Impact of the Internet on Society - Coursework Example

Impact of the Internet on Society Impact of the Internet on Society Introduction Technology can be defined as the application of knowledge (scientific) for practical purposes especially in business or in the industries. It can also be defined as machinery and devices that are developed from scientific knowledge and applied in various areas to solve business and societal problems. Generally, technology is it divided into five categories; tangible (prototypes, models), intangible (consultancy, problem solving), high (entirely automated technology), intermediate (semi-automated partially intelligent technology), low (labor- intensive technology). Technology mainly works by enabling us to carry out our daily activities faster and more efficiently. We develop technology to use it to our advantage and to serve us better. For instance, the internet makes it easier for people to access a large database of information form anywhere comparatively quickly compared to the traditional mode of perusing through large volumes of books.. In light of this, the paper will evaluate the impact of internet development on the society. The best aspect of the internet is that nobody owns it. It is made up of a myriad of networks both small and big. All these networks connect and converge into a single entity which is commonly known as the internet. Actually, the name (internet) is derived from the concept of interconnected networks. The internet has grown tremendously since its inception in 1969. Today, the internet is made up of millions of computer systems which are interconnected to one another. Although nobody owns the internet, the internet society maintains and monitors it. This agency is a non profit organization which was established way back in 1992 to oversee the formulation of protocols and policies that define how users interact with and use the internet. As the internet grows, its usage continues to grow at a higher rate. The number of users rose to 1.858 billion from 394 million in a duration of 9 years (2000 to 2009). Google statistics imply that the site had 1 billion visitors/ searches in 2010 daily. Also, more than 300 million accessed the internet to read blogs while a whopping 2 billion videos were viewed daily on you tube. In 2014, about 43.6 percent of the human population had access to the internet. This implies that the internet is easily accessed by a large group of the world’s population. As a result, the internet has had significant effects on the society. Prior to development of technology and the internet, most societal functions were carried out manually. This led to a lot of inefficiency. Regarding the health and welfare of the societies, information was only given by health professionals. As such, their patients mainly relied on information from them. Thus, patients had little or minimum access to information. The Societal Changes after Technology Development (Positive Impacts) Technology/internet development has led to immense changes and developments in the world. Thus, the internet has had both positive and negative consequences that have had profound impacts in the society. In the medical and healthcare field, there has been a lot of transformation. For instance, the internet has increased the research capabilities of the general public while subsequently empowering patients and their families. Through information sourced from the internet, patients are able to evaluate as many doctors as possible so as to make an informed choice of who to go to (Dusek, 2006). With the wide knowledge presented on the internet, one can learn or acquire a lot of information. The patient is far better informed to table and discuss his health issues with his/her doctor; understand alternatives, side effects and the types of treatment available and the chances of success. In the field of business, the way people carry out businesses has greatly changed due to the wide use of the internet. Many businesses have websites that allow individuals to conduct business transactions on line. The Amazon and Alibaba are great E-Commerce firms that have greatly succeeded in this internet era (Varian, Farrell, & Shapiro, 2004). The e-commerce field is projected to generate a lot of revenue for firms not only in the United States but in other countries around the globe as well. Many people use the internet to acquire information prior to making a purchase, thus enabling consumers to learn about his next purchase, before he or she goes out to purchase. Tourist may also surf the web to look for interesting places to visit when planning for their vacations. The environment has experienced major impact form the use of technology. These impacts have also improved peoples living conditions and also the animals that use the environment as their habitat. We can use technology to find the acidic or basic levels of water and soil samples in order to determine if the habitat is stable. This will enable us to put appropriate measures in order to better conserve and protect the creatures in the sea (Morozov, 2011). New energy producing machines such as the turbines are used to help decrease the requirement for coal, hybrid, electric, and the latest experiment of the hydro car in japan will reduce the need for burning fossil fuels that produce large amounts of carbon dioxide into the environment causing harm. Like all inventions, the internet has both positive and negative impacts. As such, the Internet has impacts that are not desirable to the society and that tend to lead to harm. The problems associated with social networking sites have tremendously grown since the inception of the internet (Varian, Farrell, & Shapiro, 2004). There have been debates whether internet addiction is a reality. To some people though, it appears as a perception with which people have to grapple with. People spend a lot of time on social sites. This might be harmful. For instance, some people claim that the internet and the social sites have greatly contributed to cheating, often times leading to divorce and unnecessary fights in various households. People have been fired from their workplaces or sometimes put under pressure as they use the social sites at work or when something is posted on a site that discredit the individuals professional standing. Therefore, the internet has been said to promote immorality. There has been increased pollution of the environment as technology is advancing. Due to the rapid changing world of electronics and technology, the turnover rate for upgrades is alarming. The constant stream of out with the old, in with the new is adding to the heights of toxicity in both land and air. Electronic waste is not usually disposed of properly, thus causing deadly and dangerous chemicals to leak into the ground causing soil pollution. Industries that manufacture these electronics are emitting toxic fumes into the air and in addition there is little being done regarding the regulations on the disposal of personal electronic waste (Morozov, 2011). This has led to poor land productivity thus low output mostly to the agricultural communities leading to lack of enough food to sustain them. There has been loss of social connection due to the presence of advanced technology. Creating and maintaining a long-lasting bond with other people whether friends or relatives requires a face to face interaction on a more frequent basis. The longer people isolate themselves and spend a lot of their time on the internet, the less the bonds we develop (Healey, 2006). People are required to carry out more work while at home and this takes away the time they would and should be spending with their families. In addition, younger people prefer communicating online rather than face to face talks and conversations. Actually, the height of this isolation is experienced when people can be in the same room and still text or WhatsApp each other instead of speaking to each other. The problem of loss or defective hearing and eyesight has been on the rise currently. This has mostly affected the younger generations who constantly use the headphones and earphones. Similarly, straining one’s eyes while staring at a computer while surfing and devices with screens may cause people to require use of glasses much earlier in life than if they did not use these devices. Also continuous use of these gadgets to communicate to people than the time spent in one on one communication calls for reduction in their use (Morozov, 2011). Probably, one may solve this by forcing themselves to have an electronic free day or during a weekend. Also when you go for your vacation, do not carry your earphones. Striking a balance will enable one enjoy internet without addiction and minimize the negative contributions of technology. Conclusion From the discussion we can comfortably say that the effects of development of internet almost strike a balance between the positive and negative effects. Both of them cannot happen without the other, but of course the positive impacts outweigh the negative impacts taking into consideration how the society was operating before technology advancement. The way the society was operating in social, political and economic aspects has far much improved. Therefore people cannot completely rule out the developments that internet has brought along. However, measures should be put in place to help minimize the number of negative impacts so as to have a balanced society that enjoy technology benefits with moderation. References Varian, H. R., Farrell, J., & Shapiro, C. (2004). The economics of information technology: An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dusek, V. (2006). Philosophy of technology: An introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. Katsikides, S. (1998). The societal impact of technology. Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate. Morozov, E. (2011). The net delusion: The dark side of Internet freedom. New York, NY: PublicAffairs. Healey, J. (2006). Impacts of the Internet. Thirroul, N.S.W: Spinney Press. Read More