Effects Of Internet Essay, Research Paper

The Internet as We Know It

The popularity of internet technology in the last three year has gown into a new phenomenon. The information super highway has connected our society in ways that where previously unimaginable. Now, with a service that is afordable, one can connect with an internet service provider. Not only do we have the technology, but it is accessible to most American people.

The appeal to the information super highway is its convenience. We live in a age in which we have the ability to access our federal governmental agencies as well as printed publications via the internet. With the click of a mouse button the average American is able to connect with the United States Post Office, Internal Revenue Service, and even the White House. Many publications such as newspapers and national magazines are accessible though the internet. The wide array of publications rage from The New York Times to People Magazine.

Subscribers of the accesses to the internet may now find printed publications to be a thing of the past. If users can access the news straight from the Cincinnati Enquirer on thier computer screens, what is thier motivation to pay additional money for the printed version? Not only can individuals access news publications from the past and present, but they can also access literature in its entirety. The same issue abides : If users can access the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings on thier desktop computers, why would they purchase it at a book store? Beyond the financial issue, we may now have found our answer to the prudent problem of tearing down the rain forests. The use of the internet instead of printed publications could possibly make the waste of paper obsolete.

As good as the modern convenience of the internet may sound, there are several underlying problems. Two of problems involved that I will discuss are laziness and dependency.

The first problem, laziness, becomes obvious from my previous description of the lack of motivation. If a person no longer has the motivation to purchase item from retailers other than retailers on the internet, a problem will arise. In theory, laziness will occur because the population will no longer have to leave their homes. People are currently able to obtain literature and news from their computers. The internet has already created a more lazy society.

The second possible problem with new technology is dependency. With the vast availability the internet is providing our society, Americans have become dependent on the technology. This dependency is what I fear. If people become reliant on the internet, what would happen if the convenience was taken from them? The possibility of the computer age ending is real. Computer viruses and the possibility of the cash of all computer in the year 2000 could make the internet dissapear. The information super highway could end for other various known and unknown reasons as well. If Americans have become dependent on the technology, how would the adjust to it being taken from them?

I believe that the convenience of the internet out wieghs the possibilities of its descent. The given concerns warrant attention, but should not preoccupy our thought as we enjoy the internet and its convence. As Americans we tend to live in the minute, and the minute offers us a wonderful convenience. We should enjoy the modern technology that has brought us the internet. We would be ignorant not to take advantage of what modern day technology has brought to our desktops.