Media, News, Paranoia, and the Consequences of Y2K

The internet has changed the world as we knew it. The world no longer communicates, does business, or perches commodities in the same a traditional way. E-mail, instant massager and chat rooms were the first innovations to be used by the public. As time went on more and more people depended on the internet to communicate with each other. It did not take long for the U.S. Postal service to see the decline in mailed letters. With the internet being so easy to access and email being so easy to use it quickly became the preferred way to communicate with family and friends over long distances. Companies soon followed suit to better serve their clients.

The author compares the difference from the past and the present and how the internet has changed not only himself, but others and the way that they are able to understand and focus due to the long-term use of the web. While comparing the past and the present the author gathers information from well know writers that feel the same way about the effects of the web. The author's choice of personal experiences, vivid imagery and analysis backed by research hook the reader and persuades them to believe that today's technology is causing mainly problems.

“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve” (George W. Bush). Bush was referring to Tuesday September 11, 2001. This day is what woke up the sleeping giant that was America and forced America to form into a great country again. Events in the 2000’s such as the signing of Bush Doctrine, creation of homeland security, Google, the successful mapping of genome, Obama becoming the first non-white president, Wikipedia was launched, all helped improve our country. Between politics, american values, foreign affairs/conflicts, popular culture, the economy, and technology/ innovation all make this century worth studying.

The transformation of America is often discussed in both popular media and academic dialogue. Each generation has a name, new technologies define new eras, and events seem only notable when they are “historic”. While major events catch the interest of a broad spectrum of the public consciousness, subtle interactions between actors and slight shifts in beliefs are constantly changing the realities of the world. When the twin towers fell in 2001, the United States seemed to be thrust into a new world of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Jihadists, and a global fight against terrorism; bombs were dropped, ground forces were deployed in foreign states, and anyone who publicly questioned the urgency of war was at risk to be labeled a traitor.

On March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt stated in his first inauguration speech, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance," (Baughman). This quote translates to a confusing concept at first, but once discussed is practical: the fear of an individual should not be the concern, yet it should be the damage fear itself has on one. Little did we know at the time that this quote, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” would turn into “the very symbol” of Roosevelt’s Presidency (Baughman).

That national scare was Y2K. The Y2K Bug, also called the Year 2000 Bug, a problem in the coding of computerized systems that was projected to destroy all computers and computer networks. Until the 1990s, many early computers abbreviate four digit years as 2 digit years to save space, but people thought the computers would recognize the year 2000 as 1900, thus setting time back to where computers didn’t exist. Such hardware and software failures in computers used in areas like banking, government records would lead to widespread chaos. An estimated 300 billion dollars was spent to reinforce and upgrade current computer programs for Y2K. (Y2K

E4: Review to how fear drives American politics Fear, it is what drives and motivates us to move forward with productivity or it can push us back, forcing us to live in an eternal past. In the speech “How fear drives American politics”, David Rothkopth speaks of how the United States has reacted to fear and how it’s political leaders have chosen to use it. How American politics have chosen to react to this fear has not only affected America and its citizens, but it has also held an effect on other countries as well. I feel that he has many good points but some bad points in his speech about America’s fear.

An increase in Internet maturity, correlates with an increase in real per capita GDP on average of $500. Looking back to the Industrial Revolution, it’s growth took 50 years to achieve these same results. This demonstrates both the magnitude and impact the internet delivers to all levels of society. In the French Economy, the internet had reported to have destroyed 500,000 jobs over the past 15 years, but has also over those same amounts of years has created 1.2 million new ones. For every job the internet has taken away, it’s created twice the amount. It’s safe to the internet has been able to increase the worlds GDP bringing great growth to the

“We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail,” is a quote said by former president, George W. Bush, in his address to a joint session of Congress after the September eleventh attacks. The beginning of the twenty-first century marked a start of a revolution. A revolution of social change and global peace. The 2000’s is a decade of advanced technology, new and improved adjustments, and a decade of remembrance.

Speeches from Presidents are important, and can build a nation together, it is seen with the idea’s of Franklin D Roosevelt and President Barack Obama. While these two speeches aren’t made in the same circumstances, they do represent something strong within a nation, and that can be from fear, while the fear indifferently are from different things, it is still there. While fear has been around throughout human history, it shows its strength with a nation, and how it can revolutionize a nation, by creating a sense of safety throughout one, or several speeches.

For sure, there is a lot of emphasis on the future now more than ever. The television alone scares the life out of us; moreso, because it rants on about politics and how americans may be powerful, but are soon to be toast. Our financial state as a country is something that should give almost everyone, who knows money, depression, which is scary. Technology screws us over just because all the things our delicate, opinionated egos rely on are expensive and things we will soon have to buy on our own. We as a community are scared that we won’t be able to hold ourselves financially because no one explains to us it’s okay to live middle class and what it takes to be there, or that an education is a real key to success if it’s applied properly. That you may have to be responsible, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t

We often hear “this generation has it easy with all this technology!”, but is that really the case. Not too many years ago devastation struck our country more than once. We have grown up in the era that is a frightful and painful time. Like the article, “The Why-Worry Generation” By Judith Warner, which stated “This annoying yet admirable ability to stay positive in a depressing and frightening time has nothing to do with the parents. Perhaps it's a result, as some long-term observations of this generation have suggested, of growing up in an era of almost unremitting ambient anxiety:school years spent in the shadow of Columbine, 9/11 and, lately, widespread parental job losses”(Warner). I think this is true that this is still impacting our lives today. Since the technology has evolved, we can know any piece of news at any time. That creates a worried life for some people, knowing that around the world and even here there are terrible things that

With all these new inventions the world has become a place to be feared. The idea of

The 1990’s were a time of rapid change in technology. People began to use the internet for business, which could be accessed by a majority of the world. Companies and corporations began to want to invent in other countries for profit, rather than investing for political influence. Due to this new way of business, profits went up, which led to new technology and even more profit. Although the internet was great for wealthy businesses and corporations, there were many flaws.

"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, imagination and unbeatable determination to do the job on hand." Harry S. Truman said. In order to have a great America, we must have courage, imagination and determination to overcome all obstacles. I understand that freedom is not free and many soldiers fought for our freedom. Sometimes my generation takes every day for granted. We need to bring back the importance of the patriotic spirit. My great grandfather is my role model and was in the Air Force. He once said to me, "you are the future". I didn't quite know what this meant at the time, but as I sit and write this paper, the meaning is becoming more and more clear. It is up to my