But critics say the focus on women, who are considered more reliable borrowers than men, has caused considerable tension between the sexes. Now, as technology starts to blur the distinction between industrialized countries and developing ones, social transition, if not transformation, has become an issue in some of the world's most remote regions. A recent issue of Cultural Survival, a magazine that covers indigenous people and ethnic minorities, described projects to bring the Web to communities as varied as the reindeer-herding Sami of Scandinavia and northern Russian, the aboriginal peoples of the Northwest Territories in Canada, the ethnic minorities of Burma and native Hawaiians. These efforts represent a departure from the idea that introducing new technologies to indigenous peoples will bring about negative results. But it is realistic to realize that traditional cultures can be very oppressive, especially for women and wildlife, and that technology can help change this.
Some people think the double-edged nature of technology's impact is beneficial.
For the Grameen Bank, credit is considered a weapon for alleviating poverty and oppressive policies affecting women. Yet some societies are better equipped than others to deal with an onslaught of technological change. The American Amish, who are known for their rigid views about technology, have banned the car and computer but not the pocket calculator. A few Amish also use the Internet, albeit quietly. Others, though, are not so sure about placing too much value on technology's liberating potential.