Mozilla Study Highlights Need for Tech Education in Developing World

Mozilla, which has steadily been expanding its focus out from the Firefox browser to mobile phone and device usage, has released the results of a very far reaching study on mobile device usage in the developing world. Among other findings, it concretely establishes that education and learning resources are needed in places where mobile devices and the Internet are just taking root.

The report found that it is still the case that only a minority of the world's citizens are online. Globally, four billion people remain offline, 90 percent of whom are in the developing world.

The report notes the fact that many people in developing regions like India and parts of Africa access the Internet only through their mobile devices. It suggests that by the end of 2020, around 3 billion people will access the Internet through mobile devices in the developing world.

Mozilla study participants concluded that higher skill levels and more local content would be of much benefit to a range of people in developing nations. "The creation and distribution of digital content remains uneven," the report states. "While nearly half the world's population is online – 43% – entire languages, cultures and regions are absent or underrepresented."

Moreover, the ability to share content through mobile devices and online sharing tools are identified in the report as huge motivators for bringing more people online.

Mozilla, of course, stands to benefit as the developing world takes to mobile devices and the Internet, as the company has steadily pursued a strategy of offering very low-cost mobile devices. 

The complete findings of the study, done with the GSMA, are worth looking into and available here.