The Societal Impact Of The Internet Essay

The Societal Impact Of The Internet. Essay, Research Paper

In our modern society, technology has impacted our lives in almost every aspect imaginable. Our life style has become one of the new eras, dealing substantially with strands of new technology each day. If you would stop for a moment and graze upon memories from your relative past, you too can see what an impact technology has had, as well as the evolution it has undertaken. Ten years ago people could not have imagined how different their lives would be. Today many households contain at least one personal computer. The simplest of things have all changed on account of newer, better, faster and more efficient forms of advanced technology. A primary focus can be taken alone on the impact computers have had in our changing world. But I as a student would prefer to narrow the scope even further, as to analyze the impact the Internet has had upon people and their lives.It is safe to assume that almost everybody has heard about the Internet, and many have experienced it. The Internet is a conglomeration of worldwide networks linked together, which we as users have public access to. The very beginning of the Internet consisted of four main computers linked together, which they called the ARPANET (Shelly-Cashman,7.3). The U.S. Department of Defense funded this initial network. These computers where nothing like the Internet we know of today, they simply transferred information in a very crude fashion, but still it was the beginning. The main goals of this first network were to create a system of linked computers across an area of land, which would be run even if one of the four computers malfunctioned. The second purpose was to allow scientists to share knowledge and data across the given area of land (Shelly -Cashman,7.3). Today the Internet ranges across the globe, containing information far beyond that of which it s creators ever imagined. Originally the Internet was suppose to contain only that information concerning the sciences, but as it evolved, the entertainment purposes of the users became noticeable. To date, the Internet contains information on almost any subject, place, etc. Advantages of the Internet are its speed, capacity and low cost. These very characteristics are the ingredients to the reformation of our society, as technology advances, people have become more eager to receive the most possible, in the least amount of time for the lowest amount of cost. The Internet has allowed our world not only to expand, but the Internet has added some unique twists to the world we now live in. Twenty years ago, if you needed to get background information on a particular topic for school, work or leisure, you had to do it at a library, or similar facility, which only allowed you access during their business hours. Today society has entered the Information Superhighway. This name is commonly associated with the Internet, as it is the beginning of something that has never been seen before. One can get information, give information and pass it along to someone else in a matter of minutes. People have access to shopping, other people, information and other places. The Internet allows us to increase our communication channels with others around the globe, share what they offer, and displace it further throughout the network.In addition to these great advantages the Internet offers us, there are many disadvantages that correspond. Increased communication has both benefited our society, as well as hurt it. The Internet has bred a new generation of crime and unconfined malicious information.When a user logs on the Internet he has the choice as to the information he/she chooses to view, but the disadvantage is that there is a huge amount of information on the Internet that if applied incorrectly could hurt many people. A perfect example can be seen in the recent catastrophic mass murder in Littleton, Colorado. The two boys who committed this gruesome act had been sharing their plans over the Internet with others, plans that included how-to messages for creating explosives. Other messages they sent contained life-threatening comments directed at fellow peers of their class whom they did not like. These types of usage on the Internet are what have created a new era of criminals. Ten years ago, there where not any Internet crimes, people didn t even know what that term meant. Yet in today s society the impact of the Internet can be seen on a daily basis in newspapers, magazines and media. Internet crimes range from computer fraud to murder. Authorities have had to learn to deal with this new criminal element. The main concern with the Internet is that there is no real agency or group vested to control it s content, therefore allowing the user to be completely free as to what they read, or supply on the Internet itself.

In addition to the more severe disadvantages to the use of the Internet, the Internet has also created Internet junkies, people whom spend extended periods of time on-line. In a study conducted by Viktor Brenner of the University of Buffalo, Viktor attempts to define the terms of Internet addiction, as well as devise statistics to appoint to this new phenomenon. There are people whom are logged on the Internet all day, if not all night, losing sleep, causing disturbances in family life, and losing touch with other real people around them due to their addiction to the Internet. Although Viktor s study was not completed