There is a huge opportunity to build an app that turns into audio reference. No music, or direct communication, but everything else related to talk and listen. The world still communicates through talk. "Since these are new consumers, everything is up for grabs," That's the potential for disruption. "
Relying on technology to communicate through audio and video will force people not to learn to read and write. I can't see how this will end well over time.
What... it's not having accessible apps that is forcing them to not learn how to read and write, but rather a lack of access to education and the means to obtain that education. Low-skilled workers are almost always less-educated so of course they'll rely more on audiovisual communication and that was as true in the era of letter-writing as it is today. Just because dictation and videorecording exist, doesn't mean that people will suddenly stop pursuing literacy. They'll continue doing that as long as it is required for white-collar jobs and the like. Instead you should question why the literacy rate isn't so high and why someone might be driven to not pursue education. Often, the answer will be that they're forced to work at a young age, especially when they come from elsewhere seeking opportunities. (the person profiled in the story has family in a village) We should be commending apps like these for allowing these users to get connected to the global web and gain knowledge and opportunity that was hidden behind a keyboard before. (for example, the app that lets low-skill workers find job postings) No one's forgoing how to write just because keyboards exist, so chill with the alarmist rhetoric.