The Internet

How did the Internet come about and what was socialising like before and after the Internet?

(and how has Facebook changed peoples lives?)


The Internet and World Wide Web are the greatest telecommunication breakthrough since the telephone. The enormous growth that the web has enjoyed in the last decade has come very quickly to a system still in its relative infancy.

                                                Internet
              (positives)                                        (negatives) 
        
                  Educates (educational)                                                            Distraction
                  Informs                                                                                   Unlimited
                  Entertainment                                                                          Bad websites
                  Interacting                                                                               Incorrect information
                  Socialising                                                            Cost (computer, laptop or phone)
                  Communication                                                                        Dangerous
                  Freedom of Speech                                                                 Protection (children)
                  Expression
                  Unlimited
                  Quick, Easy, Simple

Above are some pros and cons of the Internet as nothing is completely perfect. Looking at there pros and cons overall enable us to see just how much the net has influenced today's world.

This also shows that even though the WWW (world wide web) has been enhanced and is now a form of new media, does not mean that all its problem have gone.

The foundations of the Internet were formed in 1960 when packets of data information were formed on one side transmitted in a machine and transported and resembled at the other side. The only other clear explanation I can give for this would be that it is like the boy in charlie and the chocolate factory who wants to be on television, 'mike tv'.Who uses the machine to be broken down into tiny pieces whilst being transported into the TV and resembled on the other side.

                                                            (google image: mike tv)

Doing this means that a single signal can be routed to multiple users, and an interrupted packet may be re-sent without loss of transmission, this is when computers were massive and had many connections and interconnections, its all a lot more simple now.

Now that computer technology is all alot more simple, it can be broken down meaning smaller gadgets and technology.

The Internet has changed the world and revolutionised peoples lives, especially in terms of communication ans entertainment. People can now send instant messages, via MSN and  Facebook chat, additionally instead of writing letters or making a phone call, there are now so other options; e-mail, video chat or recorded message, all of which are alot quicker, easier and most are cheaper. This also applies with gain information from a source, instead of going to the library people can gather the information they need by simply typing in a search engine and the search comes up in a matter of seconds. And for  those who prefer a primary source of information you can even read books online read books. There is a wide option, so there is something for everyone.

We can also watch live channels and play online games with others on the move with no need of TV and video games, everything can be done via the net. Even shopping which can be delivered straight to your door. The powers of the Internet!

                                               Online Activities

                            Positives                        Negatives

                              quick                                                        couch potato

                               easy                                                         become lazy

                             reliable                                                     become dependant

The Internet was a revolution and changed the world particularly when it comes to socialising, if we didn't have the Internet a lot of things would be different, for one the famous inventors of ssocial networking sites would just be ordinary people and wouldn't have their millions.

Social networking sites such as Facebook created by 26 year old computer scientist Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, MySpace owned by ‘News Corp. Digital Media’ and Twitter created and launched by Jack Dorsey, 34, have helped keep people connected. Their online web based sites are by some visited every day.

Networking sites are accessed by millions and has aided in people finding long lost family members and new friends. Online research results show that 321.1 million by 2009 had a Facebook account.

Other findings from the surveys taken in the UK show that ‘30.1 million adults used the Internet every day or nearly every day, (which was almost) almost double the estimate in 2006’. These results show that people are not only connected but almost addicted to using new communications such as sites on the Internet.

It has been found that the average person spends a large amount of his or her time in the consumption of media products, whether as readers, listeners, or viewers and that the Internet has taken over the minds of today’s society, especially as it is cheap and easily accessible.

Before this highly praised invention there was only one medium available; books. This explains why the older generation find today’s world materialistic. Literature was their main source of information, they are more used to the old ways of communicating.

Socialising used to be all about getting together, meeting people, getting out the house and interacting. Now you don't even have to leave your house, you can have a chat and a virtual coffee in a chat room or characterised social spot where your avatar does the coffee drinking for you.

Additionally, letters are a thing of the past, now, it's all about e-mail, instant messaging and leaving posts on peoples walls for them to read later... When was the last time you got a hand written letter?! Okay, other than from your grandparents.