each week to about 24 hours. That time span shows that all people can do is look at screens and not take a break. This is why the internet is a privilege because humans choose to only focus their eyes towards a screen and not do anything else that does not require the Internet 24/7.
In conclusion, Internet access is a privilege because the government is not handing out the Internet to people personally and because you don’t need it in your day-to-day life. Books and papers were the old ways of technically ‘using the Internet’, so we should reconsider that option for ourselves.