Nowadays, most of us use the Internet on a daily amount. It has become a huge part in people's lives and it's difficult to imagine a world without it. Privately, we use it for shopping, sending mails, chatting, but it also has become a huge part in jobs.
Well, the Internet was originally "invented" to make communication easier. Something like an enhanced telepohone, you could say. Back in the 1960s, a network between computers from around the world was unthinkable. No one would have thought that something like the Internet would become possible within a relatively short period of time. Even 20 years ago, only very few people had access to the Internet. Additionally, back in the 90s, the Internet was extremely slow. So even people who did have Internet back then wouldn't have imagined that, in the near future, it will, for example, be possible to watch high quality videos online. To me, it seems crazy how fast technology has developed within about 15 years.
In 2013, it seems like most of us have become addicted/dependent on the Internet. It seems like people don't really think about anything anymore. They just go on the world wide web to get answers for their questions. But is the Internet really that reliable? Wikipedia can be changed by anyone, so malinformation is not so surprising.
What probably shocked me most was, when someone from Google said that their "final" aim was to get so much data from people, so that in the future, people will look on Google when they're wondering what they want to eat tomorrow and what they shall do with life. Hello?! Seriously? They want to determine people. They don't want people to think on their own so that they can order them around. At least that's what it sounds like to me. Actually, I value to be able to make decisions on my own. What about you? And if people continue to rely on the Internet so much, the future Google has envisioned, may not be so far away.
Coming back to what the original aim of the Internet was: Better communication.
However, thinking about it, doesn't the Internet make us grow apart more as well? When I still went to school (which was earlier this year), I usually went there by bus which was always extremely crowded. There were younger children (age between 10-12) and many teenagers.
I'm not that old, (I'm 20 years old), but when I was 11, I would always talk to friends on the bus to school. Nowadays, I see most of the children staring at their smartphone. Not only children, teenagers of course as well. Some still talk to one another but seeing how the bus was always so crowded and many children were on it, it was relatively quiet. Just because they were all busy looking things up on their smartphone.
Going on, the Internet seems like a great invention for people that are shy or introverted. You can talk to all kinds of people online, find friends etc. At first sight, this seems like a great thing. But only, if those shy people actually get up and meet those friends offline. But the Internet seems so convenient (you can sit at home while talking to people online), many will grow so comfortable that they don't actually go out and meet others anymore. This makes people even more distant from one another.
Of course, I don't doubt that the Internet does have its good sides. But it makes me worry at what ease many people use the Internet, share personal data etc. etc. We're so addicted to the net that we don't take into account its negative sides. Actually, I could have mentioned a lot more, e.g. pornography, lack of exercise etc. but I will keep it at that for the time being.
That being said, I want to hear your opinion on what I wrote. Do you completely disagree or do you think that I'm not too far off with my ideas.
Sorry for any typos. English is not my first language, although I do feel I'm fluent in it (: Have a good day.
Well, the Internet was originally "invented" to make communication easier. Something like an enhanced telepohone, you could say. Back in the 1960s, a network between computers from around the world was unthinkable. No one would have thought that something like the Internet would become possible within a relatively short period of time. Even 20 years ago, only very few people had access to the Internet. Additionally, back in the 90s, the Internet was extremely slow. So even people who did have Internet back then wouldn't have imagined that, in the near future, it will, for example, be possible to watch high quality videos online. To me, it seems crazy how fast technology has developed within about 15 years.
In 2013, it seems like most of us have become addicted/dependent on the Internet. It seems like people don't really think about anything anymore. They just go on the world wide web to get answers for their questions. But is the Internet really that reliable? Wikipedia can be changed by anyone, so malinformation is not so surprising.
What probably shocked me most was, when someone from Google said that their "final" aim was to get so much data from people, so that in the future, people will look on Google when they're wondering what they want to eat tomorrow and what they shall do with life. Hello?! Seriously? They want to determine people. They don't want people to think on their own so that they can order them around. At least that's what it sounds like to me. Actually, I value to be able to make decisions on my own. What about you? And if people continue to rely on the Internet so much, the future Google has envisioned, may not be so far away.
Coming back to what the original aim of the Internet was: Better communication.
However, thinking about it, doesn't the Internet make us grow apart more as well? When I still went to school (which was earlier this year), I usually went there by bus which was always extremely crowded. There were younger children (age between 10-12) and many teenagers.
I'm not that old, (I'm 20 years old), but when I was 11, I would always talk to friends on the bus to school. Nowadays, I see most of the children staring at their smartphone. Not only children, teenagers of course as well. Some still talk to one another but seeing how the bus was always so crowded and many children were on it, it was relatively quiet. Just because they were all busy looking things up on their smartphone.
Going on, the Internet seems like a great invention for people that are shy or introverted. You can talk to all kinds of people online, find friends etc. At first sight, this seems like a great thing. But only, if those shy people actually get up and meet those friends offline. But the Internet seems so convenient (you can sit at home while talking to people online), many will grow so comfortable that they don't actually go out and meet others anymore. This makes people even more distant from one another.
Of course, I don't doubt that the Internet does have its good sides. But it makes me worry at what ease many people use the Internet, share personal data etc. etc. We're so addicted to the net that we don't take into account its negative sides. Actually, I could have mentioned a lot more, e.g. pornography, lack of exercise etc. but I will keep it at that for the time being.
That being said, I want to hear your opinion on what I wrote. Do you completely disagree or do you think that I'm not too far off with my ideas.
Sorry for any typos. English is not my first language, although I do feel I'm fluent in it (: Have a good day.
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