Effect of Technology

Today's ever-changing technology has had myriad effects on daily life. Perhaps the most pervasive bit of technology is the Internet itself. The Internet puts information right at your fingertips, allowing for the easy dissemination of knowledge, the sharing of opinions, even new methods of pursuing a career. More than any other new form of technology, the Internet has helped globalization. Few in today's society have escaped the impact of the Internet, some positively, others negatively.

There are no set rules to the Internet, nor any central mode of control. The ideas of inclusion and generality of purpose were central to the growth of the Internet. (Baughman, Bondi, Layman, McConnell, & Tompkins, 2008) Thus it truly allows for a free exchange of ideas and information, perhaps the only form of 'free speech' to ever exist. Anyone with a computer can form a website or blog within a few moments, sharing whatever information they choose.

The Internet has affected how we educate. In 1999, 95% of schools had access to an Internet connection, and that number has only grown. (Williams, Mehlinger, Powers, & Baldwin 2003). Coursework can now be completed wholly online, enabling even students living miles away from larger cities to further their educational goals.

Long-distance friendships are easier to maintain since the first email was sent in 1972. (Darney 2003). I can communicate with my friends over two thousand miles away, absolutely free, via AIM any time I choose, and my mother does not have to look any further than her computer to view the latest photographs of her youngest grandson.

The world has grown closer together since the dawn of the Internet. Cultural isolation is quickly becoming as much a thing of the past as the stegosaurus. This modern knowledge structure orients people to humanity as a whole, treats the planet as humanity' s space, and inspires the invention of technologies to effect ever closer world-scale connections between people. (Scholte, 2000) Companies can now trade in multiple locations across the world without ever having to leave a central office, and it is a simple matter to determine what the weather is like in Australia.

While the Internet is a force of worthwhile change, it is also a source of many new difficulties. Computer addiction has changed our lifestyles and our social values, and the numbers of computer crimes defy the efforts of law enforcement agencies to even count. Where as once a child could be safe in their own home, a bully can now follow them even there to continue the torment (I-Safe, 2008). Illegal and deviant information can be exchanged as easily as a recipe for crumb cake, and all behind the veil of anonymity. And of course, there is the ever pervasive "spam", the modern day equivalent of the door-to-door salesman.

In spite of the new difficulties the Internet has brought, it has changed society for the better by stripping away isolationism and enabling the free exchange of all ideas, not just those approved. The ability to keep track of what is going on in my best friend's hometown in India far outweighs the annoyance of having to delete some junk mail. And perhaps the best feature of the Internet is that if I do not like what I am seeing, it only takes a single mouse click to go someplace else.

References

Baughman, J. S., Bondi, V., Layman, R., McConnell, T., & Tompkins V. (Eds.), American Decades, Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved March 24, 2008, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=apollo

Darnay, A. J. (2003) Social Trends and Indicators USA, Vol. 1: Work & Leisure. (pp. 267-287) Detroit: Gale. Retrieved March 24, 2008, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=apollo

i-SAFE Inc., (2008) Retrieved March 24, 2008 from http://www.isafe.org/

Scholte, Jan Aart (2000). Globalization. In E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. Retrieved March 24, 2008, from http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/S101SECT4

Williams, S., Mehlinger, H., Powers, S., & Baldwin, R. (2003). Technology in Education. In J. W. Guthrie (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 7. (2nd ed., pp. 2509-2526) New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved March 24, 2008, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=apollo