Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
3.3
Digital Kids' Power
The TIME magazine selects the person of the year in the end of every year. In 2001,
they conducted a public Internet questionnaire survey in Japan. The second rank was
Osama bin Ladin, but the amazing thing was the first ranked person Mr. Masashi
Tashiro, a Japanese comedian who was not famous in the wider world. He was
accused of being a Peeping Tom that year, which became small gossip in Japan.
Young people in the Internet community were responsible for this mischief. They
voted for the TIME ranking writing the name Mr. Masashi Tashiro. TIME was
confused and deleted the page. It was a funny incident, but it showed a serious shift
in power. It means that the established analog media was defeated by young, naughty,
far eastern, anonymous, but connected users.
Asian digital kids started to provide information to the world.
In the beginning of this century, in Japan and Korea, teenage girls were already
reading and writing with their thumbs and uploading their messages and photos with
mobile phones. That could not be seen even in western countries. Asian digital kids
have been active.
