Society of 21st Century, The Internet - Research Paper Example

Internet and the society Introduction Computers were mostly common with the physicists since their main purpose was to help with the calculation of complex mathematical problems. Even the worldwide web was not common like in the modern society where the global community depends on it for their daily lives (Rajagopal, 2014). However, internet changed the phase of the society since it is finding its use in commerce, social interactions, and even governance. The internet has gone through a tremendous growth where it is common to hear phrases like Google, Facebook, and twitter among other social media sites. Though the society celebrates internet for improving their lives by offering an easy means of communication, it is imperative to look at the interaction trends that influence social behaviors. Interaction with the internet has changed people’s perceptions towards each other since they have integrated internet as a major part of their lives (Brailas, & Tsekeris, 2014). Internet avails new ways of communicating with people through emails and social sites. On the other hand, it has changed the face of education and learning through online libraries. On the contrary, the interaction has led to socially unacceptable behaviors that the essay discusses in details. Therefore, this essay seeks to outline how the society interacts with the internet and possible effects it has on their lives. How the society interacts with the internet Internet has completely changed the communication process in the society. Emails provide easy and convenient means of communication thus it has made information sharing easy between individuals. Apart from emails, social media sites have also changed the face of communication in the modern society (Brailas, & Tsekeris, 2014). Internet has created many social media networks where people can connect with their friends. For instance, facebook and twitter have become common names in many households owing to the communicative role they play in the modern society. The social media sites enable individuals to know what their friends are planning. On the other hand, the sites help people to follow the activities of their friends since individuals can also share their location on the internet. Analysts are of the opinion that social networking through the internet strengthens existing relationships and is the basis for forming new relationships (Rajagopal, 2014). Therefore, improved social ties and relationships have improved the social conditions globally. Internet has also changed the way people get fame and improve their social status. There are many funny videos on social sites like YouTube that offer the opportunity for individuals to share their good and funny moments with friends. The modern society is outgoing and interactive thus internet provides people with alternatively convenient ways to become superstars. On the other hand, internet has changed the way people share knowledge and information (Rajagopal, 2014). Contrary to the common believe that the primary use of the internet is to foster talents and skills, the internet is a useful place for sharing knowledge and new ideas. For instance, the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg used the internet to change his life at the tender age of 24 since he created an opportunity for making money. Zuckerberg is now one of the billionaires, and this explains how knowledge sharing is improving lives of people in the society. Internet has created employment opportunities where people now prefer working at home (Brailas, & Tsekeris, 2014). For most women, going to work and leaving their children at home has always been a challenge. However, internet connects different parts of the world and creates employment opportunities for all households. People can work online since they only require internet connections and a computer. Men have also resorted to working at home claiming that the opportunity gives them ample time to pay attention to family matters. On the other hand, online working offers people with the opportunity to organize and plan their schedules since they can choose when to work and when to do other things of personal interest (Rajagopal, 2014). The internet also reduces instances of engaging in meetings since video conferencing has become alternatively convenient method of holding company meetings. Studies show that individuals who work at home have high work motivation than people who work in the offices (Rajagopal, 2014). The implication is that internet has created work-at-home opportunities which make it easy to balance between social and work life. Another advantage of the internet is that social network sites have established communities to serve interests of certain individuals and groups (Rajagopal, 2014). People can join these communities since the internet connects the entire globe through worldwide web. The communities have real agendas that are useful in fostering positive behaviors in the society like charity and help groups. On the other hand, internet communities are helpful to people with disabilities that cannot move out and find friends. In this sense, internet fosters healthy relationships and offers opportunities for socially challenged people to interact with others (Brailas, & Tsekeris, 2014). One advantage of internet communication is that time is not a limiting factor and other issues like geographical location and political affiliation do not affect interaction between individuals. For instance, Facebook is full of community groups with interests on crucial issues like environmental conservation, community development, and social interaction among others. Internet is also advantageous since it avails information quickly to the community (Brailas, & Tsekeris, 2014). In this case, internet has changed the face of education and training. There are online libraries full of free reference books as well as dictionaries as replacements for libraries and bookshops. For instance, Google books offer free reviews of books thus provides an alternatively cheaper access to learning materials. On the other hand, internet information is up to date thus providing a reliable source of information to the society (Rajagopal, 2014). A point to note is that the development and well-being of the society depend on accessibility to information that also fosters learning among students and the society in general. Therefore, internet has changed the way educators administer knowledge to their students since the different methods of online learning favors students of all students ranging from those with abilities to others with disabilities like the blind and deaf. Internet has changed the way the society transacts business and manages firm operations (Gackenbach, 2011). Internet is a market that business entities are increasingly utilizing to their full potentials. Organizations have diverted all their marketing and advertising activities to the internet implying that the internet has become an entrepreneurial opportunity for the modern society. In the modern era, businesses that embrace e-commerce are more likely to record high sales and large profit margins than those that still stick to traditional methods of doing business. The development of e-business and e-commerce has also led to the adaptation of e-governance (Gackenbach, 2011). Therefore, internet has changed the way governments rule their citizens. Through e-governance, the public are more aware of the government projects and holds it accountable for certain decisions and actions. Moreover, internet has changed the way people purchase products and services. Companies have shifted to the online crowd who prefer online purchase of goods and services at the comfort of their homes. In this case, social behaviors are changing since the current generation has gotten used to easy and efficient ways acquiring goods and services (Rajagopal, 2014). However, the debate as to how the internet breeds laziness is the society is always open to discussion. On the other hand, e-governance breeds democracy implying that internet has impacted positively on the society by changing governance approach (Gackenbach, 2011). For instance, the recent riots and protests against governments began with simple posts in social media that grew into public outrage prompting them to take action against their underperforming governments. Nonetheless, governments have diverted their services to the internet. The development of information systems enables governments to manage the countrys database on a single computer that integrates other systems from different parts of the country. Societies now have easy accessibility to government services that have also become efficient with the development of online services. Apart from the positive effects, internet is much to blame for the degradation in social behaviors (Rajagopal, 2014). Internet has become part of a societys daily life and in turn influences their habits, social behaviors, and abilities. Children are the primary victims of social degradation that comes with the internet. Most websites do not control the contents they avail to their users thus posing more danger to teenagers and children of tender ages. For instance, some sites have erotic materials and they do not have age restrictions on their accessibility. Even if they have age restrictions, it is hard to differentiate if a user is an adult or an underage owing to the location disadvantage that makes it impossible to identify the individuals. Therefore, adverse impacts of the internet revolve around the effects it has on the behaviors of children (Gackenbach, 2011). In this case, internet is breeding a new cadre of generation that has detached itself from traditional norms. The society must prepare itself to deal with a lazy generation that spends much of its time on the internet. One problem with the internet is the rising cases of data and privacy issues (Gackenbach, 2011. The manner in which the society interacts with the internet implies that people entirely depend on it for survival. For instance, banking services are now available on the internet where people can transact from their banks using Visa card numbers. However, internet has led to the cropping up of a new breed of criminals in the society who target identity information (Brailas, & Tsekeris, 2014). In fact, one of the contentious issues on the internet is how organizations are protecting the information of their esteemed customers. People purchase goods and services online and expose their personal information like credit card numbers and bank details. There are many cases of cyber-attacks that target individual and corporate information. Therefore, internet is adding up to the increasing crime rate in the world. Youth and gang violence has become frequent in the modern society owing to increased exposure of children to explicit internet contents (Brailas, & Tsekeris, 2014). Through the internet, youths get access to videos promoting violence, and this has a significant effect on their social behaviors. On the other hand, internet is to blame for the changing social behaviors where music and arts influence characters of youths and children (Rajagopal, 2014). Other websites have instructions that encourage people to commit suicide. In addition, the prevalent drug abuse in the society is becoming a serious issue owing to access to the internet contents. There are music and movies that encourage anti-social behaviors like drug use. However, the materials are free to access and web sites have no incentives of censoring violent movies and music. The implication is that free interaction of youths with the internet is breeding unhealthy social behaviors where youths prefer sex, drugs and violence as a good way of life (Gackenbach, 2011). Moreover, internet has changed the concept of role model in the society where youths lookup to drug addicts, violent people and morons as their role models. Conclusion In a nutshell, internet has changed many things in the society ranging from how people interact to the way they carry on with their daily lives. The interaction of the society with the internet has had both positive and negative impacts. One of the positive impacts is that the internet has changed flow of information and communication in the society (Rajagopal, 2014). The research also outlines other positive effects like improvement in business operations, governance, and good social behaviors. On the contrary, internet is the leading cause of increased social vices like cyber-crime and youth violence. The explicit contents are free to access, and a worrying trend is the effect they have on behaviors of children. Therefore, though the improvements that internet has had on their lives, much concern is about the adverse effects it is having on the current generation. References Brailas, A. V., & Tsekeris, C. (2014). Social behaviour in the internet era: Cyborgs, adolescents and education. European Journal of Social Behaviour, 1(1), 1-4. Gackenbach, J. (Ed.). (2011). Psychology and the Internet: Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal implications. Waltham: Academic Press. Rajagopal, I. (2014). Does the Internet shape a disciplinary society? The information-knowledge paradox. First Monday, 19(3), 22-34. Read More