Considering how much of our existence is online these days, it seems like denying people the means to participate is almost like denying their right to exist.
I’d like to see a world where everyone has the capability to shape this digital space in a fair and accessible manner.
I would argue the opposite, that the ability to participate in society without using a computer should be a right, and included with that should be a non-descrimination requirement as well. Shoving everyone into using a web form/app is not acceptable but it is a growing reality in too many private and public spaces (and also if I just want to quickly pay for parking why oh why can I not just shove cash or my card into a reader like you could for the last 30 years! No I don’t want your stupid app!)
So not only do I have to pay for parking I have to download a stupid app so you fucks can harvest my data and sell it later. Fucking greedy cunts.
I think food, clean water, medicine, and education should probably come first.
You hit the nail on the head. As a society we can’t even agree that basic healthcare and education are human rights.
Just pile access to the Internet on top, I guess. Sure, access to the Internet is a requirement for modern life. So is not dying from treatable diseases.
No. A year ago I would have said yes, but I’ve come to realize some uncomfortable truths.
The Internet is dying, the parts that will remain are able to manipulate users, and actively doing so to create a global rise of distopian authorization surveillance states
I think we can either have an underground Internet of technical minded people, or you get a weapon that will be used against the people
As the death of the Internet becomes more obvious, new technologies will spring up to replace it with a decentralized, non-commercial version. Already seeing apps coming out, like BitChat, that don’t use the internet at all.
If not a basic human right, it should be something very close to it. Obviously things like privacy, food, clean water, medicine, education, and basics like that should come first, but having Internet and computer/phone access has basically become a necessity and should probably be treated like a basic human right at this point.
Trying to apply for a job? Majority of places anymore require you apply online before you can even land an interview. Even then, there’s a chance you’ll have to do an online call for that interview.
Need to do school work like writing an essay or any coding/programming? You sure as hell ain’t getting that done without a computer anymore and can’t always rely on doing it at school.
I remember when I stuck to a flip phone while my friends were obsessing over smart phones. Yet, I admit that the way the world moves now, it’s a pretty clear need. One of the core human needs is interaction, and such a huge proportion of it happens online. Whether you’re looking at subjects of employment, or even just finding community, it’s a struggle otherwise.
I still enjoy meeting people out on the street, but you can’t make as many meaningful contacts that way anymore.
No. It should be declared a public health hazard and anyone who was exposed should be entitled to significant financial compensation.
Just kidding.
Mostly.
I think specifying the technology isn’t a good idea, and can lead to loopholes in the future.
I have nothing but contempt for what the internet has become under corporate control, and yet here I am on Lemmy, posting like it’s some late-60s experiment in collective culture and community.
Given how much of our survival and daily needs are tied to technology, access to the internet absolutely should be considered a basic human right. In modern times, being cut off from the digital world often means being cut off from employment, education, healthcare, and even your bank in some places.
But we should also be imagining a world where life doesn’t have to revolve around being online 24/7. A humane society would guarantee universal access, while also freeing us from the coercive pressure to be constantly connected just to meet our basic needs.
Human rights are the ones we have by virtue of being human. Since we were human before the Internet, it’s a little shaky. But at the same time, part of being human is assing down information from one generation to the next, and the Internet is a means to do that. I think both arguments have their merits, and I’m not in favor of access bring legally restricted in any case.
10 years ago I would have said yes, absolutely, because I was young and naive. Today not so much. Although I don’t think lack of internet is the solution to containing the crazy of society since they managed to spread that without internet in the past just fine. Its just that this iteration of crazy feels like it was specifically pushed through the current internet we have.
No.
Here’s my reasoning. For example, when pedophiles are caught online, they have their internet access revoked as part of the punishment to their crimes. If you feel that accessing computers and the internet should be a basic right, you are saying that this pedophile’s ‘right’ to use a computer and the internet is infringed, despite doing a considerably awful thing.
And that’s something I just cannot simply get behind.
Furthermore, the internet has been contested numerous times and moreso than ever, about the legitimacy of the information on it. We’ve been going through a few awful periods where right now, information is being fixed and rigged to favor certain political ideologies, pseudoscience and outright bias. I have always been told that everything that is on the internet should always be taken with a grain of salt. I would rather we have a right to a library than we have a right to information on the internet.
If everyone is complaining so much about the ‘damages’ of social media, what would making the internet be branded a ‘right’ improve? Great, you have to the right now, to be lied to and misinformed. Good on ya!
I initially said yes, but you make an excellent point. Internet access should be a privilege.
I want to say yes. Because it is absolutely so necessary to life these days.
But i equally want to say no! You should need to get an internet drivers licence for that shit! Some people are so susceptible to scams, fake news and propaganda that having access to a rectangle that thrusts it down your throat, pretty much unfiltered, is fucking dangerous.
In modern times, given how much we rely on them, yes. Everyone should have the right to access the internet.
Yes for internet access. It’s vital for participation in modern society, education, jobs, healthcare, etc.
But what is a computer? There are many devices at many price points and with many different capabilities that can help people use the internet. It’s not like back in the day when you could just hand out a minitel device or something.
The right and freedom to live without them is much more important. We all get old and if life can only exist online, you are absolutely fucked at that point where you can’t understand the new way of doing things… Every 2 years.
