Final Blog post

 

     The internet has changed out lives. It is easier to stay connected to family and friends The internet has changed out lives. It is easier to stay connected to family and friends however it is becoming a retreat into a solitary digital existence. Our heads down society is creating a dependency to technology that far supersedes human connection. This is causing an inability to communicate and is leading to unnatural isolation lack of human experiences within the world around us. Do we really need to see a beautiful sunset online or can we just look outside and experience the sunset? Technology connects the dots to many experiences leading to the good, the bad, and the ugly in society.  

 

THE GOOD  

     If you are privileged and have access to the internet people have the ability 24 access thanks to mobile devices and Wi-Fi. The internet is an excellent source for learning, Entertainment and connecting people in the world to collaborate on work projects in business. Those who think the internet has mostly been good for society cite two major benefits, Pew says: 62 percent point to the ease and speed of accessing information. 23 percent appreciate the ease of connecting and staying in touch with other people. On a positive note, the internet and online schools gave more people access to classes from high school and higher university education.  Access to the internet increases the number of graduates at all universities. The large number of courses and study available with long distance learning. Also, life skills such as sowing, gardening, painting, carpentry and plumbing. The internet makes these things possible. In the last five years, the number of students taking online courses has increased over 96%. Access to information can bring great improvement in your life; that is if people apply common sense when using it. There are many reliable sites that offer free of charge various topics and information about history, science, health, fitness, psychology to geography with a click of a button.In one study people of 60 years old who spend most time online are mentally active and suffer less depression. 

 

THE BAD

What has happened to human connections? Teenagers stand in a circle with friends all looking at their phones. Political views shared on Facebook and Twitter ruining family connections. Pictures of partying or provocative pictures ruining business opportunities and careers. 

Those who think the internet has mostly been bad for society have a wider range of complaints: 25 percent say people spend too much time on the internet or become too isolated and 16 percent worry about the spread of fake news and misinformation.

Social media and the internet have created many toxic situations in people's lives through cyber-bullying, gambling, pornography, ghosting people which creates negative human experience for people. The flow of information can be quite overwhelming leading to multi-tasking paralysis which affects productivity. Increased uncertainty leads to stress, anxiety and sleep disorders. These manifestations of toxicity ruin peoples human existence in a domino effect. The Internet is filled with trolls, stalkers, and bullies whose sole purpose is to hide behind a screen and harm others. These groups are allowed to run rampant, creating multiple online personalities and identities where people who can not disconnect creates sadness, depression and even causes suicide.

The internet is addictive by wanting to keep up with “the Jones” living their best lives. Our society is becoming so obsessed with others' lives that people are not present in their own lives because they fear that they are missing out. Yet only  14 percent believe the internet has negative effects on children. Could this be because they don’t know their children's media footprint and actual time online?

The younger generation is reportedly tilting their chins down to look at smartphones and other handheld devices, which is shifting weight from the spine to the muscles at the back of the head. This motion, researchers argued, causes bone growth in the connecting tendons on the back of the neck. The BBC.com report titled, “How modern life is transforming the human skeleton.”  Some media outlets have since described the growth as “head horns” or “phone bones.” This is not only bad for human evolution, it sounds pretty ugly.

           

THE UGLY

In your own little corner of the world using search engines has become the devil's playground. Businesses know how to position ads based on what you talk about in your home to encourage people to buy products.

Additionally, the Internet is a very dangerous place where every search engine catalogues your every move. The dark web is the hidden collective of internet sites with a specialized web browser. This internet activity is anonymous and private. According to  Pew Data summary showed13 percent say the internet encourages illegal behavior where only 5 percent are concerned about privacy.Some special interests use this to evade government censorship and have been known to be utilized for highly illegal activity such as, hire a hit man, drug, human and weapon trafficking. 

One bad click, phishing attempts, hackers ready to steal your identity, passwords, bank accounts with pieces of information from your life. The dark web is an anti-social playground filled with hateful and illegal materials which are very dangerous. 

 

DON'T MISS OUT!

Although many people feel uncertain about societal effects of the internet, nearly 9 in 10 online Americans say the information has benefited them personally. One thing we know for sure is that The internet is our human reality. Technology is not only here to stay, will continue to evolve and permeate our lives. But how can we continue to ensure and entice the connection with people to not lose our human spirit?