1.6+Internet+use

= __** Describe the changes taking place**__ = = = The introduction of the internet for public use has brought about many changes in the way society and the economy work. Over the past years the internet has provided the world with a network of countless possible connections and has been one of the main causes of globalization: people are now able to communicate with each other from opposite sides of the world through e-mails and even in real time with chats. The main changes it has brought into our society are:

= = = __**To what extent does this change reduce cultural diversity?**__ = = =
 * End of Industrial Age, beginning of Information Age: wealth is created by the development of information goods and services as opposed to manufacturing and selling products.
 * Faster communications: e-mail, real time chats and instant messaging make distances obsolete.
 * With information travelling around the World at the speed of light, it is very easy for Internet users to keep informed.
 * The Internet is a very effective tool for advertising, and it is often used by companies to promote their products.
 * Possibility for people to meet online and argue, exchange knowledge, share ideas and emotions, make plans and brainstorm.

Since the very start of the Internet in 1974, its popularity has gone up greatly. Through-out all the years the internet has been open to the public it has allowed all of us to be able to use and read the same information, share pictures, ideas, and views which some of us pick up and blend them into our form of life style. Things as fashion can be picked by a person in Pakistan looking at a celebrity in Hollywood.

However, s ome people around the world don’t have enough computer knowledge to work with Internet, as well as there are some other people that are illiterate which causes a hinder in development when it comes to technology. Not only the people that don’t know how to read or write find a problem when it comes to the internet, but as well people that don’t speak English encounter problems when it comes to finding information in their own language that they can understand and read. In the near future this problem might mean that more and more people are going to have to learn English in order to keep up with the technology, which could cause that some languages become less spoken in certain countries. This after all is an issue, since it reduces the originality of people and the cultural diversity.

=__**Evaluate the benefits and problems created by this change**__.= __Benefits__ __Problems__
 * Connects people of great distances
 * Allows for shared ideas: cultural, economic and political
 * E.g. A farmer in Kenya can research farming techniques developed by a university in the US
 * Businesses can now communicate without much difficultly
 * The Internet can be used as a substitute for activities that need cars, planes or any energy wasting transport
 * E.g. You can shop online instead of driving 30 min to the nearest store
 * News can now be accessed by virtually anyone, people are more informed: for example, the protests after the 2009 Iranian election were spread by mobile phone and Twitter. People feel less isolated and are less able to be manipulated by government.
 * Education can now be accessed with a computer, generally for less cost
 * This means that a country can increase its skilled workforce
 * One cannot use the internet without being able to read, therefore this may give incentive to those who cant read, to learn
 * People's attention can be brought to necessary causes
 * E.g. Through social sites such as Facebook, people can group together for a common cause (Haiti Earthquake)
 * Countries can skip some infrastructure development
 * E.g. A poor land line telephone system in a LEDC is not necessary as mobile phones with internet access can substitute and improve those methods of communication
 * Marketing for businesses:
 * The views and voices of many people can be heard with little effort or cost


 * Reduces cultural diversity
 * The sharing of ideas and practices means people will start acting the same
 * Social skills such as face to face communication may diminish as the internet provides alternatives (Facebook, MySpace, etc.
 * Anyone can access the internet, therefore information that one person may take as fact may be false information given by an unreliable source
 * If all news is accessed by the initernet by only a few sources, these sources will control how their viewers think, can have bias, misrepresentation, etc.
 * Local businesses may find it hard to compete when locals start to purchase items from online sources
 * Buying from the same online stores rather than local stores may reduce diversity
 * People's cultural habits change