"How does the internet effect society", is a question that is often often asked. The Internet is a tool that has revolutionary effects in how society is structured. The changed that it makes in society are both good and bad. The way that society is changed by the adaption of the internet is the power of the individual voice is stronger, the promotion of global societies, privacy is not as important, increase in accessibility of book publishing, and the distribution of illegal information.
The power of the individual to say exactly what is wanted to say without having to filter the message in anyway is not only possible, but a common place on the internet. An example that shows how much one person's voice made a difference and fueled a public protest is a recent event in the middle east. A blogger named Ahmad Abu Khair was arrested for his blog, it concluded that change in the Arab world was possible, but only with a revolution. This single voice among thousands that are both online and offline was picked up and spread to millions of people. The resulting arrest that came out of it is the reason why the public started to protest.
The globalization effect that the Internet has on society is both good and bad. An article from the Asia Times states globalization as a double edged sword. The increasing of communications and also cooperation is beneficial, but the increase in inequality between the classes and the reduction of benefits has shown to be a down side. The article states that, "The wealth of this group is greater than the total income of 41 percent of the world population." This shows that there is a concentration of wealth in the world. So by creating a world the is becoming increasingly global from the effects of the internet can only increase this income gap. The internet and globalization are elements that go hand and hand.
The individual's privacy on the Internet is something that can be be minimal. A story from CBS news about one teacher that had her job effected by images that were on her Facebook. The images on her Facebook involved alcohol and profanity. Something that seemed normal for someone her age to have on her Facebook resulted in a principle of the school asking her to "resign or be suspended." A situation like this could happen before the internet, but now the spread of such information is much more wide spread than ever before.
Book publishing is made much easier with a service offered by Amazon. A benefit program enables people to publish their book and also distribute it. Being able to self-publish means that writer can be more in charge of the publication of their books. Another aspect is the printing of the book and that can be done interdependently in a similar fashion though companies also available online.
A service called Freenet enables user to exchanged information both anonymously and also at no additional change to the user. Being able to do something that is both illegal and can be done anonymously enables criminal activity to take place much more freely than has even been done before. Not having the right tool to locate and identify criminals is a downside to the internet. Giving up individual freedom to do so is a trade off that many are not willing to take.
The overall effect that the Internet has on society is a good thing, but in order to reduce the bad effect that is has on society we have to be aware of them. Not being aware of these bad effect can result in the way the society operates in a negative way. How the individual connects with each other has been changed forever by the internet. How much privacy we have is something that is much less then it was in past generations. Being mindful of how much information and also what information we share needs to be looked at by everyone.
Posts
1 Response to How the Internet is Both a Benifit and a Hindrance to Society
This is option number three if it is unclear.
Add Your Comment