Relic of the Recent Past: The Decline of Internet Cafes
A decade ago, every street corner had a crowded internet cafe filled with students and out of school youth. For Millennials and Gen Z’s, countless days and nights (as well as cash) were spent hours inside the confines of these cafes, becoming the center of social life for many. Ten years later, internet cafes can still be found throughout the Philippines but they aren’t as abundant nor are they attracting the same crowd and hype from all those years ago. Many had closed, and many had minimized their products or services, sometimes to a bare minimum. If this same predicament has crossed your mind, you’re in for an enlightening read. Origins The Philippines was late to the information boom of the early 90s. The ‘cyber-age’ was late to arrive in the Philippines until March 1994 when the country was hooked up via an underwater cable by the initiatives of the DOST and major universities throughout the country from the United States. It was at this moment, the Philippines was introduced...