An Article On The Internet

The functional unit of our society today is centered on the Internet. In our day and age, people are prone to isolation because all communication can be performed online. We are missing key human interactions and our technology is shaping

There have been many studies done on the negative psychological and sociological effects of technology while some may be true technology has its share of positive effects on society. The advances of technology have aided in the access to information from relatively anywhere. According to Hepburn (2013) “By the end of 2014, the number of Internet users was expected to be almost 3 billion, two-thirds of whom live in the developing world, and the number of mobile broadband subscriptions was expected to reach 2.3 billion globally” (as cited in Yáñez, Okada, & Palau2015, p.89). It has become easier to stay connected to family, friends, access personal information, and has improved educational opportunities. Technology is always evolving and changing for the better. “Mobile technologies and networks are increasingly expanding in their sophistication and capacity, and new applications (software programs) are enhancing the ways in which individuals interact” (Giota, 2014).

Never has a communications system played so many roles in our lives--or exerted such broad influence over our thoughts--as the Internet does today.

There are few places on this Earth, if any, where the possibilities are truly endless. However, if you detach yourself from the physical world and emerge into the “online” world, you find that this just might actually be accurate in this realm. The World Wide Web has had so much to offer to us since the early 1990s, but with this comes controversy. Unleashed onto a plane of seemingly immeasurable freedom of anonymity, was the world ready for such responsibility? Since those early days when new emerging technology changed our lives immensely, have we at all become a better place, or have we bitten off more than we can chew, and doomed our human relations forever? Exploring these concepts are three in-depth articles, including: “Growing Up Tethered” by Sherry Turkle, “The Loneliness of the Interconnected” by Charles Seife, and “Cybersexism” by Laurie Penny. Although it is thought that the Internet brings the world together, it actually does not help us politically, culturally, and economically like one would believe, as it makes us unable to be independent, isolates us from different points of view, and encourages real-world violence against women and other minority groups.

In her call to action, The People’s Platform; Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, Astra Taylor addresses underlying social and economic forces of the internet and differential perspectives towards it. Taylor discusses the new internet in which content is king and, people are now the product, this is called Web 2.0. She discusses this topic from a couple viewpoints; those who would believe that the internet is truly the new people’s platform and that it is the golden age of sharing and collaboration, called the Techno-optimists. The counterparts of this interpretation of the internet are what she calls the Techno-Skeptics, who have a similar mindset in that of Nicholas Carr, an author about technology in the modern age, with the

The ease with which people are able to share and communicate over the Internet has had the effect that people no longer feel the need to interact in with one another in person because they feel that everything they want to do can be done over the Internet. An example can be seen in “Connectivity and its Discontents”, where we are introduced to Randy (Turkle 621). Randy’s younger sister was recently engaged to be married, something that most people would consider a significant event. She and her fiance decided to make the announcement to their family and friends via e-mail, something that made Randy feel very far away from his sister emotionally. Social media can also have the effect that constantly updating our information and giving second by second updates on the ordinary events of our daily

The internet is home to many dangers such as sexual predators and hackers, however the biggest threat to us on the internet is actually ourselves. People have unknowingly isolated themselves by connecting to the internet which causes a multitude of problems that not only affect our online lives, but person everyday lives. In The Loneliness Of the Interconnected, by Charles Seife, readers become privy that because of the information, power, opinions, and people that are available online to everyone results in society becoming even more isolated, ignorant, and misinformed more than ever before with every “like” button being clicked. . Life is a tough place where ideas and opinions can be smacked down by anyone at anytime, but because of the internet people can find a lifeline in others when they log online.

Since its introduction on a public scale in the 1990s, the internet has been associated with many changes in social experience. Many aspects of social life such as education, work, commerce and even personal relationships have changed through the internet. However, researchers have found that, at least in the early years, access to the internet is shaped according to gender, class, ethnicity and education. During the 1990s the typical information technology user was a white, male, professional with a background in IT. This bias in internet access was named the ‘digital divide’ to point out the implied social inequalities. It was said that the internet was

Carr specifically is writing about the internet that has evolved over time. He claims that people are starting not to understand the readings. People use to read books and “go to libraries to look for research and now with a click of a button its at our finger tips.” He thinks people are just skimming through articles and books. He even goes on to say that his co-workers and fellow writers are started to skim.

The issue of the Internet having psychological benefits has two sides, as does any issue. James E. Katz and Philip Aspden present the yes side of this issue. Katz and Aspden used a national random telephone survey to back up their side on the issue. The survey conducted in October of 1995 compiled the individuals who took the survey into five specific groups. The groups consisted of those not aware of the Internet, non-users aware of the Internet, former users, recent users-those who started using the Internet in 1995, and longtime users-those who started using the Internet prior to 1995. The survey questioned community involvement (community, leisure, and religious,) involvement in existing communities (face to face, family, Internet,)

In the world of technology, the internet has transformed the way we go about our daily lives. Forty years ago, only a few thousand people had access to the internet. Today, the internet is a tool that mostly everyone has access to. With the invention of cell phones, we have the internet at the tip of our fingers. The internet is continuously getting faster and smarter with the help of better developing technology. The internet use to only be used to learn how to build and use networks. With the access of lecture notes and two different articles, there are several different aspects between the internet when it was first founded to the use of the internet now. The growth of the internet will continue to create new technologies that will make it easier for consumers in the future.

Castells, M., 2000. The Rise of the Network Society - The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture Vol. I. Cambridge, MA; Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

The first effect of using the internet is social isolation. Ordinarily, we have lost our face to face communication with people by social isolation. The outcome shows that people nowadays prefer utilizing the

Anonymous is a network of hackers who have eyes and ears all over the Internet. Its very creepy, they have their technological hands in everything, and quietly lurk, evaluating the problems presented by communities and weighing in. Every once in a while we hear from them and their opinion. They merge into a single entity, kind of how we talk about the Internet. It’s a collection of “things” but this collection makes it into a person, or a thing. They usually come into the light when gross violations of life laws are evident. Usually its censorship, something that is majorly important to the online community. For example this group held a nationwide peace protest across major cities in India, to send a message to the Indian government, halting major activities and turning the worlds internet eyes on them as a form of pressure.

Nowadays, the rapid development of technology and science can bring us many conveniences. And as this developing continued, people are not satisfied with traditional tools and habits. The first technology I want to mentioned is the Internet technology. First of all, what is the internet technology? Internet technology is the ability of the internet to transmit information and data through different servers and systems. Internet technology is important in many areas that allows people can easily to communicate with each other. Secondly, the Internet is a large database where all different types of information can be passed and transmitted. For example, it can be letting people talk and interactive in the same website; it can also be easily let people file sharing with other people and some documents loading to their own computer. All in that, Internet technology has lead to a wealth of information available to anyone who is able to access the internet. Nowadays, the internet technology is constantly improving and as the technologies powering the internet, the speeds are faster, and more information is available and many different processes are done that were not possible in the past. In Addition, the internet is a global network of computers interconnected through different media using a standard protocol. The internet plays an important role in modern human life. People always rely on the internet for their jobs, trade, education and business, among many other