As I think about the possibility that there maybe a chance that every child whether rich or poor, in an urban or rural setting, and in a different country living with or without electricity will have the opportunity to have a portable, foldable, rechargeable, Wi-Fi enabled computer in the next few years from now.
My head is spinning with the amount of possibilities.
What was so expensive and hard to get is now going to be able to be affordable and accessible.
I thought about the preschool that our Taytayan Development Project team set up about six years ago. We had nothing, but a couple of bench like desks and chairs, a tin roof over our heads, a bathroom that was smaller than a portable one, and about twenty kindergarten students. It would have been so cool to give these students one of these laptops and say to them, “You know some church and its people wanted you to have this so you can learn from it, use, and receive an education.” There would not have to be any sharing of three computers in our small sauna like room filled with sand, dust, and who knows what else. The best part is that those students could accidentally drop the laptop in sand or water and it would still work. All this will be possible soon.
However, as I look at the wonderful ideas of the immediate use of this laptop , I also thought about the possible long term effects that this affordable product might have on societies all around. If children had their own laptop, would they still go out and play together? I do not mean go out and play computer games. Will these children be still running and playing as they normally do? Would these children end up challenging their own culture because of the accessible information on the internet? Would all this have an effect on culture?
I would have to say yes it would. I could not tell you if it would be a good or bad thing. It could be both. Bible translators would not have to worry about going into places where there is no electricity because they can just charge up the battery manually. I guess the main question to ask as Jesus-Followers is if we bring or use such a technology as this would it be culturally appropriate to the culture or society we want to see come to know who God is? I believe that is the better question to ask ourselves. Technology is great, but at what cost is great and who is it great for?
3 Comments:
Awesome work Ben! I never thought about Christians becoming the agents to provide the new technologies to people all over the world. That, in my opinion, would be quite the amazing ministry and help to them! Not only would it teach them to survive in todays globalized world, but it would also connect them to us and give us more chances to interact with them on a personal level.
In my own research I found that the effect of technology on developing countries has been for the most part fairly helpful. It has offered more jobs, a more solid economy, and a higher standard of living. There are definitely many other concerns to look into which you touched on a few. Overpopulation I think is a large worry. As is becoming technology dependent. If we give others technology, then they will at the least be dealing with the same issues that we are dealing with. If you want zip through a few of the quick articles on my post and see if any of them are helpful. I saw a bit of overlap if your in need of more articles. Nice work bro! Talk to ya soon.
Tim C.
Hey Ben. Nice thoughtful post, I've been mulling over it a bit, and I have a thought that I believe is relevant to your concerns about the loss of indiginous cultures as technology rolls in. Perhaps it is significant that the Enlightenment essentially passed these cultures by entirely. They don't have the solidly ingrained binary "either/or" cultural mindset like we do, but perhaps can approach things in more of a "both/and" way. Perhaps they can maintain their cultural identity and values while incorporating technology, and hopefully see that Jesus does not have to replace their cultural heritage, that he can give it greater meaning in fulfilling and completing it. Jesus has sheep in many flocks, and values and cares for them all.
For all of the grief it takes from many Westerners, "Postmodernism" as a cultural movement can perhaps instruct us in this: that our culture and our faith don't have to replace their own, but rather can be grafted on to it. Maybe it can go both ways, too; what can we learn from them? It certainly seems pretty clear that we don't have everything right on this side of the pond. There are no scriptural demands for Westernized culture in the sharing of the Gospel.
What do you think?
Ben -
I'm intrigued by what you have shared. My daugher, who is now a junior in college, grew up in Silicon valley with computers in the home. My husband and I still chuckle about how she, at age 5, asked for a color "thermometer" (monitor). So I know first-hand how powerful they can be in educating youngsters.
One advantage of using Linux is that you don't have the intellectual property issue that you would have with Windows or the Mac operating systems.
To repeat what I said earlier last week, I think we ought to run with this idea on the wiki, and explore not only the cultural issues but also consider (1) educational content, (2) Christian content and (3) potential unintended consequences.
I'm excited about exploring this further with you and the rest of the team.
W.
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