JEHAN ARA
The recently released UNDP Pakistan National Human Development Report 2020 on Inequality explores Pakistan’s digital divide, highlighting that although access to digital services is improving in Pakistan, only 45 percent of its people own mobile phones, and just 17 percent use the internet.
Growing up in an analogue world may seem impossible to many today, but that was the world I grew up in. It was from reading newspapers and books, watching television and going through volumes of Encyclopaedia Britannica that I got all my information.
But being born in a pre-internet age provided me the opportunity to witness and appreciate the dawn of the digital age. I remember when internet services were first introduced in Pakistan, I didn’t sleep for three whole days. A whole new world of knowledge suddenly opened up for me and for millions like me.
I have been part of the tech industry in Pakistan since the very beginning. In those early days we were excited at being able to use floppy disks to share information, to develop simple interactive applications and create catalogues and websites for customers. Today, we have start-ups using artificial intelligence (AI) to solve every problem you can possibly think of, from helping children with special needs learn new skills, to developing digital investment platforms, financial solutions, health and education solutions, and e-commerce portals. The transformation is amazing.
Unfortunately, even today, many are excluded from...
Read Full Story: https://nation.com.pk/23-Sep-2021/pakistan-s-digital-divide-repercussions-and-solutions
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