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>A person in Nigeria can teach themselves Hindu, just from pure curiosity and no budget

Again, these are poor examples. It's not terribly easy to learn a language for free using just the internet. Everything is freemium and it's only getting worse. It's arguably easier to go to your local library and use their resources.

Many people have this idea that some things would be impossible if not for the internet, but that definitely isn't the case.

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I've been using the internet to learn a language for a month now, and have had far more success then I had in multiple years of high school language classes.

Between tools that provide Spaced Repetition learning, to websites that are basically textbooks, to youtube videos both meant to teach and others that are native media, and finally people who curate all these materials, this is way better.

Most of which are funded by showing you ads for things you don't need or selling your personal information.

And regular people would consider that a net gain.

Not one of the inventors of the internet. Whether it's money now or money down the road though perverse buying habits, you're still paying for it. It's not free.

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