“This complex situation emphasizes the underlying tension of how devices designed for constant internet connectivity operate in a radically different fashion for those living in Cuba.” This quote from the article is one that stood out to be quite a bit, and I think that’s because soon to a certain level I have always been in spaces where instant internet access was an option. That’s one way in which I believe we take for granted the spaces we live in to be the default, whereas the normal for someplace like Cuba is a struggle to get internet access. In some ways, I see the situation in Cuba as being a sort of staggering in technological advances that have in its vacuum created cultural practices. To be more clear it seems like over half of the population has smartphones, and yet the defining feature of a smartphone needs internet access which is not present, yet the use is still there and has led to the creation of illegal internet providers. This could be seen as yet another of the lasting legacies of foreign policy and systems of governance. Both in Cuba and other countries which we consider the global south, it is interesting to note the effects that the internet has had on people, even if they are not very connected themselves, and furthermore how this connectivity can shape attitudes and culture in the form of mobile media.
Do you think internet connectivity in the global south can have largely beneficial or detrimental effects?