Where I live, the cost of labor is low. Despite my family being middle-class, we can actually afford two maids and a driver.

While being driven around, my driver asked me how to text using the phone we just gave him to keep in touch. So I tried walking him through the process, verbally stating which buttons to press.

But my driver remained motionless and continued looking at his phone. Feeling a bit irritated, I repeated my instructions more forcefully, as if raising my voice would make my driver understand me better.

During the third try, I realized that my driver couldn't execute my instructions because he couldn't read what was written on the screen. I tried setting the phone to display a local language, to no avail.

After I texted for my driver, pointed out to him that he should've told me about his problem right away, and apologized for my relative harshness, I suddenly realized something: No matter how intuitive or powerful a gadget is, it's basically useless in the hands of an illiterate person.

Perhaps manufacturers, makers, and service providers should work to increase the educational levels of their markets? Not just the typical focus on technology, but a more holistic approach that considers the basics important, At the very least, they'd create more potential customers for their products.