>> hello and welcome to this special edition of "global 3000." today we focus on what "going digital" actually means in practice. so many of us seem to have forgotten or never knew that social life is possible without one of these. so, just to put us all on the same page, here's a quick reminder of some of the average everyday things that have now gone digital --

are we still driving digital technology or has digital technology long since started to drive us? here are some of the people we meet to find this out. >> do they hold the key to longevity? meet the biohackers what life is like for an argentinian teenager juggling "posts" and "likes." and living her dream online --

we vist an american fashion blogger in paris. would you like to decode parts of your own dna or try to clone your pet? apparently both are becoming real possibilities as the technology to do just that becomes more affordable. a basic genetic engineering kit will only set you back around 400 euros these days. and there's already a broad community of so-called bio- hackers out there who will throw in some expert advice for free. most of these diy scientists are based in the united states with a growing community in europe. the fbi takes them seriously enough to have a special unit investigating what they get up to. and they get up to a lot, from genetics to bionics to real medical innovation. brace yourself for some insights you may find disturbing. tim cannon wants to live to be a thousand, not by taking medicine or eating a healthy diet, but

like all biohackers, through technology. at a meeting of like-minded people in germany a few months ago, he had a home-made device implanted under his skin by a tattoo artist, without an anaesthetic. when it's activated, it measures his body temperature and sends the data to his personal computer. >> what i'm doing is preparing the power coil to charge my device. we had to power it down for healing purposes but i've been able to power it up and connect it to a bluetooth and what have you. >> since having the device implanted, cannon has had to take medication to keep his body from rejecting it. he's already working on a much smaller implant in his basement. the new version is designed to also measure blood pressure, pulse and other levels as well. >> since the technology is here,

somebody has to start experimenting with it. it doesn't seem like anybody in the medical community is interested in it. but i am. so, i just said, "why not?" >> cannon believes this technology will soon be used to automatically transmit medical data from millions of americans to insurance companies. the idea of an omniscient health industry doesn't faze him. >> i think it's reasonable to be afraid of this technology, like it's reasonable to be afraid of nuclear technology, or just like it's reasonable to be afraid of chemical technology because if it is weaponized or used to suppress or oppress population or suppress dissent, then yeah, it's bad. if it is used to elevate people,

make them healthier, make them more connected to their environments, and more connected to other people, then it's great. >> he grew up here, in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. for decades, the city of 300,000 was supported by the steel industry. now it's home to universities and research institutes. an alternative scene has developed in various parts of the city. 33-year-old cannon is part of it. he shares his experiences with kindred spirits in town or via the internet so that other biohackers can benefit from them. >> all information is available to anyone interested. a lot of biohackers reject the idea of registered patents. >> cannon earns his money as a software developer. in his spare time he's started looking for investors to his self-experimentation. several thousand people belong to the biohacker scene in the u.s. like cannon, many of them see themselves as pioneers. >> i bet you when the very first astronauts went up into space, they might have known the engineers, they might have known the scientists, they might have been completely comfortable with all the science and the measurements, but every time they heard a rattle you know they went, "oh no, that's it, i'm in trouble."

it's the same with me. every time i feel a tingle, "the battery is going to explode!" >> san diego on the west coast. here, too, researchers are exploring new territory. dr. darryl d'lima is trying to produce cartilage from stem cells. he wants use it to repair warn out joints with the help of a 3- d printer. >> what we do with the discarded tissue is instead of throwing it away, we bring it to the lab and we try to print fresh tissue, live tissue with a 3-d-printer. if that works, some day we think we might be able to print directly into the patient's knee. >> d'lima thinks that in 3 to 5 years that could be done right in the operating room, thereby eliminating the need to replace diseased joints. modern technology would enable the body renew itself

continually, so that people would live longer. >> the challenges that i'm facing are so complex and so deep that i've got to have cell biologists, i've got to have stem cell specialists, i've got to have chemists, i've got to have engineers who understand printing technology, and i have to be a generalist who brings all these people together to solve the problem. >> unlike the biohackers, dr. d'lima can rely on funding from foundations for his research. for him, 3-d printers that print not just cartilage but even organs are anything but science fiction. >> i think eventually you can replace almost every part of the body except the brain. so, the holy grail is how to integrate all the artificial components with the brain and the central nervous system. >> humans and machines, whether biohackers or researchers, they're all testing the limits of the possible. >> and even if you are nowhere close to embracing the digital

age to the same extreme as biohackers, can you still imagine life without those digital platforms like facebook or twitter? it seems like any youngster with access to a smartphone or a computer certainly can't. most have taken to social media like a duck to water, mainly concerned about how to get their image out there in the first place, to many data protection is something only old people worry about. argentinean teenagers are among the most internet-active in latin america. we visit may and candela, two teenagers on a personal quest to keep up with the new demands of being "cool" on the net. in buenos aires, the capital of argentina, there are some 17 million mobile phones. the country now has more of them than it does inhabitants. and a lot of those people are completely dependent on their smartphones. may and candela belong to the new facebook generation. in the past three years, the use of social media in argentina has increased by almost 75%.

the two girls virtually never put down their smartphones, certainly not in their free time. >> we use them to amuse ourselves and communicate with our friends. and to get information. it's just more practical and useful. >> we like to use whatsapp, blackberry chat or texting. >> the thirteen-year-olds rarely use old media. vanina berghella says more than 50% of kids in this age group exchange personal data via social networking sites. >> facebook chat is one of the features they use most often. they also share photos and other things they want people and friends to see. and then, of course, they want to share their ideas and opinions about them. >> every day the girlfriends upload dozens of photos that demonstrate to the whole world

how close their relationship is. whoever gets the most "likes" also has the best chance of being invited to the next birthday party. may and candela often spend all afternoon finding new subjects and poses for their pictures. >> that reflects too much in the mirror. >> oh, i left the flash on! that's better. look. >> no! look at my skin! it's yellow! >> but they still upload the picture anyway and eagerly await the reactions. >> teenagers have no reservations about putting themselves out there on the net and providing intimate glimpses into their private lives. we adults are more reserved when it comes revealing things about ourselves. >> may and candela say they've never had any negative experiences on the internet.

but in catholic, conservative argentina, more and more effort is being made to sensitize teenagers to the subject of personal privacy and strengthen their digital competence. >> it's not as though teenagers don't know how to safeguard their private sphere on social networking sites. but they often just don't do it. that's why it's so important to instruct them in how to deal with the new technologies, not just at school, but also at home. >> a survey of teenagers in argentina has shown that 16% already use social networks to bully unsuspecting users. >> if you are talking about development in africa, you will soon find yourself talking about mobile phones. both basic cell phones and sophisticated smartphones are literally providing africans a gateway to a world of innovations.

in places where a computer is still an expensive luxury, mobile phones offer cheap access to information and services. kenya's software development scene knows how to think big while using the limited technical options available. the result are applications that don't replace old technology. instead they define whole new industries. everyone has one, and everyone uses it. africa's mobile phone market is growing like no other in the world. and while many people still relying on simple cell phones, young software developers in nairobi are helping them get the most out of them. the breakthrough, m-pesa, was made in kenya. it's a system for transferring money via mobile phones. m stands for mobile, and pesa means money in swahili. it's been especially helpful to poor people like josphat.

he came to nairobi from the countryside ten years ago, looking for work. life in the city is hard, but he found a job and even earns enough to money back home. but getting the money to his parents posed problems. >> it used to be difficult to send money. i either had to give it to a bus driver and hope he was reliable, or my mother had to travel all the way here to pick it up. >> now it's much easier. josphat just goes to an m-pesa kiosk and registers, deposits money and loads it onto his cellphone. then he sends the credit to his mother in a text message. 300 kilometres away and a few seconds later, his mother receives it. >> i'm very happy.

my son has just sent me 1200 shillings. >> that's about 10 euros -- a lot of money. there isn't a bank anywhere near here, and without a regular income people are unable to open accounts anyway. but there are m-pesa agents all over, even here, every couple of metres. now the sms credit can be exchanged for cash. >> my life has improved a lot since m-pesa was created. sometimes my son sends me just a euro. it's not much, but it helps me get by. >> a euro is enough to buy sugar and tea. that's both good for her and for the local shop. m-pesa is now used by the middle classes as well. electricity and water bills, taxis and hotels can all be paid using m-pesa. it's also proved to be an export

hit. and it's provided inspiration for young developers. they meet in nairobi at ihub. there they work on new uses for text messaging on simple cellphones which, like m-pesa, are meant to benefit ordinary people. they have free internet access here, and can exchange ideas, and they can even order coffee at the cafe. this is where icow was born. life in kenya's highlands has improved for mwaniki kamanu. he's a teacher, but he also does some dairy farming in order to pay the university fees for both of his sons. he admits he didn't know much about cattle, and icow has helped a lot. for instance, when it comes to having them inseminated. >> jacinta made two signs of going on heat this week.

this means the last insemination failed. please serve her again. thank you for using icow. >> thanks to messages like that, he now has two healthy calves. he registered all his cows with the text service. since then he's been getting regular messages whenever they need be vaccinated or see a vet. and he can send questions for which he receives prompt answers. he says he's now a successful farmer. >> now i'm always prepared on the occasion of things to happen. for example, the time cows are being served. number two, the time the cows give birth. and also i'm given some information on how to manage the cows. >> the calculation is simple. healthy cows equal more milk, and more money. icow isn't a free service.

every text costs the equivalent of four cents, but it's money well spent. >> my mobile phone is a part and parcel of my life. >> he's had some 500 text messages from icow and he says they're as holy as the bible to him. the woman who created this "holy cow" is su kahumbu. she's a farmer herself, from a well-educated family. time and again she asked herself how she could share her knowledge with other farmers. at some point it became clear to her that in africa it could only be done by phone. >> this is where the developing world is going. we can't afford computers, we can't afford to charge them. when you've got a country where only 20% of the country connected to the grid, it will be very small devices like this that are going to be the tools we depend on. and that's what we're beginning to see now. >> solutions made in africa. there are now dozens of such

inventions, which have won awards and been exported to the rest of the world. and it's one reason nairobi, kenya's capital, is already being called "silicon savannah." >> as we recently learned, the us national security agency, or nsa, can hack into pretty much any mobile phone call or transaction. and who says it's only the nsa? some 100,000 attacks occur in germany every day. we know of a man who used to launch such attacks. but he's since switched sides and now offers his services to fend off hackers. meet mathias ungetum, who's invited us to look around his high-tech global living room.

my name is matthias ungethüm and i live here in geringswalde, in central saxony. and i really like it here, because it's very quiet. i'm a penetration tester. at first that sounds funny to most people, but all it means is that i evaluate systems to find their weak points. by now almost everyone who cares about their data wants to protect it, and that's why i'm

here. if i get a job that requires me to go see a client, i get up and leave home early. but usually i can work from home. that means whenever i wake up, i just sit down at my computer and get started. and this thing here, is a hard drive that was found once when my house was searched. i'd basically committed an offence with a hacking attack, and for once i'd done something really stupid, and there they were, at my door. it's a nice souvenir of times gone by. >> this is my little game collection, with great things like nintendo, and i have to admit, i think it's really special.

even though, to be fair, i don't play with it much now, it's great to look at. oh, look here's tetris. i used to play it non-stop for days on end. thanks for visiting me. see you soon. >> you'll find lots of advice on data safety online. to find out what's hot and what's not in fashion, it only takes a couple of clicks and you have the latest news from the catwalk at your fingertips. rather than click through fashion labels sites, many of us prefer getting tips or advice from independent sources and follow bloggers like audrey leighton. she's managed to turn her passion for clothes into a full- time job. meet the online fashionista who lives her dream. she's online 24 hours a day. she's even able to walk and write emails at the same time. audrey leighton has lived in paris for three years. >> hello, how are you doing, honey?

>> audrey is meeting a jewelry designer who wants to show her her latest collection, affordable pieces, created in paris. if audrey likes the jewelry, she'll write about it in her blog, which is read by nearly 2 million people. the 25-year-old american lives in the district of montmartre and has made her dream of living and working in the world's fashion capital a reality. fashion labels and designers send her parcels of clothing in the hope that she'll wear the creations and recommend them. >> i think a lot of girls can relate to the things i wear, especially because a lot of the things i wear are super- affordable, so they'll, you know, see a dress that i'm wearing and they can then go buy it and they can afford it.

whereas, you know, like, a lot of fashion magazines, you look at all these beautiful things and they're thousands and thousands of euros and no one can afford them. >> she's the central figure in her blog, showing herself and her clothes. her taste is decisive, including in shoes. >> these are the shoes that i wear the most, which is why they're out. i can't fit all my shoes out here. they're like all under the bed, all in these closets. i have, like, over three hundred pairs of shoes. so these are the ones i wear almost every day. >> what looks so easy is actually hard work. every day there are new entries, new photos. visitors to audrey's website virtually live with her and her fashions in paris. >> so, you definitely are in the public eye, but like how much you want to, like, divulge to your readers is totally up to

you as a blogger. and me, i don't, you know. my blog is very commercial in a lot of ways in that it's all about the clothes, it's all about what i'm wearing, it's all about paris. you know, like, if i've had a bad day, or like, you know, for example if your boyfriend breaks up with you, i'm not going to share those sorts of things on my blog. a lot of bloggers do, and that's really cool. that's their approach, and i love reading blogs like that, too. but i prefer to keep, you know, a distance between what goes on in my life and what i share on the blog. >> audrey is able to earn a living from her blog through advertisements or commissions from fashion houses. she's not yet sure when she'll pack her bags and move on. >> my family were quite nomadic as i was growing up. we were always bouncing between

countries, so i don't really feel particularly attached to one country. and i hope to continue moving around the world as i get older. i don't ever want to stay in one place for more than like five or six years. >> why? what's so bad about it, then? >> nothing. i just feel like there's so much of the world to see, and being free-lance and working for myself, i should take advantage of the fact that, you know, i can live anywhere and all i need is an internet connection and computer to work. >> for now it's paris. someday it might be barcelona or new york. but no matter where she goes, she'll always be blogging. >> so, if anything has been holding you back until now, why not follow audrey's example and live your dream online? and if you do, don't forget to tell us about it. you can find all of today's special reports on our website. there you can also join our global debate. that's all for this edition of "global," thanks for watching and bye bye!

>> the following program is an original production of link tv. coming up, how the caste system still rules across india. exports from asia and the latest buzz on social media. hi, and welcome to linkasia.