Internet usage in India as compared to the rest of the world is very low with only less than 10% of the total population connected to the net in India. In India, internet usage was dominated by the metros till 2010. However, in 2011 net users from smaller cities is growing slowly.
The above image represents growth of net traffic for the word “latur, nanded and solapur”. In last 1-2 months the growth is very much satisfactory in these cities.
Reasons for why net usage is low?
1. Wrong Mentality: A majority of grown up adults in India look towards net as something dirty and fishy. This kind of approach towards net will only kill its use as a knowledge powerhouse. Right kind of awareness needs to be created in people about net usage. Internet is not about just facebook, chats and browsing bollywood photos. Internet is also about knowledge and convinience. Now students can search for any doubts and difficulties they come across in their studies. Students can go through teaching videos to learn hard math calculations and problems. Example site for students to learn: www.khanacademy.org . Now you can pay all your bills online like telephone bills, light bill or purchase products from ebay.in just sitting at your office or home. You can also buy tickets for Train, flight and even Mah Govt State Transport Bus. Internet is about all these convinience which make your life easier and smoother.
2. Nothing can be blocked on net: This is pretty wrong thinking. China blocks a lot of content for its users in China. Internet is so perfect that all kinds of content can be blocked. Parents can also install parenting software to block content which are not suitable for kids. Blocking internet access totally will hinder progress of students educational career. Parents should always give time and sit together with kids and guide them to find what they are looking for. Internet usage for grown up kids should be monitored but never blocked. Students can learn about science experiments, discover new projects online and find scope and details of career they want to choose in life.
3. Not enough local content: Internet usage will increase only if local traders, service providers and organisations make website and provide useful information on it. Nowadays, a very low number of business or organisations have their own website. The reason primarily is they are not aware of how to get a new website and feel they might be a lot costly. People don’t know that a website can be made for somewhere between 5000 to 15000 rupees. To get a website designed one just needs to search google for “website designers” + cityname and contact the web designers in the search result. A website address on a visiting card shows a lot of reputation and acts like an online brochure for the seller’s products and services. Some website’s have managed to stand out in the crowd like the marathwadaneta.com website which has the honour to be the first online newspaper with an epaper edition in Marathawada.
However, the good news is that, finally the visitors have started picking up from Latur. People should be made aware of the usefullness of the internet and the fact that many umemployed youths can learn and work from home using the internet. A lot of freelancing career is available on the net like freelance writers, programers, data entry, medical transcription etc.
