What’s Up with Elections? Safeguarding Encrypted Messaging Apps from Election Manipulation
Bikram Shrestha
President
Internet Society Nepal
In today’s world, mobile devices cannot be separated from day-to-day life. Our needs and demands for mobile facilities/services are constantly on the rise and are gradually fulfilled by new innovations and technologies. Society at large uses mobile to communicate, do business, perform banking transactions, learn, travel and live in comfort. These days, a mobile device is both general-purpose technology (GPT) used for a better and smart lifestyle as well as a safety device to be used in emergencies. The rapid development of mobile technology has played a key role in shaping social life.
Mobile devices are powerful, useful and effective tools for personal as well as official functioning. We can see mobile penetration and innovation growing with every movement. Penetration of mobiles in Nepal is very high, rapidly growing at the rate of 123.9 per cent, according to the latest MIS report published by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).
Further, to improve the quality of service of mobile phones in Nepal, NTA recently launched the NTA QoS Survey Google app to collect feedback and experiences of customer perception to measure the quality of services.
Nepal’s population stands at 29 million while its mobile penetration stands at 32 million. Further, 46 per cent of Nepal’s 58.08 per cent Internet using population access data on its mobile phone. One of the main reasons of high consumption of mobile data in rural areas is to communicate with family members who are living abroad, especially in Gulf countries, or to stay connected with friends and family via social media.
It is impossible to explore how advanced technology has impacted our lives and how it will impact the future. Mobiles impact the environment, people and the society as a whole. The way we use mobile phones determines whether the impacts are positive for the society or negative. However, mobile devices by themselves are not harmful, but the way society uses them may be. Therefore, mobile users should be encouraged to use the device with caution. Society at large, still worries about the uses, advantages, disadvantages, impact, consequences and concerns about the use of mobile devices and its facilities. And so, individuals should use mobiles with sound understanding of its dark sides.
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