Tech Wraps Growing Web Around World

Some worry about cultural loss as cell phones, e-mail spread
Posted Oct 8, 2007 1:40 PM CDT
Tech Wraps Growing Web Around World
TEHRAN Woman uses a cellular phone by a busy street near the bazaar. The women of Iran seem to have lost their colors. Most of them wear black - perpetuating the mourning of the earl (PAR154402)   (Magnum Photos)

Global cellphone and computer usage is up dramatically as inequalities in technology drop. Cellphone ownership has grown 20% in the US, where 80% of the population uses computers, third in the world behind Sweden and South Korea. Computer usage is up in 26 of 35 countries in a new Pew survey, PC World reports, and even 6% of Tanzanians log on.

But while technology narrows the distance between borders and aids economic integration, the lead researcher concludes, a backlash endangers globalization. As citizens in developing countries welcome free markets, concern mounts about the loss of their cultures. Many worry also that the ongoing tech boom threatens their environments. (More technology stories.)

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