The debate on whether online communication is hampering or enhancing the human mind has been ongoing during the opening of the 21st Century. Certainly one would guess that, like so many technologies before it, social media will both provide advantages and demand some sacrifices from its users. Multitasking across social networks allows those plugged in to have a rapid response to trends, and possibly find opportunities faster in the emerging market. That same multitasking can cause users to become distracted, with minds halfway in the digital realm even when trying to focus on other tasks. Wherever the balance is struck between risk and benefit for social media it seems apparent that the impact on the brain is profound, rapidly onsetting, and growing. It takes just hours of regular online activity before scientists can detect changes in the mind, and those changes are only going to increase as people spend more time on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Billions more people around the globe will gain regular internet access in upcoming decades so it’s likely that these newly perceived trends are going to become a nearly universal part about what it means to be human in the 21st Century. Perhaps that change is fitting. The human brain was so instrumental in the engineering of the internet, it only seems fair that the internet is ready to return the favor.

[Graphic created by Assisted Living Today Assisted Living Facilities]

An increasingly large portion of the world economy relies upon the internet to function. Not only are retailers selling goods to consumers directly, all levels of business depend on rapid worldwide communication. Socially and politically, the internet represents a chance for a truly open dialogue between citizens. As the rise of the blogosphere and social networking feeds indicate, the internet is also becoming a trusted source for current and reliable information. The free exchange of information is democratizing, and as such guaranteeing access to the internet is a part of protecting democracy.

Much of the technology we discuss on Singularity Hub is facilitated by the free and rapid exchange of information on the internet. Broadband connections allow robotic engineers to collaborate, they allow DIY biologists to form a community, and they may serve as the breeding ground for AIs. It’s hard to overstate how the rapid development of new technology depends on our ability to log on, chat, and learn.

While France was the first country to confirm internet access as a right, it did not specify broadband speeds, a crucial stipulation given the complexity of content on the world wide web. There are several international groups pushing for countries to recognize the importance of internet access. Among them is the APC European Civil Society Internet Rights Project which features reports on nations measuring their internet accessibility (Finland’s report is fairly praise-heavy).

Finland has a relatively long history of supporting its growing tech based economy and citizenry. It is the home of Nokia and regularly invests 3.5% of its GDP into research and development. Back in August, 1998, Finland was the first European country where more than 50% of the population had access to mobile phones. In December of that same year, mobile phones began to outnumber traditional landlines.

Fins are prodigious consumers of the internet. According to Statistics Finland (a government run bureau), 83% of people were regularly online in spring 2008 (that’s up 4% from the year before), and about two thirds of citizens were daily users. That’s a big difference from just 8 years prior when only 12.1% of the population had internet access. Obviously, Finland is taking to the internet quickly, likely due to the technology focused economy, and location of many of its inhabitants in remote areas.

That remoteness will limit the Finnish guarantee, as the government has declared that some 2000 households are too remote to be included in universal broadband access. Still, legislators have promised that besides these few exceptions, no household will be further than 2 km from a 100 Mbps internet connection by the end of 2015.

So take a moment and applaud Finland if you will. Their dedication to broadband access has set the path for other countries to follow. By guaranteeing right to the internet for its citizens, a nation is securing the future of democratized technology, and free public discourse. I hope that countries all over the world work to follow the Finnish example. In the meantime, I will leave you with the immortal words of Sir Monty Python: “Finland, Finland, Finland. Finland has it all.”

[video credits: CozaProductions]