Internet Use and How It Affected Culture - Report Example

Internet Use and How It Affected Culture Internet use in the modernity has emerged as a result of technological inventions and innovation. Internet use traces its development, evolution and neo-evolutionary perspective at the beginning of the classical period. Critical theorists ultimately view internet use and culture as a doubled edged sword where in one of these societal structures have greater impacts on the other. As per modernity, internet use has been blamed on the transformation experienced from the traditional cultural dichotomy to the homogeneous nature of the modern culture. Technologically, modernization and internet use implies that in the modernity internet use has resulted into the emergence of various hype rational activities in the modernity. Politics and youth culture particularly as some of the aspects of society that have been on the receiving end both negatively and positively as a result of the establishment and extensive growth of internet use in the world. This research paper explains the effects of growth in internet use of the global culture. Precisely, this paper dwells on the impacts of internet growth on the youth language and the overall world political environment. Internet growth has been associated with modernity theory; a theory which postulates that there are various features of modern societies that the traditional societies must collectively embrace in order to develop to greater heights. An example of such futuristic characteristics of modernity implies that the modern societies in which we live in are perceived to technologically have modern education, social differentiation such as division and labor and specialization as well as an established technological innovation (Bidgoli 2004, p.123). Internet growth and use henceforth fall under the technological innovation of the modern societies. Internet growth in the modernity has taken place in phases. Initially, internet use had limited impact to the people as opposed to the contemporary world. In the walk of moving from being traditional to being modern, various stages must be involved in the innovations technologically. Internet growth and use have been a homogenizing process. The impact of internet use on the current social, political and social world has been consolidated together with various diverse effects being linked to the political economy and the youth culture. Internet growth homogeneity refers to the tendency of internet growth to produce a convergence wavelength among the societies. As time goes by, the societies are likely to resemble one another as a result of the informational role of internet use. This is because the patterns of internet growth are such that more highly internet use improves in the societies; the more individuals in these societies resemble modern and complex lifestyles. Internet growth has outrageously led to westernization. Westernization as a process is the same as modernization. In westernization or modernization literature, there is ultimately an attitude for complacency towards the Western Europe and the United States; these nations are viewed overly as being at the epitome of the internet and technological cultures advancement. Additionally, these nations are viewed as having an unmatched economic prosperity and domestic stability. The internet growth has portrayed diverse effect in the socio-political system due to its irreversible nature as a process. Internet growth, as well as use, once started cannot stop whatsoever. This affects the youth language as a result of the addictive nature of the internet sites and the languages used in these sites (Danet & Herring 2007, p.145). The Internet has been socially identified as an attribute of primary socialization. It, therefore, plays a major role in implicating the youth language. The irreversibility nature of the internet growth additional implicates the West nations; there a belief that once the third world nations encounter the West, they will never be able to resist the tendencies towards modernization. Internet use is one the attributed facts under which the West are implicated with. Lastly, internet growth and use has emerged as a progressive and transformative process in nature. This means that internet growth has spearheaded movement into modernity. Internet growth has overruled the traditional structures and values in a total replacement. The religion, political system, family structures, legal systems and socio-economics attributes of the modernity have been greatly influenced by the internet use and growth. Internet use and its impacts on the youth culture: The influential nature of the internet on the psychosocial development of youth culture is diversely a profound one. Exposure of the youths to media and overall internet world inhibits the originality of the socialization process as an important attribute of culture as a way of life. Internet has both positive and negative effects on the youths, and many research works have looked collectively at the impact of internet sites in the society, predominantly on the youth. An individual youth’s development level is a critical factor in their social lives as per the determination of their liberal thinking. Not all the internet sites portray bad image to the youth, but the data showing the negative impact such as exposure to violence, offensive languages, and an inappropriate sexuality greatly influence the behavioral culture attribute of the youths (Galletta & Zhang 2006, p.111). Averagely, every youth is on a given internet site nearly 14 hours in a week. This is on the low end. By graduation, for instance, the average teen would have spent more time on internet than doing classroom work. Internet, therefore, as an informational site, has denied the youths a reading culture. Internet use manipulates the youths studying the culture through the culminated sites, which are, in turn, more of addictive to the individual youths. Several studies on the use of Internet have indicated that the time spent on the internet varies between different cultures and age groups. The internet studies are relevant especially in the studies on the negativity of internet exposure on the disadvantaged youth populace. A substantial number of youths consistently begin using internet as early as four years of age. This process is unregulated and continues through to the youthful life. Youth culture and internet use, therefore, is to be blame on every misconception and misperceptions in the youths. Gun culture initially was on the decline, but with the rise in the internet use, the gun culture has reemerged (Haythorntwaite & Kazmer 2004, p.125). Additionally, through the internet use racial segregation has heightened among individual youths. The youths get the first hand or raw data from the internet sites, which, in return, distraught their liberal view of life as youths. Terrorism and youth radicalization processes have been greatly experienced in this internet use era. Youths are easily radicalized through the internet. It is, therefore, necessary for a regular parental guidance especially on the internet sites every youth visits. Lastly, the pornographic sites on the internet introduce the youths to early sexual escapades. These are some of the reasons for the deviant sexual behaviors among the youths. Internet use frequently limits the youth’s time for vital activities such as reading, learning to talk, playing, storytelling, spending time with peers and family, participating in regular exercise, developing the necessary physical, social and mental skills. These activities are necessary and should be accorded ample time in order to improve the physical and interactional well-being of the youths. In addition to timeline of internet usage, other factors that influence the medium’s effect on the youths include individual susceptibility, the youth’s self-image development level and whether the internet use is done by the youths alone or under their parents’ strict supervision. Internet use effects on politics: As the internet plays a commendable role in political campaigns, governance, and activism, the concurrent debates continuously go on as to how the digital and social media are changing the political view of the society. Topics such as whether or not the internet is the elementary factor leading to an increased political polarization- a tendency spearheaded by political elites to cluster closer in their campaigns, habits, and political viewpoints. Although there have been an increased skeptical political behaviors in regard to the real meaning of the social media at large in terms of the tangible nature and impacts of internet campaigns. Various internet-based political analysts’ points out that internet and journalists are not in line with campaign trails and sufficiently keeping with the newly initiated campaign tactics. An example of an internet-based camping network was ideally the Obama-Romney campaign trails. These campaigns ultimately offered the latest case study on how politicians have in the contemporary world adopted and deployed internet campaigns as well as their consequences (Lessing 2009, p.134). Despite suggestive narratives as per internet political impacts as a decisive strategy, a group of political scientists are already challenging and revising the internet attribute political campaigns. United States, as the father of modern political democracy, has since time immemorial been the benchmark of all the political guidelines in the world. The recently adopted internet informational roles in political campaigns have, therefore, influenced every world’s Nation-States. The internet political campaigns have been abolished by various emerging nation-states in the world as both a propaganda machinery and informational site for the aspiring political aspirants to their subjects. Social networking sites and politics: Posting and engaging in talks on various social networking sites reveal extraordinary surprises for many regular users when it comes to the open-minded political views. About 40 percent of users of such political sisters show their political affiliations without fear or favor. Three-quarters of social-networking sites users believe their friends post at least some politics related content on the politically initiated sites from time to time. This recounts for about 40% of the entire adult populace (Lessing 2005, p.156). The internet social networking sites in the current technological world are very crucial when it comes to political campaigns. In these sites, the individual voters express their political views openly without any fear. The current political world, therefore, is greatly shaped by the internet use as a source of first hand informational data. In conclusion, growth in internet use has significantly affected political culture and youth culture in the modernity. Politics and internet are intertwined due to the increased number of internet users in the contemporary world. Politics is about numbers, which internet gives. Every internet user is in one way or another political affiliated to one political party or aspirants. Internet use, therefore, has played a major role in the shaping of political fields in the society. The youth culture, on the other hand, is negatively affected by the internet use. Youth culture has been drawn back in as far as socialization is concerned by the internet use. The internet language is a vulgar one and to the surprise of the world population, these languages have gained roots in the current society. Lastly, internet impacts to the youth have led to the decline in the cultural nativity and heritage’s purity due to internet anti-socialization behaviors. Reference List Bidgoli, H. (2004). G - O. Hoboken, NJ [u.a.], Wiley. Danet, B., & Herring, S. C. (2007). The multilingual Internet language, culture, and communication online. Oxford, Oxford University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&A N=215658. Galletta, D., & Zhang, P. (2006). Human-computer interaction and management information systems: applications. Armonk, N.Y., M. E. Sharpe. Haythornthwaite, C. A., & Kazmer, M. M. (2004). Learning, culture, and community in online education: research and practice. New York, NY [u.a.], Lang. Lessig, L. (2005). Free culture: the nature and future of creativity. New York, NY [u.a.], Penguin Press. Lessig, L. (2009). Remix: making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy. New York, Penguin Books. Read More