The Internet’s influence

There is constant concern about the Internet’s influence on societies – and rightly so.

This technology has permeated the fabric of our very existence to a point where any astute individual, either young or old, would find it necessary to become familiar with the medium to function amongst a society of cyber-savvy users.

Yet, the Internet brings with it not only great insights and seemingly endless learning opportunities, it also brings a mountain of miseducation. This occurs because of what appears on the Internet originates from individuals – many of whom are misinformed, misguided and some merely mischievous.

Therefore, we oftentimes have fiction masquerading as fact. One good example is “Wikipedia: The free web encyclopedia”. This site is often used as a reference by students in their academic pursuits, yet its information can be far from factual, because once registered, anyone can edit the content of most of the pages provided to show any data desired.

The Internet is also responsible for the creation of an entirely new language and culture, which may suit one sphere, but is fast corrupting the traditional and acceptable norms of society. The biggest culprit, social networking sites, have taken hold of the minds of our youth and now seem to be reaching out to taint the rest of civilisation. For instance, each year the new Oxford American Dictionary ratifies a tech term which slowly leaks into our everyday vocabulary. Furthermore, text terminology has evolved to a level where it is becoming indistinguishable from true English language. As such, persons can occasionally be seen writing “lata” for “later” and “u” instead of “you”.

Apart from the reality formed through communicated information, there is a certain psychological reality that affects many Internet users who frequent social networking sites. The personal photos, comments and conversations shared online can become a crutch for individuals devoid of significant inter-personal relationships, who lack true social skills.

The time and effort it takes to keep profiles updated can also be an indicator that there is too much emphasis on the Internet’s reality than on your own life. In some cases, this type of behaviour deteriorates into anti-social, destructive tendencies that, ironically, can reach a greater scope through the World Wide Web. Hence, in addition to a warped reality, the Internet also brings dangers of a criminal kind from across the globe right to your very doorstep.

Threats on the Internet are varied. They come from sexual predators, extremists and religious fanatics, to name a few, and have resulted in rapes, suicides, murders, even bombings. As a result, users are urged to follow safeguards to protect their privacy, while law enforcement and security agencies have stepped up their surveillance of cyber-crimes.

Therefore, it is obvious that as occurs in the real world, the Internet reality is filled with both positives and negatives. Everyone needs to proceed with caution along this information superhighway. Try not to stray into unknown territory, be wary of strangers and be on the lookout for trouble – just as you would be on any normal road trip.