The Enormous Benefits of the Internet - Case Study Example

Internet a new medium of the of the Introduction Internet can be considered as a medium that has provided enormous benefits and also at the same time has caused a lot of harm to lifestyle of individuals. It is difficult to judge as whether machines are being able to change lives of people or people are in turn changing machines. Internet has made lives easy by giving us a platform through which we can access information regarding any subject across the globe. On the other hand it even serves as a tool through which we can easily communicate with our friends or relatives or even with unknown people located in any corner of the world. Internet is greatly transforming lives, society, culture and community. In present scenario technology is greatly associated with society and has proved to be a medium for information sharing, accessing and to make work simpler and convenient. On the contrary it has disrupted critical thinking procedure of an individual as all information is available on the Internet. It is an innovative medium but comprises of many issues which directly or indirectly impacts an individual. Discussion For millions of people Internet is considered to be magical medium with enormous benefits. Internet has made lives of people easy and its advantages can be observed in the form of global electronic mail, promise behind forming electronic friendships, access to software and text libraries, formulating special interest groups and availability of graphics and live videos. The factor of speed has also gained importance as Internet has moved to must have service from cooperative obscurity. Internet revolution has revitalized the approach of commercial online services. Across the globe the number of users of Internet has increased dramatically in the recent years. This clearly denotes that Internet is a highly preferable medium as users with the support of this medium can easily communicate across the globe and even access unlimited information. The magic behind this medium is it is an information environment which is structured by users without any control from central authority. Though it can be stated that Internet has a disorganized structure but it offers widespread access to computing platforms and diverse networks. Internet is often termed as a datasphere as it provides global environment for electronic information. The development phase of this medium is subjected to Darwinian forces which mean that either such developments work or are accepted by users or they eventually die out. Government to certain extent plays a major role in building the Internet infrastructure. Marketplace forces are also vital element which contributes toward framing the required infrastructure and increase demand amongst users (World Bank Group, 2002, pp. 45-46). In context of future as well as present scenario Internet or global datasphere is changing, growing and maturing at an exceptional velocity. However there is no such environment designed which can indefinitely support growth. The limits would be reached as soon as 40% of the total population size becomes connected across network. As devices such as telephones, TVs, mobile phones, etc., emerged and changed lifestyle of people making it impossible for them to survive without it similarly it has been same for Internet. This innovative medium has affected lifestyle of people to such great extent that they have become highly dependent on this technological platform (Cabrera & Malanowski, 2009, pp. 90-92). The term “Net” has gained significance in the present scenario as users became knowledgeable about value of a connection. It can also be considered as a medium as it generates change across the globe. This can be observed as a change vector through Mosaic browser. In the initial years way back in 1995 Mosaic had morphed itself that is transformed its own image intro a software industry. In today’s scenario Internet cannot be considered any form of passive medium used to transmit information from one point to another. It is rather considered to be an application environment which has enforced on changing Windows strategy by Microsoft. There are certain real benefits that have been caused by this new media both to individuals as well as enterprises. Communication even seems to be instantaneous through Internet and is considered to be the most preferred media by millions of users. It has set its mark not only in context of persona use but has even improved functions of an organization. Majority of firms do not just utilize Internet as a platform for accessing information but also as a tool for communicating with various stakeholders. It is a new medium for organizations as it has been able to effectively replace the traditional way of advertising their respective operations. With the growth and maturity of Internet firms find it easy to reach out to millions of customers at least time. Social media has gained prominence in the market place due to evolution of Internet (Vriens, 2004, pp. 112-113). This application facilitates interaction amongst individuals and also acts as a medium to spread awareness amongst public in relation to products or services being offered by an organization. Internet acts as an effective medium and has even helped firms to reduce cost as well time in relation to conducting their overall operations and interacting with all who are active participants in these operations. Electronic forum is considered to be more satisfactory by individuals in comparison to leaving a message through voice mail application (Doyle, 2000, pp.103-104). Social network can be stated as a medium which helps to enhance connectivity across the globe. In present scenario there are various social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., and all these sites help to acquire a lot of information about incidents taking place across the globe. These network sites have both advantage as well as disadvantage. The major benefit is that it helps to expand the network base but the loophole is that it can cause an adverse effect on privacy. Personal information which is displayed by users on these sites can be exploited or rather misused by strangers. There are many software’s which are now adopted by organizations to prevent such exploitation. However in current competitive environment social network helps to promote products or services which are being offered by a company. The effective growth of virtual communities has resulted because of human ability in terms of visualizing and electronic interaction. It can be stated that Internet is a medium that has been developed by individuals to cater human needs through utilizing commonplace tools. Though there are certain indirect costs associated with the use of Internet but operations based on this platform has shifted into mainstream. Privacy is a big issue when it comes to analyzing the various benefits and loopholes of Internet. This term can be regarded as a cultural construct or a right that is possessed by every individual. Privacy seems to be affected to a great extent by widespread use of Internet as there is lot of personal information which is shared by individuals across various online applications. At times this information is essential to set up communication but in many scenarios it has been observed that such information has been exploited. Surveillance has been introduced by many firms in order to prevent any form of exploitation. It can be related to norms and regulations set forth by political power or are a factor of outgrowth for increased consumption. Technology has provided two elements to the mass one is surveillance which is a good thing and another is privacy which is a bad thing. Digital media facilitates surveillance through data capture and analysis, data volunteering, generating meta-data and cross-referencing or centralizing files (Morgan, 2001, pp. 67-68). Data transparency is a factor of concern which is associated with Internet but on the contrary surveillance as a mechanism provided by this new media served the purpose of eliminating crime from the entire system of operations. The virtuous circle that has been created by Internet is all about information, communication and technology. Information relates to data transparency and communication is related to gaining competitive advantage. Technology sums them up to provide good self evidence. With civilization the growth of ICT has also become prominent across the globe. Internet has enhanced the concept of mobile internet (Poe, 2010, pp. 85-86). The growth of Smartphone indicates that internet has been accepted by users as a new medium to communicate. In the recent years the projected sales growth for smart phones has reached 2.5 billion users. These devices are a shift that has resulted in the methods of computing. There are two main factors that are associated with this new media which is immediacy and hypermediacy. Immediacy is an element that is associated with data transparency and this characteristic has facilitated the speed factor of this new media. This factor is linked with redundancy as well as anxiety which arouse through boredom. Hypermediacy on the other hand is all about data multiplicity which has increased work efficiency. Immediacy has even resulted to “VR” ideal which comprises of two factors remediation and pre-mediation. Remediation is all about an experience regarding virtual which in the later phase transformed virtual to actual that was immersive, seamless and real. On the contrary pre-mediation is use of virtual in pre-emptive manner. It prevents the emergence of actual at every possible cost (Bidgoli, 2004, pp. 117-118). These are some of the factors which can be stated as foundation of this new media known as Internet. It has made the actual world turn into reality. The matter of being a new media is not only beneficial for individuals for also has served many purpose of government. There are regions that majorly focus on developing proper infrastructure for Internet as it helps to increase their power and glory. High capital investments are done by government so as to transform the entire system into technology based system which operates at high speed. However it still remains a matter of concern that large investment that are made on NBN or national broadband network has resulted into many adverse situations. Like for instance there are various corrupted data which is being transmitted throughout this new media which is greatly affecting the young generation. The most prominent example of this is pornography that is causing harm to society (Stald & Tufte, 2002, pp. 123-124). Internet has enhanced speed in lives of individuals and also at the same time corrupted mindset of people. The unlimited access to information has disrupted the logical capability of individuals. There is constant invention which is being made in the field of technology and the design of Web is constantly changing which is apparently making Internet to be a new medium without any such strong preventive measures been taken to eliminate is adverse affects. Conclusion Technology has become an integral part of daily life as it makes work simpler and faster. Internet as per the critical discussion has evolved as a media which has enabled users not only to access global data but has even facilitated them to remain connected with people located in any corner in the world. Communication has gained significance in the external environment because of this new platform people find it easy to access information related to any subject. However Internet has even been a cause of lot of disruption and exploitation that is taking place in our society. It can be stated that appropriate preventive measures has not been taken yet which could resolve such issues related to Internet. Mostly the young generation is the ones who are being affected through this media but it serves as an effective tool for firms in order to promote their services or products across the globe. On the whole life without Internet in the present scenario is impossible. References Bidgoli, H. (2004). The internet encyclopedia. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Cabrera, M., & Malanowski, N. (2009). Information and communication technologies for active ageing. Netherlands: IOS Press. Doyle, S. (2000). Information and communication technology. Spain: Nelson Thornes. Morgan, S. (2001). Internet. UK: Heinemann Library. Poe, M. T. (2010). A history of communications: media and society from the evolution of speech to the internet. New York: Cambridge University Press. Stald, G., & Tufte, T. (2002). Global encounters: media and cultural transformation. UK: Indiana University Press. Vriens, D. J. (2004). Information and communication technology for competitive intelligence. USA: Idea Group Inc. World Bank Group. (2002). Information and communication technologies: a world bank group strategy. USA: World Bank Publications. Read More