The "Power" of the internet?
In it's literal sense I believe having access to the internet is having a physical capability to log onto and access all that the internet has to offer, irregardless of whether one is capable of taking full advantage of that access or not. If you are speaking in terms of whether someone has the ability to actually implement all the tools the internet gives you are speaking more in terms of competency. In other words its the user's fault not the hardwares.
I see no reasons why all adults shouldn't be online. I believe the internet to be a good thing for society for the most part. I can see reasons why maybe there would be a reasonable cause for some particulars to not be on the internet however. This would be in cases of hackers who have a history of causing great harm or possibly child molesters who have shown repeated offenses stemming from internet chat with kids.
Also, I do believe that while most people should have internet access I think that everyone should have some sort of general knowledge before jumping into the internet. Obviously nobody should be tested on it before getting that access but it should be basic knowledge offered to everyone. Both young and old alike should be made aware of the dangers they might possibly find on the internet. Whereas the young might have to learn how to control the quantity of the data they expose, the old need to work on controlling the quality of the data they expose. As the Fox article says the young are more apt to taking extra chances but being more cautious and the old being the other way around (Fox 2).
I do believe a major barrier to "access" to the internet is a lower income as well. While there are places that offer free internet access to others (such as libraries) it still is not as pleasing or easy to get at as one's own home. A personal computer can be a large expense to those who are held under a much stricter budget. This seems to be the case as in the pew article only 53% of those households under $30,000 use the internet, whereas this number jumps to 80% for those in the $30,000-50,000 range (Madden 4).
In regards to basic elementary education including basic internet use I think that would be a great thing. The internet has become integrated into our society as a basic skill that the child is highly likely going to need in the future so why not? A lot has changed in our society in terms of internet usage which has almost forced it to become a basic skill of the average citizen. In fact it has changed so much that in the past eleven years internet usage has grown from 15% to 75% (Madden 3).
The one laptop per child program sounds like a good program in its heart. After all why shouldn't a third world child have access to this great technology in order to grow. I believe that the heart is there but some things might have been overlooked. For instance, does a person who is on the brink of starvation really care if he can check out myspace or would he rather have food for the next year? I do believe that one of the main reason's a third world nation will grow is through education and the internet/laptops can be a big part of this, but some of these kids should at least have their basic needs covered first.