The Internet: Change for the Better - Essay Example

The Internet: Change for the Better. The Internet is indisputably one of the greatest transformational inventions in thehistory of mankind. It permeates every aspect of life. It is such an integral part of daily routine that it is difficult to conceive of a time when barriers of time and space limited communication. It is an invention which serves as a combined medium for broadcasting, information dissemination and interaction, without regard to geographical barriers. In simple, layman terms the Internet is a globally interconnected set of computers through which anyone can quickly access data and programs from any site. The Internet owes its origins to the exigencies of the US Defense establishment which required a quick and secure channel of communication. It is the Pentagon which funded the research which led to the development of the Internet. It started out with the concept of a decentralized, secure, packet-switching computer network. With collaborative inputs from RAND, MIT and UCLA, the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) was formed. By 1969, progressive technological innovation transformed the ARPANET into the Internet as we know it today. The important contributors to the invention of the Internet include Leonard Kleinrock, Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn and Timothy Berners-Lee (Leiner et al).. It does seem particularly appropriate that the connectivity of the Internet is the result of scientific collaboration. The Internet has drastically changed the way in which people communicate, socialize, transact business and gather information. The Internet has changed the way in which people communicate. It has irrevocably broken geographical barriers. In the evolution of modes of communication, from the runners of yore, to radio, telephone, telegraphs, newspapers, television and the postal system (which has now become ‘snail mail’), it is the Internet which has truly revolutionized communication in a remarkably small window of time. Speed is the USP of the Internet. Email, instant messaging and texting enable instant communication and have effectively demolished boundaries of space and time. A letter sent from the USA to India ‘par avion’ (by airmail), less than a decade ago, took approximately a fortnight to travel across the globe. The same letter now takes just the click of a mouse to bridge that distance over the Internet. With the advent of VoIP, it is now possible to engage in ‘face-to-face’ video chats with persons in any corner of the globe with tools such as Skype. Moreover, this is accomplished at a miniscule price, in comparison with the cost of airmail postage or telephone tariffs. The speed of communication the Internet offers is particularly appreciated at times of emergencies, and natural disasters, when warning signals can be instantly transmitted across the globe. The life-saving benefits of this speed of communication cannot be denied. Social life has undergone a sea-change with the advent of the Internet. As the Internet has demolished “the traditional communications constraints of cost, geography, and time,” it has opened up a whole new world of social interaction (Glassman, 2010). Before the Internet, socialization was defined by the limited boundaries of face-to-face interaction. E mail, social networks, online chatting, files sharing, gaming, and discussion groups have made social horizons infinite. The Internet provides opportunities for the development and improvement of social ties. Long-lost friends from school and college days, who faded irrevocably out of lives in the past, are now rediscovered, and friendships are renewed, on social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. News and photographs are exchanged easily. The Internet remains unrivalled in “creating, cultivating, and continuing social relationships” (Glassman, 2010). It is now possible to maintain twenty-hour social connectivity and frequent updates through sites such as Twitter. The Internet creates opportunities for social interaction between people of like-minded interests and tastes, regardless of their place of residence. Voluntary organizations, religious, civic and social groups harness the power of the Internet to encourage participation, organize activities, raise funds, and recruit members through tools such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and texting. The Internet has remade the business world. Shopping no longer requires a visit to the mall or the corner supermarket. Shopping online has the advantages of allowing comparison in the prices of products in several stores, a wider range of selections and the opportunity to participate in bargain sales without standing in an overnight queue and elbowing aside other shoppers to grab a bargain. Finding buyers for any product, from a dining table to a night lamp found in the attic, is now possible on sites like eBay. Similarly, finding a particular product is facilitated by sites such as Amazon. The days of visiting the bank, standing in lines to deposit or withdraw money, and writing checks are gone. In their place is the convenience of Internet banking, with the electronic payment of bills, no checks, and direct payment into an account. The carrying of money is now almost unnecessary. Another commercial aspect of the Internet is telecommuting. This has transformed the workplace. With such obvious advantages as the saving of time and transport in commuting to the office, and decreases in electricity bills and employee turnover, an increasing number of commercial establishments are adopting this convenience. The Internet also serves as a workplace in itself. It provides various opportunities to make money: freelance writing is an example of this. The Internet has changed the manner in which information is gathered and disseminated. Its search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, are pointers to sources of information and serve as powerhouses of research. By serving as a collective brain, the Internet provides powerful, sophisticated access to specialized data and personal communication and has sped up the pace of scientific research enormously. Hours spent in libraries hunting for a particular piece of information have given way to a few seconds quest on the Internet: be it the latest news, a date in history or the meaning of a word. Bulky dictionaries, thesauri and sets of encyclopedias no longer occupy shelf space, as they have moved online. Millions of books are available online, many of them free of cost. Entire books can be transferred to one’s personal computer in a matter of minutes. Earning a college degree no longer entails mandatory attendance on campus. Online degrees, training and seminars (webinars) have made the traditional classroom superfluous and are particularly convenient for working people. The Internet is unrivalled in the dissemination of information. This has made it a powerful tool in the mobilization of public opinion. The Arab Spring witnessed this power of the Internet to spread messages, undermine totalitarian regimes and organize political resistance. The transformational capacity of the Internet continues to grow exponentially: not only in the fields of communication, socialization, commerce and information, but also in entertainment, travel, and almost every other aspect of human life. The GPS is another gift of the Internet which makes life easier. Travelling no longer entails seeking directions or carrying bulky maps. Of course, like all other inventions, the Internet has a few disadvantages. Critics claim that time spent online reduces time for face-to-face relationships, virtual relationships are shallow, pornography is easily accessible, and there is increased risk of privacy being breached. These are minor factors when viewed in the light of the countless number of ways in which the Internet has changed lives for the better. The most exciting part of this change is that it is an ongoing process: the Internet promises to continue to transform the way of life of the entire planet. Works Cited. Glassman, Neil. “Do the Social Benefits of the Internet Outweigh the Negatives? Pew Report says “Yes.”” Social Times. 2010. Web. 25 November 2012 http://socialtimes.com/social-benefits-outweigh-negatives-pew-report_b16832 Leiner, Barry M.,  Cerf, Vinton G., Clark, David D.,  Kahn, Robert E.,  Kleinrock, Leonard,  Lynch, Daniel C., Postel, Jon, Roberts, Larry G., and Wolff Stephen. “Brief History of the Internet.” Internet Society.” 2012. Web. 25 November 2012 http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet#LGR67 Read More