http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7o505_skills-the-right-to-education_lifestyle

Now, after seeing this advertisement, I really cannot say I have any respect at all for this company anymore. I do not really mind that there is crude imagery used to evoke in me pity or guilt or compassion or whatever emotion they are working to agitate. Frankly, it is a good thing for sheltered people, like most everyone in this country, to see imagery that is informative to some degree of the harsh realities many people face in other places around the world. We have it good. They do not. We should try to understand that.

What irritates me is how the imagery is used to convey a message. The message reads for me: buy a kid in Africa or Asia a laptop and you will be helping to stop child prostitution. Are you serious? Really? Is that really the message I am supposed to get out of this? Unfortunately, I think it is. I mean, how else do you interpret the advertisement? Maybe you are thinking, "well Mark, why is that so unreasonable?" I guess it is no surprise that I will now tell you why I believe that message is rubbish.

The message is fallacious because these laptops will do absolutely nothing to stop child prostitution or kids working in factories or whatever. At least not for a really, really long time. It does not matter how many damn laptops we pump into a country. The types of kids exploited in the advertisement are kids that will NEVER see the laptops. There is a reason why kids work in factories or as prostitutes, and it is a sad reason. These kids are the poorest of the poor. It is all they can do to put food on the table. These are horrible practices, but they work within a strongly rooted framework. Are there better ways? Of course there are, and laptops do not even come close to getting at the core of the problems. You cannot just throw random technologies at a people and expect everything to get better. The type of solutions that are needed are ones that starts at the bottom and fundamentally reshapes the way these people think and operate.

The change these people need does not start with the children, in this case. The children have no control on how their childhoods play out. So, these laptops will be given to kids that are poor, but not to kids that are as poor as the kids portrayed in those horrible conditions. There is no question that these laptops will be a positive influence for the many children that are fortunate enough to receive them. But, do you really think that OLPC is targeting guerilla encampments as the choice demographic for their laptops? I think not. The people in those conditions are probably considered lucky if they have power for some part of the year. It is just too inconceivable.

The bottom line is that tactics like these just suck. They are aimed at stirring our emotions, but the message they deliver is a lie. Not only is it a lie, but it is a lie that works to solidify the view that all we need to do is throw random things at needy people and everything will work itself out. I believe as much as anyone that technology is an invaluable tool, but it is a tool that needs to be honestly introduced and then used under the proper circumstances. What I see in OLPC is a desperate attempt to keep afloat while Microsoft and friends saturate the market. I understand the marketing, but come on guys, there really is a better way.