Of course there is a cost. I am talking about an economic and educational impact, not whether some particular proxy service is free or not.
Information is money in a knowledge economy, so lets put it this way. When a poor kid has to use a slow but free proxy service while the rich kid uses a fast VPN, that has an impact on their access to information and the poor kid will be disadvantaged.
I know plenty of people under and over 40 who do not have a clue what a proxy or a VPN is. I cannot count the times I have explained it over the years.
Biggles, here is a
good explanation of what a proxy is. A VPN such as Witopia is actually a much easier, safer and faster option. It will cost you a few hundred THB a month to get a decent VPN, something many poor kids cannot afford.