The Internet: Is it a Pandora’s box?

It’s so simple! Go to a search engine like “Yahoo!” and enter in a word, in seconds the screen is bombarded with an abundance of information. The Internet vividly depicts the tale of the tortoise and the hare. A contender that was once assumed to be a side player is now paving the way for the future. Day by day its audience and value grows, and daily we see how this communication device has altered our lives in every respect.

The Internet, for one, has completely revolutionized the concept of communication, bringing with it umpteen different ways to interact. Today, the Internet serves as a mechanism for information dissemination, as well as a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location. The Internet has truly connected the globe in a way that was most likely never envisioned. But how exactly has, and does it continue, to effect you and I, that is the question posed here?

Keeping in touch, or making new friends, has never been so simply as it is thanks to the Internet. Currently, whether it be in businesses or homes, individuals can inter-act in a matter of minutes with a cost-effective mechanism. The Internet has linked families allowing not only the exchange of letters, (that once took weeks to be received), but also allowing the exchange of photographs, files and the ability for live chat. These small interactions have, for many of us, become a part of our daily routines. Many a times, we tend to neglect the role the Internet has played in our lives; we rarely stop to think how magnificent a medium the net has become.

In seconds, with a touch of a button, we can gather information of events that occurred miles away. The individual no longer has to wait for the ten o’clock news to know what is happening in their town, city, country or the world. Now with a simple connection, all the global happens can be located in the comfort of ones home. But can the availability of all this information create an information overkill for the user? That is, can we have too much information available to us? And more importantly how do we disseminate the information we obtain?

Concerns over the Internet arise in terms of privacy and crime. Obviously these two arenas are of great concern not only to the individual but to nation-states as well, and this sentiment is displayed by many governments who are fearful of how powerful the Internet may become. There is a growing fear that the Internet will, if indeed it hasn’t already, posses a life of its own. Fear of losing control is a real threat to many governments who are tackling the question of informed citizens versus over zealous citizens. The Internet has in many cases caught the governments of the world off guard. An innocent connection now appears to threaten the very fabric of our society. The inter-changing of ideas and concepts has generated a new breed of individuals who are able to reach the masses in matter of seconds. How will this relationship effect the way our world operates? Will we have more individuals taking to the net to express their concerns, to establish a foundation for groups, to lead the way for change? Or will we have individuals who merely act solely with their fingers, never once getting out to bond
with the “real” world?

The Internet surely has outdone the couch potato! When it comes laziness, nothing can be more simpler than clicking a button to shop online, to chat online, to read online, etc. Daily the uses of the Internet grow, and with this new environment our society is slowly becoming more and more impersonal. Further still, we are often building relationships with individuals we have no real concept of. That is, on the Internet, knowing an individuals true identity is “virtually” impossible. But nonetheless the Internet is truly connecting the world.

The power of the Internet is often attributed for enhancing the trend towards globalization. Many state that the Internet has served to enhance the global community. But has it in fact aided in linking the world solely, or will it too become another means of division. Will the Internet enhance the divide between the haves and the have-nots, the developed and the developing? Today, obviously individuals in the developed countries have a greater accessibility than those in the developing nations. In fact, in most of the world the Internet is considered a luxury item. Can we, however, use this medium to bring the two together? Can the Internet, just as it has bridged families, build the gap between the two extremes?

Regardless, of what the future may hold for the Internet, the fact remains that it has aided positively in many aspects. Its ability to link individuals together and its astounding amount of information has change the way we look at the world. The Internet has truly embarked itself in our lives and is here to stay!