Argumentative Essay: How Internet Impacted Society

JaraT abaniagAnnabellefanCOM10112April,2024Howhastheinternetimpactedsociety?Inthe90s,theInternetwasintroduced,butthisinnovationhaswhollyalteredpeople'slivesandtheirentiresociety .Itallowsinstantconnectionsacrosscontinents,real-timecommunicationandaccesstoinformationfromunlimitedsources."Howhastheinternetchangedtheworld?"isnolongeravaguequestionastherearethingswedodailythatanswerthisquestion,fromorderingfoodorstuf fonlinetooperatingonlineinternationalfirms.Notonlyhasthisdigitalrevolutionmadenewsandsocialinteractioncommonplace,butithasalsoallowedforremotework,thuspromotingnewwaysofbalancinghomelifewithprofessionalactivities,revealinghowdeeplyitaf fectedcountries'economiesandsocieties.Althoughprivacyconcerns,securityissues,anddividesintermsofwhousesordoesnotusetheInternetexist,thepositivenetef fectsoftheInternetoneconomicgrowth,socialcohesionamongpeople,andthesharingofinformationmakeoverwhelmingsense.Thereisimmenseprogressbeingexperiencedine-commerce,entrepreneurship,digitalcommunicationandevenglobalconnectivitythankstotheInternet.T ransformationsinbusinessmodelshaveoccurred,ashaveconceptslikenetworksociety ,whichhavecomeupbecauseofthedevelopmentofsocialnetworkingsitesandmediasharing;allthesedevelopmentsindicatewhatroletheInternetplays.Additionally ,theInternethasturnedaroundglobalaccessandsharingofinformation,makingawiderangeofknowledgejustaclickaway .Thisinformationdemocratizationallowspersonsfromvarioussocio-economicbackgroundstoself-educateandexplorenewareas.Peoplecanlearnnewskillsandknowledgebyenrollingincoursesof feredbyplatformssuchasSkillshareandMasterclass,whichareeitherfreeorreasonablypriced.Theemer genceofW eb2.0ledtothecreationofinteractiveplatformslikesocialmedia,whichallowpeopletoinstantlyandworldwideshareknowledge,ideas,andexperiences.T witterandInstagramhashtagshavethepowertotakelocaleventsworldwideandimpactpublicopinionandlegislation.However ,besidestheimmenseavailabilityofinformationonthenet,thereareproblemswithoverload.Inthisregard,itisnecessarytodevelopdigitalliteracyskillstonavigatethecountlesssourcesavailableandseparatethemfromunreliableones.Therefore,educationalor ganizationsandonlineplatformsfocusonenhancingdigitalliteracysouserscanef fectivelydealwithvoluminousinformation.Recentresearchshowsthatinternetuseispositivelyrelatedtosociability ,civicinvolvement,andtheclosenessoffamilyandfriendshipbonds.Thus,ratherthanseparatingpeoplefromeachother ,thistechnologycouldserveasanessentialmeansofinteractionamongindividualsandcommunities.Theemer genceofnetworkedsociabilityandsocialmovementsenabledbytheInternethaschallengedtraditionalpowerstructures,empoweringpeopletoparticipatemoreactivelyinvarioussocietalaspects,includingpolitics,education,andsocialactivism.Suchexamplesare:#FreePalestineandGazaUnderAttack,demonstrateshowtheinternetcanmobilizepeopletoadvocateforchange.Globally ,regulatoryreformsandheightenedawarenessofsocialissueshaveresultedfromonlinepetitionsandcampaigns.Furthermore,anumberofstudiesandstudyfindingsdemonstratehowtheInternethasgreatlyimprovedsocialrelationships,communityengagement,andcivicparticipation.Researchhasfoundthat'Eager'and'Leisure'internetusersinT aiwanhadsignificantlyhighersocialengagementlevelsthan'Sporadic'ones,withincreasesof22.8%and31.2%,respectively .Moreover ,inChina,agedpeoplewhosurftheInternethadbetterself-perceivedhealthconditionsaswellaslowdepressivesymptoms,whichisanindicationthatthereexiststrongerassociationsofinternetusewithhealthstatusthanof flineactivity .AstudybythePewResearchCentershowsthatpoliticallyactivepeopleonsocialnetworkingsites(SNS)alsoparticipateinothercivicactivities;thisimpliesthatonlineplatformsarenotmeanttoreplaceof flinepoliticaltalksbutrathercomplementthem.Eventhoughtherearemanyonlineplatforms,mostdiscussionsaboutpoliticsoccuroutsidethenetinAmerica,underliningthistool'sroleasasupplementbutnotasubstitutefortraditionalwaysofinvolvement.Onlinecommunitiesallowmemberstoexplorevariousaspectsoftheiridentitythroughpersonalcontent-makingandengagingwithothercommunitymembers.Asshownbythedynamicsofsocialproofpresentinonlinecommunitiesinwhich92%ofconsumershavemoretrustinrecommendationsfromfriendsandfamilythantraditionaladvertising,itisevidentthatdigitalsocialinteractionstendtobehighlypersuasive.Thesefindingsunderscorethear gumentthattheInternet'simpactonsocialbehaviourandcommunityinvolvementismorepositive,enhancingsociability ,health,andcivicengagement.Whileconcernsaboutthepotentialfordisconnectionfromreal-lifeexperiencespersist,theevidencestronglysupportstheInternet'sroleinfosteringamoreconnectedandengagedsociety .ThejobmarkethasbeenrevolutionizedbytheInternet,enablingremoteworkandthegigeconomy .AHigh-speedinternetandcollaborationtoolsallowtelecommuting,balancingprofessionalandpersonallifewhileaccessingaglobaltalentpool.E-learningplatformsprovideopen-accesseducation,essentialforkeepingpacewiththerapidlychangingjobmarket.However ,automation,drivenbyIoTandAIintegration,raisesconcernsaboutjobobsolescence.Despitefearsaboutdisplacedjobs,moreopportunitiesareopeningforthosewhocanthinkcreatively ,beempathicandthinkcritically .Onlineentrepreneurshipisfarsimplertodaythaneverbeforeduetolowestcost,start-upsmadeavailablebythewebprimarilybecausethismediumof fersthemawayout,givenexampleslikeInstagramorY ouT ubeandmanyotherpopularsitesusedfore-commercepurposesglobally .Moreover ,theInterneteconomy'scontributiontotheU.S.GDPhasseenasignificantrise,thusemphasizingitsroleineconomicgrowthandemploymentgeneration.Thisinvolvescreatingmillionsofjobs,manyfromsmallbusinessesandself-employedpeople.ManyAmericansexpressdeepworriesabouthowprivatecorporations,andthegovernmenthandletheirdata.Thereportssuggestthat81%ofAmericansthinkthehazardsofcorporatedatacollectionoutweighitsadvantages,while66%saythesameaboutgovernmentdatacollection.Whereas,57%believetheyhavenoorlittlecontroloverthepersonalinformationcollectedbytheseentities.However ,despitesuchfeelings,63%admithavinglittleunderstandingofprivacylegislationtosafeguardthem.Thisgapbetweenconcernandunderstandinghighlightstheneedformoreprecisecommunicationandeducationregardingdigitalrightsandprivacyprotections.Privacyconcernssignificantlyimpactonlinebehaviour ,asevidencedby45%ofhouseholdswithaccesstotheInternetnotusingitforactivitieslikefinancialtransactionsorsocialnetworkingsitesduetosecurityfears,whichcanbecomeacrucialbarriertowardsfullInternetuse,hencehamperingsocio-economicopportunities.NationalT elecommunicationsandInformationAdministration(NTIA)isanessentialfactorthatdealswiththeseissues,mainlyfocusingonimprovinginternetprivacyandsecurityframeworks.Also,websitescanuseinitiativeslikeCookiebottomanageuserconsentfordif ferenttypesofcookiestoprotectuserdataandbuildtrust.Dailylifehasdefinitelybeenaf fectedpositivelybytheinternetthroughglobalconnectivityandinformationaccess.However ,thereareissueslikeprivacy ,securityandthedigitaldividethatneedtobeaddressed.Therehasbeengreatprogressintermsofregulationsoncybercrimes,digitalliteracyandimprovementofinfrastructureamongstothers.Inaddition,theInternetplaysacriticalroleinpromotingsocietalengagementbyallowingeveryonetohavefreeaccesstoknowledgetherebycreatingaconnectedglobalcommunity .Byconsideringinfluenceonsocialbehavior;emer genceofonlineplatformsforeducationandwork;aswellaseconomicgrowthdrivenbydigitalentrepreneurship,wecanseehowmuchtheadvantagesoftheinternetoutweighdisadvantages.Itistheseaspectsthatshowhowadvantageousinternetintegrationcanbe.Refer encesManuelCastells.UniversityofSouthernCalifornia,Castells,M.,&California,U.ofS.(n.d.).`Theimpactoftheinternetonsociety:Aglobalperspective.OpenMind.https://www .bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/the-impact-of-the-internet-on-society-a-global-perspective/Foundation,AnuMeenaCare.TheT ransformativeIMP ACTOFTHEINTERNETONSOCIETY .LinkedIn,2Sept.2023,www .linkedin.com/pulse/transformative-impact-internet-society-anumeenacare.Chiu,C.-J.(2019,January31).Relationshipbetweeninternetbehaviorsandsocialengagementinmiddle-agedandolderadultsinT aiwan.Internationaljournalofenvironmentalresearchandpublichealth.https://www .ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC63881 11/Li,Chanyan,etal.TheRoleofInternetUseandOf flineSocialEngagementintheHealthofChineseOlderAdults:EvidencefromNationallyRepresentativeSamples.Healthcar e(Basel,Switzerland),U.S.NationalLibraryofMedicine,23Feb.2023,www .ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10000681/.Growzilla.ThePsychologyofOnlineCommunities:UnderstandingUserBehaviorandEngagement.LinkedIn,21Nov .2023,www .linkedin.com/pulse/psychology-online-communities-understanding-user -behavior-h72qc.AuthorRafiGoldber g.LackofT rustinInternetPrivacyandSecurityMayDeterEconomicandOtherOnlineActivities.LackofT rustinInternetPrivacyandSecurityMayDeterEconomicandOtherOnlineActivities|NationalT elecommunicationsandInformationAdministration,www .ntia.gov/blog/2016/lack-trust-internet-privacy-and-security-may-deter-economic-and-other -online-activities.Accessed1 1Apr .2024.