It has very serious implications. It s a proprietary platform. It s not the open Internet that we love and cherish.
— Rohan Samarajiva, founding chair of think tank LIRNEasia, talks about the misconception in some places that Facebook is the Internet — or that it isn t. Confused? So are those who have been surveyed in Indonesia, for example. They say they don t use the Internet, but talk enthusiastically about how much time they spent on Facebook, according to Quartz. Another survey in Africa showed similar results. And Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently said: We know Facebook is one of the main drivers of why people buy phones, particularly in the developing world. People will walk into phone stores and say I want Facebook. People actually confuse Facebook and the Internet in some places.
The misconception may spread as Facebook s Internet.org does its work of providing Internet access to mobile users around the world via an app that connects them to Facebook — and a limited number of websites. (Some have questioned Facebook s motives, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg has insisted the work of Internet.org goes beyond self-interest.) And in some places, mobile users can buy Facebook-only data plans that cost much less than full data plans.
Samarajiva may see serious implications from all the confusion, but he also is hopeful. Maybe it will introduce them to the larger concept of the Internet, he said, according to Quartz. They re already on the Internet. They just don t know they re there.
Photo from Reuters archives
