Today, the Internet is the center of attention for businesses, governments, schools and individuals around the world. It has produced new industries, transformed existing ones, and has become a global cultural experience not only for adults but for children as well. It is a learning tool used to educate in schools and within our homes. The surfacing of the Internet as another means of electronic communication has had a transformative influence on social interaction.
The Internet gives people the opportunity to put their knowledge to work and take advantage of greater opportunities to lead productive and fulfilling lives (Gates). It is a gateway to measureless amounts of art, knowledge and culture. It provides equal unparalleled access to information and communications, allowing the formation of rich communities and forging real connections between people. It opens up economies, destroys barriers between nations and democratizing societies.
As cheap computing power becomes more pervasive, the Internet can bring all these benefits to more and more people around the world (Gates). Although the majority of people who use the internet are adults, children and teenagers are becoming more advanced with this technology. For most children and teenagers, using the Internet has joined watching television and talking on the phone and has become part of their daily activities. It has opened a whole new world for them allowing them to research on the internet and interact with others all around the world.
The Internet is giving children the opportunity to indulge in academic and intellectual curiosity, revolutionized education, and explore the world (Gates). Aside from being a source for information, teenagers also use the Internet as a place of self-expression through the generation of content such as blogs, art work, stories and remixes of music, or other media. Publication and distribution to an online audience can help teenagers gain visibility and a status to grow their peer networks.
In managing their peer networks, teenagers are also learning impression management, as well as social skills (Mizuko et al. , 2008). Establishment of self-identity is a large part of the teenage years and the digital media of the Internet allow teenagers to build social and personal identity in the on-line and off-line environments. Impression management is important as teenagers interact in a global online public. However, while it helps them to learn about our society and what is happening around the globe, it can also expose them to obscene, violent or inappropriate content (Gates).
Security has always been a major issue for businesses, governments, and individuals that rely on information technology (Gates). Before the Internet, we as people were happy with handing credit cards at restaurants they had never been before, and that too is not likely to change. But as our economy is increasingly depending on the Internet and security is our greatest concern. Widely publicized incidents of Web site hacking, credit card fraud and identity theft have given the Internet a largely unjustified besmirched reputation (Gates).
In order to keep the Internet a safe place to do business or for personal use, software companies have a responsibility to work together to ensure that their products always offer the highest levels of security. The judicial system and the law enforcement community must keep pace with technological advancements and enforce criminal laws effectively and thoroughly (Gates). You have many parents who feel the internet is safe and a great teaching tool that increases their children’s learning abilities.
At the same time, other parents feel the internet is not safe and can corrupt your child with computer games, online chatting obscenity and vulgarity. The private sector is consistently moving forward in giving great efforts to parents and teachers to have more control over what children can see and do on the Internet, through filtering software that blocks access to objectionable Web sites; industry standards such as the still-evolving Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) that enable helpful rating systems; and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that voluntarily regulate the activities of their customers (Melton and Shankle).
Another advantage of computers and the new technology they bring is that it amplifies the human potential for people of all ages. Having access to the internet allows us the capability of finding useful information in a timely manner. For example, if a person wants to do research on a different culture, the information is available immediately compared to having to go to the library and finding books on the topic being researched. The internet also provides access to online tutoring for those who have difficulties with a specific subject. Children can also play online games that help them become more knowledgeable.
The Internet also brings people closer together. Before the Internet, it was possible to keep in touch with relatives and friends across the country or around the world–but it was also expensive. Today, communicating with a friend in Japan is as easy and cheap as communicating with a friend across town. Instead of mailing a letter, you can send an email or an instant message to a recipient on a one-to-one or one-to-many basis. These methods make communication almost instantaneous versus buying a stamp and mailing a letter which can take days or weeks for the recipient to receive.
Millions of people with shared interests, no matter how obscure, exchange information and build communities through Web sites, email and instant-messaging software (Gates). The Internet makes the world smaller. The ability to communicate and exchange information instantaneously and across enormous distances has enabled more individuals and businesses to participate in the economy, regardless of their location. Corporations can connect with suppliers, employees, and customers around the globe, and smaller businesses can find their customers anywhere in the world.
Businesses can hire knowledge workers almost regardless of where they are, greatly expanding employment opportunities for people in the United States, and giving developing nations the ability to become economic powerhouses by providing information technology services to the rest of the world (Gates). The Internet, along with other computer technologies, is literally enabling some developing countries to “leapfrog” the industrial revolution and jump straight to the Internet Age (Malaspina 77). The Internet makes the world of business and teaching simpler.
For businesses, the Internet breaks down logistical barriers, offering greater flexibility and power in the way they do business. It shrinks time and distance, simplifies complex business processes, and enables more effective communication and collaboration. A giant corporation can now be as nimble as a tiny startup, while a family firm located in a remote rural village now has the world as its marketplace. The Internet allows teachers to use certain websites or blogs to publish homework or the daily lessons on their blog. Teachers can use the easy and ready-made, free blog services such as Blogspot or Multiply.
So if the students are absent in class, he / she can view the teacher’s blog for the daily lessons and homework. If they have any problems or questions to ask, they can use the forum column to discuss and exchange ideas with other students. This will make the learning process become easier and improve their studies. Students who use the internet can use their time more efficiently. It gives them the ability to improve their studies. The internet also let the students to interact with each other. Using this technology, the students can exchange their ideas and knowledge from different locations at the same time.
For example, using the video chat, the students in different places can discuss their homework with their friends from other locations without leaving their home. So, the studies can be done in a fun way, and yet become easier. The concept of the internet makes the learning process more interactive and fun. The word “multimedia” itself means multiple media and can include things such as video, audio, picture, and animation. Different combinations of these types of media can be used for educational purposes. When students are browsing the internet, they will find that the website or web portal that they browse has a multimedia element.
Information can be better understood and it can also be done interactively. The subject or learning material can also be made in a CD format. This will give them a more convenient way to carry their materials. Unlike previous generations, digital youth navigate an on-line public that spans across space, time and all people. The Internet and social media has provided avenues for learning, meeting people, establishing status and finding affiliations. It is these affiliations of shared interests that give these modern teenagers incredible amounts of social capital.
Teenagers have always been examined with equal parts fear and promise. Technology has developed at a rapid pace while we attempt to examine and question the effect it has had on society. Looking at the ways the internet has affected our society, it is well known that the Internet has already revolutionized the way we live and work, but it is still in its infancy. In the coming years, a combination of cheap and powerful computing devices, fast and convenient Internet access, and software innovations could make the Internet as common and powerful a resource as electricity is today.
In the 20th century, electricity, the telephone, the automobile and the airplane all made the world more accessible to more people, transforming our economy and society in the process. The Internet has the same revolutionary impact–individuals and businesses can overcome geographical, cultural and logistical barriers and improve the way they live and work. Because it amplifies our potential in so many ways, it’s possible that the long-term impact of the Internet could equal that of electricity, the automobile and the telephone all rolled together.
Today, most people access the Internet through their home or office PC, but as micro-processors become cheaper and more powerful, Internet access will also be available from a wider range of smart devices, from tablet-sized PCs to smart cellular phones–even familiar household appliances. People will be able to share information seamlessly across devices and interact with them in a more natural way, using speech, handwriting and gestures. Eventually, they will be able to interact with a computer almost as easily as they do with each other. In the years to come, the Internet will have a larger impact on the way we work, live and learn.
By enabling instant and flawless communication and commerce around the globe, from almost any device imaginable, this technology will be one of the key cultural and economic forces of the 21st century and beyond. “By 2020, we’ll have standard network connections around the world. Billions of people will have joined the internet who don’t speak English. They won’t think of these things as ‘phones’ either — these devices will be simply lenses on the online world (Anderson). ” We can see now that our world has and still is changing at a rapid pace and the internet is playing a huge role in our advancement.
Our children now have virtual reality with computerized worlds including everything from computerized pets to complete computerized lifestyles. Our society is accepting this with hardly any arguments, we do almost everything online, we shop, bank, and pay bills online. The advancement of this online craze is virtually uncontrollable and soon we will not have to leave our homes for any reason at all. In conclusion, it is obvious that our children are learning and benefiting from the internet by means of keeping up with our rapidly changing society, and evolving technology.
Are our children becoming smarter because of the internet? I believe they are with the way everything in society today runs off of some type of computer or computer chip and without the internet we would be left in the dark not knowing what is going on or being able to keep up with the times of change that is happening at a rapid pace. When comparing my generation to the children in today’s generation the children are far more advanced then we were. The internet is and always will be a learning tool as long as it is used respectively and responsibly.
Works Cited
Anderson, Janna Quitney, Director, Imagining the Internet, Elon University, Lee Rainie, Director, and Pew Internet & American Life Project.
“Future of the Internet III: How the Experts See It – Pew Research Center. ” Future of the Internet III: How the Experts See It. N. p. , n. d. Web. 12 July 2010.
This annotation gives some description of what the internet holds for the future. Bittanti, Matteo, danah boyd, Becky Herr-Stephenson, Heather A. Horst, Mizuko Ito, Patricia G.
Lange, C. J. Pascoe, and Laura Robinson. Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. London: The Mit Press, 2009. Print. This annotation explains about impression management and peer networks of teens.
Critical Perspectives on Globalization (Critical Anthologies of Nonfiction Writing). New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2006. Print. Gates, Bill. “Shaping the Internet Age. ” Microsoft Corporation. N. p. , n. d. Web. 12 July 2010.
This annotation explains the changing status of the internet. Med, Barbara, Susan Msw Lisw-Cp Shankle, and Lpc Melton. What in the World Are Your Kids Doing Online? : How to Understand the Electronic World Your Children Live In. 1 ed. New York City: Broadway, 2007. Print. This annotation talks about what are children are doing online and the dangers lurking online. Packard, Erika. “Children and the Internet–It’s fun, but does it make you smarter?. ” American Psychological Association (APA). N. p. , n. d. Web. 12 July 2010.
