The internet has overhauled the way people live and interact. It has been able to improve what was there in communication and bridged a big gap of distance enabling people to use it in every aspect of their lives. The advent of the internet has made people view the world as a small global village whose very service can be tapped into by clicking a mouse. Such activities like shopping, travel arrangements, dating, and the overall search for information and communication have become very easy with the advent of the internet. Finding spouses and the romance scene has been overhauled with people using a maximum of the internet to strike that goal.
Though this has been some of the major benefits of the internet it has greatly affected the social lives of human beings especially their relationships. The children are in constant danger of getting to morally bad sites that may be detrimental to their growth and development. There is a constant need for security in the transactions carried out on the World Wide Web. The social networking sites such as Facebook Twitter and constant blogging as people want to fit in the world of the internet and air their views are ruining workplaces. This has presented modern-day management with a paradox where it is crucial to embrace technology and strike a balance so as not to harm business (Mayo and Newcomb, 14).
The problem of the internet has also penetrated families, marriage relationships, and general friendships creating a lot of discussions. The advantages are insurmountable while the dangers are so real and are like ghosts. The friendship lines cannot be drawn anymore as people engage in flirtatious commentaries in-wall postings on social sites and as they chat. They may be claiming it is not romantic but platonic although the degree of deepness is questionable. Husbands and wives are finding it hard to strike a balance between their work and commitment to family and spouse. This problem is the reason this paper tries to look at the views of different scholars on this subject which has become interesting and paradoxical. This is going to help me to understand more and draw a conclusion on this topic (Mayo and Newcomb, 12).
The embracing of the internet’s usage as a means of communication in the future will depend on the evolvement of people’s quality of online relationships and the amount of time people are bound to be online. Further studies they conclude show that online relationships do not have the gloss and this makes them weaker compared to other relationships. Therefore it is the vibrancy with which people embrace social groupings in the internet that will determine the shift towards them being as real and pronounced as the other relationships. These relationships are also going to be dependent on the personality types of people. The extroverts are mainly going to be the winners while the introverts are going to struggle to form a relationship online.
The issue of internet addiction is tackled by the two who conclusively say that addiction is very real. They explore the manner in which it has been detrimental to families and to an individual. They continues to offer ways you can be able to ascertain whether you are an internet addict. Mayo and Newcomb (13) tries to counter an earlier conclusion that internet is being put to bad use by conducting follow up study. The study successfully concludes that internet is acting as a catalyst in the development of societies the world over instead of hubs for spreading terror and hate. This makes me to learn that I can use that in my field of education to spur growth of internet in the rural schools like in the third world countries.
Newcomb looks at community and its view on the internet. He says that it is the prerogative of communities to define the use if internet to their benefit. As a student I find that I can involve myself in sensitizing the nearby communities or those from third world countries on the manner in which it can change their wellbeing. This can further happen during my career as an educationist. Mayo and Newcomb give insights as to why people are feeling so much attraction to internet relationships. They say that it appears cool and a person is always likely to say more about him or herself over the internet than face to face. I learn to judge and urge people to beware of forming relationships that would not last and to be absolutely sure when engaging in one. As noted by Mayo and Newcomb (30) the manner of the effect of online relationships is two-pronged and has both advantages and disadvantages. It spurs the development of community socially and communication wise while on the other hand touches on the very core that makes a social setup respected. That is the morality of the community which is grossly affected by the availability of all sorts of information (good and bad) which can spur insecurity.
Work Cited
Mayo, Keenan & Newcomb, Peter.How The Internet Was Won. 2010.