Got i-Privilege?

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So, I was in a class a while back where a group was discussing the pervasiveness of online video, when I brought up the fact that people who don’t have broadband probably don’t participate at nearly as high levels in the “Youtube phenomenon” as do people who have high speed connections. One of the guys in my class scoffed at my comment, saying that it wasn’t an important part of the discussion, and effectively suggesting that the over one-hundred million people in the US, and the billions around the world, who don’t have high speed connections, don’t matter for the purpose of pop-culture discourse.

Segue into an issue that I think about a lot: the fact that, increasingly, access to information will be what divides upper, middle, and lower classes. Those with options and mobility will be distinguished by their ability to grasp information readily and rapidly, while others will be left in the stone (or maybe paper would be better describer) age. Enter the state of the i-privileged. Able to access, communicate, anytime, anywhere, there is an increasing drive to make those who are plugged in more plugged in. As the digital links between the i-privileged are strengthened, there is the potential that insular communities will be developed. This is kind of what Manuel Castells talks about with the space of flows.

Anyway, part of my point is that those with facility in manipulating new media have to be mindful that left alone, technological development has the potential to result in a new-aged caste system. Inevitably, we will be doing ourselves and our fellow human beings a disservice if we focus exclusively on the benefits of new technology, and are blind to its divisive potential.