Is The Internet A Global Phenomenon Essay

Is The Internet A Global Phenomenon? Essay, Research Paper

Is the Internet really a Global phenomenon?

Since the beginning of time, mankind has been involved in a never-ending quest to learn more about the world in which he lives. Our natural curiosity leads us to question everything and investigate the way in which the world around us works. Human beings also have a natural tendency to want to explore and see things in the world around them which they have never seen before. It is in that sense that the Internet is a perfect extension of human nature. It is a medium which transcends boundaries and makes the world a smaller place – much as the media of printing, radio and television did before it. But is there anything really left to explore? The very problem with having the vast expanse of the knowledge that is the Internet before us, is that even before we experience something first hand, we have already passively experienced it one way or another. For instance, we can marvel at the majesty of the Grand Canyon but we can never look upon as the people of a century ago did. They would have had no idea of what to expect, but our sense of surprise is muted by what we have already seen in pictures and videos.

Nevertheless, the Internet remains a source of great knowledge and possibility, affecting all facets of the wired citizen’s life. Consider the example of the US, who have the greatest proportion of net users in the world:

-Business: The Web is impacting business from the top down. Roughly 92% of CEOs, CFOs and CIOs around the world had Net access in 1998, according to Andersen Consulting. And in Growing up Digital, Don Tapscott believes when the new generation of Internet-using kids enters the workforce, corporations and employers will be forced to become more open, less hierarchical and more collaborative.

-Religion: One New York Bishop put it this way: “If Jesus were walking the earth today I’m convinced He would have an email address.” The American Bible Society uses the Web to deliver content found in the Bible. Dozens of Catholic churches use Web sites to garner new recruits.

-Politics: The majority of the USA’s top lawmakers receive a daily email tally of how many of their constituents favour or oppose a specific issue. And President Clinton received millions of emails while he was in office.

-Careers: About 10% of jobs are filled through the Internet in the U.S., according to Terri Bonar-Stewart, CEO of a Cincinnati-based consulting company. This summer 82% of college grads will search for careers and employment information online, according to SBC Internet Services; 66% will email their resumes to prospective to employers; 55% will post their resumes online.

-Language: The latest edition of the New Oxford Dictionary of English includes definitions for Web slang including “snail mail,” “applet,” “geek,” “digerati” and “mouse potato.”

-Leisure: Researchers at the Yankee Group and elsewhere have found TV viewing decreases in households with Internet access.

But is the internet really the great leveller that everyone is talking about? Annette Hamilton of the ZdNet Anchordesk website has described the internet as:

“a wondrous, global phenomenon that is erasing borders and flattening economic barriers. Just listen to BlackWeb’s Frank Coburn, who attests, “The Internet has leveled the playing field for everyone. Race and gender have become irrelevant and we can now obtain the same information and speak to the same people as anyone else.”

Is this really the case? At the moment sadly no. Yes, the internet does allow almost anyone to voice their point of view but with the exception that they must own a computer and speak English. Again the example of the United States provides the evidence:

-Two-thirds of all Internet users reside in North America: The increase of cheap computers and unmetered free local calls contributed greatly to the internet boom there in the mid 90’s. This allowed citizens almost 24/7 internet access and indeed some households had second phone lines installed into their homes solely for internet access

-Roughly two-thirds of all Internet servers reside in the U.S. The Internet influencers, Web publishers, are concentrated in America.

-Four out of five Web pages are in English — the unofficial language of the Net.

All of these factors have contributed to the westernization of the Net. The downfall to this is that the small proportion of the world’s English speakers who control the net have forced the rest of the world to confirm to their standard. Compounded with the fact that computing is an expensive business requiring relatively pricey equipment and phone service, is it now really feasible that a poor hungry child in Africa can see the “great leveller” that is the internet, let alone understand it?

The Internet divide between the haves and have-nots is even visible in the United States itself. While the use of Internet in schools has grown exponentially in the last few years, College Board (the board which presides over America’s all important SAT’s) Online researchers warn the trend has had a negative effect on disadvantaged children. They report that lack of Net access at home may cause kids to fall behind at school, exacerbating the gap between the rich and poor (Source: Zdnet.com/anchordesk).

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