THE IMPACT OF THE
INTERNET ON SOCIETY
The internet is
the decisive technology of the information age. Through the explosion of
wireless communication in the early twenty-first century, we can say that
humankind is now almost entirely connected, albeit withgreat levels of
inequalityin bandwidth, efficiency, and price.
People,
companies, and institutions feel the depth of this technology change, but the
speedand scope of the transformation has triggered all manner of utopian and
dystopian perceptions that, when examined closely through methodologicaly
rigorous empirical research, turn out not to be accurate. For instance, media
often report that intense use of the internet increase the risk of isolation,
alienation, and withdrawal from society, but available evidence shows that the
internet neither isolates people nor reduces their sociability; it actually
increase sociability, civic engagement, and the intensity of family and
friendship relationships in all cultures.
Our current “network
society” is a productof the digital revolution and some major sociocultural changes.
One of theseis the rise of the “Me-centered society” market by an increased
focus on individual growthand a decline in community understood in terms of
space, work, family, and ascription in general. But individuation does not mean
isolation, or the end of community. Instead, social relationships are being
reconstructed on the basis of individual interest, values,and projects.
Because people
are increasingly at ease in the web’s multidimensionality, marketers,
govertment, and civil society are migrating massively to the networks people
construct by themselves and for themselves. At root, social-networking
entrepreneurs are relly selling spaces in which people construct their lives. Sites
that attempt to impede free communication are soonn anandoned by many users in
favor of friendlier and less restricted spaces.
The internet
and the web constitute the tecnological infrastructure of the global network
society, and the understanding of their logic is a key field of research. It is
only scholarly research that will enable us to cut through the myths
surrounding the digital communication tecnology that is already a second skin
for young people, yet continues to feed the fears and the fantasies of those
who are still in charge of a society that they barely understand.
By: Developing English (Center for Languages Development Universitas Islam Negeri Mataram)
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