essay on internet influence

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The Internet is the decisive technology of the Information Age, as the electrical engine was the vector of technological transformation of the Industrial Age. This global network of computer networks, largely based nowadays on platforms of wireless communication, provides ubiquitous capacity of multimodal, interactive communication in chosen time, transcending space. The Internet is not really a new technology: its ancestor, the Arpanet, was first deployed in 1969 (Abbate 1999). But it was in the 1990s when it was privatized and released from the control of the U.S. Department of Commerce that it diffused around the world at extraordinary speed: in 1996 the first survey of Internet users counted about 40 million; in 2013 they are over 2.5 billion, with China accounting for the largest number of Internet users. Furthermore, for some time the spread of the Internet was limited by the difficulty to lay out land-based telecommunications infrastructure in the emerging countries. This has changed with the explosion of wireless communication in the early twenty-first century. Indeed, in 1991, there were about 16 million subscribers of wireless devices in the world, in 2013 they are close to 7 billion (in a planet of 7.7 billion human beings). Counting on the family and village uses of mobile phones, and taking into consideration the limited use of these devices among children under five years of age, we can say that humankind is now almost entirely connected, albeit with great levels of inequality in the bandwidth as well as in the efficiency and price of the service.

At the heart of these communication networks the Internet ensures the production, distribution, and use of digitized information in all formats. According to the study published by Martin Hilbert in Science (Hilbert and López 2011), 95 percent of all information existing in the planet is digitized and most of it is accessible on the Internet and other computer networks.

The speed and scope of the transformation of our communication environment by Internet and wireless communication has triggered all kind of utopian and dystopian perceptions around the world.

As in all moments of major technological change, people, companies, and institutions feel the depth of the change, but they are often overwhelmed by it, out of sheer ignorance of its effects.

The media aggravate the distorted perception by dwelling into scary reports on the basis of anecdotal observation and biased commentary. If there is a topic in which social sciences, in their diversity, should contribute to the full understanding of the world in which we live, it is precisely the area that has come to be named in academia as Internet Studies. Because, in fact, academic research knows a great deal on the interaction between Internet and society, on the basis of methodologically rigorous empirical research conducted in a plurality of cultural and institutional contexts. Any process of major technological change generates its own mythology. In part because it comes into practice before scientists can assess its effects and implications, so there is always a gap between social change and its understanding. For instance, media often report that intense use of the Internet increases the risk of alienation, isolation, depression, and withdrawal from society. In fact, available evidence shows that there is either no relationship or a positive cumulative relationship between the Internet use and the intensity of sociability. We observe that, overall, the more sociable people are, the more they use the Internet. And the more they use the Internet, the more they increase their sociability online and offline, their civic engagement, and the intensity of family and friendship relationships, in all cultures—with the exception of a couple of early studies of the Internet in the 1990s, corrected by their authors later (Castells 2001; Castells et al. 2007; Rainie and Wellman 2012; Center for the Digital Future 2012 et al.).

Thus, the purpose of this chapter will be to summarize some of the key research findings on the social effects of the Internet relying on the evidence provided by some of the major institutions specialized in the social study of the Internet. More specifically, I will be using the data from the world at large: the World Internet Survey conducted by the Center for the Digital Future, University of Southern California; the reports of the British Computer Society (BCS), using data from the World Values Survey of the University of Michigan; the Nielsen reports for a variety of countries; and the annual reports from the International Telecommunications Union. For data on the United States, I have used the Pew American Life and Internet Project of the Pew Institute. For the United Kingdom, the Oxford Internet Survey from the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, as well as the Virtual Society Project from the Economic and Social Science Research Council. For Spain, the Project Internet Catalonia of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC); the various reports on the information society from Telefónica; and from the Orange Foundation. For Portugal, the Observatório de Sociedade da Informação e do Conhecimento (OSIC) in Lisbon. I would like to emphasize that most of the data in these reports converge toward similar trends. Thus I have selected for my analysis the findings that complement and reinforce each other, offering a consistent picture of the human experience on the Internet in spite of the human diversity.

Given the aim of this publication to reach a broad audience, I will not present in this text the data supporting the analysis presented here. Instead, I am referring the interested reader to the web sources of the research organizations mentioned above, as well as to selected bibliographic references discussing the empirical foundation of the social trends reported here.

Technologies of Freedom, the Network Society, and the Culture of Autonomy

In order to fully understand the effects of the Internet on society, we should remember that technology is material culture. It is produced in a social process in a given institutional environment on the basis of the ideas, values, interests, and knowledge of their producers, both their early producers and their subsequent producers. In this process we must include the users of the technology, who appropriate and adapt the technology rather than adopting it, and by so doing they modify it and produce it in an endless process of interaction between technological production and social use. So, to assess the relevance of Internet in society we must recall the specific characteristics of Internet as a technology. Then we must place it in the context of the transformation of the overall social structure, as well as in relationship to the culture characteristic of this social structure. Indeed, we live in a new social structure, the global network society, characterized by the rise of a new culture, the culture of autonomy.

Internet is a technology of freedom, in the terms coined by Ithiel de Sola Pool in 1973, coming from a libertarian culture, paradoxically financed by the Pentagon for the benefit of scientists, engineers, and their students, with no direct military application in mind (Castells 2001). The expansion of the Internet from the mid-1990s onward resulted from the combination of three main factors:

• The technological discovery of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee and his willingness to distribute the source code to improve it by the open-source contribution of a global community of users, in continuity with the openness of the TCP/IP Internet protocols. The web keeps running under the same principle of open source. And two-thirds of web servers are operated by Apache, an open-source server program.
• Institutional change in the management of the Internet, keeping it under the loose management of the global Internet community, privatizing it, and allowing both commercial uses and cooperative uses.
• Major changes in social structure, culture, and social behavior: networking as a prevalent organizational form; individuation as the main orientation of social behavior; and the culture of autonomy as the culture of the network society.

I will elaborate on these major trends.

Our society is a network society; that is, a society constructed around personal and organizational networks powered by digital networks and communicated by the Internet. And because networks are global and know no boundaries, the network society is a global network society. This historically specific social structure resulted from the interaction between the emerging technological paradigm based on the digital revolution and some major sociocultural changes. A primary dimension of these changes is what has been labeled the rise of the Me-centered society, or, in sociological terms, the process of individuation, the decline of community understood in terms of space, work, family, and ascription in general. This is not the end of community, and not the end of place-based interaction, but there is a shift toward the reconstruction of social relationships, including strong cultural and personal ties that could be considered a form of community, on the basis of individual interests, values, and projects.

The process of individuation is not just a matter of cultural evolution, it is materially produced by the new forms of organizing economic activities, and social and political life, as I analyzed in my trilogy on the Information Age (Castells 1996–2003). It is based on the transformation of space (metropolitan life), work and economic activity (rise of the networked enterprise and networked work processes), culture and communication (shift from mass communication based on mass media to mass self-communication based on the Internet); on the crisis of the patriarchal family, with increasing autonomy of its individual members; the substitution of media politics for mass party politics; and globalization as the selective networking of places and processes throughout the planet.

But individuation does not mean isolation, or even less the end of community. Sociability is reconstructed as networked individualism and community through a quest for like-minded individuals in a process that combines online interaction with offline interaction, cyberspace and the local space. Individuation is the key process in constituting subjects (individual or collective), networking is the organizational form constructed by these subjects; this is the network society, and the form of sociability is what Rainie and Wellman (2012) conceptualized as networked individualism. Network technologies are of course the medium for this new social structure and this new culture (Papacharissi 2010).

As stated above, academic research has established that the Internet does not isolate people, nor does it reduce their sociability; it actually increases sociability, as shown by myself in my studies in Catalonia (Castells 2007), Rainie and Wellman in the United States (2012), Cardoso in Portugal (2010), and the World Internet Survey for the world at large (Center for the Digital Future 2012 et al.). Furthermore, a major study by Michael Willmott for the British Computer Society (Trajectory Partnership 2010) has shown a positive correlation, for individuals and for countries, between the frequency and intensity of the use of the Internet and the psychological indicators of personal happiness. He used global data for 35,000 people obtained from the World Wide Survey of the University of Michigan from 2005 to 2007. Controlling for other factors, the study showed that Internet use empowers people by increasing their feelings of security, personal freedom, and influence, all feelings that have a positive effect on happiness and personal well-being. The effect is particularly positive for people with lower income and who are less qualified, for people in the developing world, and for women. Age does not affect the positive relationship; it is significant for all ages. Why women? Because they are at the center of the network of their families, Internet helps them to organize their lives. Also, it helps them to overcome their isolation, particularly in patriarchal societies. The Internet also contributes to the rise of the culture of autonomy.

The key for the process of individuation is the construction of autonomy by social actors, who become subjects in the process. They do so by defining their specific projects in interaction with, but not submission to, the institutions of society. This is the case for a minority of individuals, but because of their capacity to lead and mobilize they introduce a new culture in every domain of social life: in work (entrepreneurship), in the media (the active audience), in the Internet (the creative user), in the market (the informed and proactive consumer), in education (students as informed critical thinkers, making possible the new frontier of e-learning and m-learning pedagogy), in health (the patient-centered health management system) in e-government (the informed, participatory citizen), in social movements (cultural change from the grassroots, as in feminism or environmentalism), and in politics (the independent-minded citizen able to participate in self-generated political networks).

There is increasing evidence of the direct relationship between the Internet and the rise of social autonomy. From 2002 to 2007 I directed in Catalonia one of the largest studies ever conducted in Europe on the Internet and society, based on 55,000 interviews, one-third of them face to face (IN3 2002–07). As part of this study, my collaborators and I compared the behavior of Internet users to non-Internet users in a sample of 3,000 people, representative of the population of Catalonia. Because in 2003 only about 40 percent of people were Internet users we could really compare the differences in social behavior for users and non-users, something that nowadays would be more difficult given the 79 percent penetration rate of the Internet in Catalonia. Although the data are relatively old, the findings are not, as more recent studies in other countries (particularly in Portugal) appear to confirm the observed trends. We constructed scales of autonomy in different dimensions. Only between 10 and 20 percent of the population, depending on dimensions, were in the high level of autonomy. But we focused on this active segment of the population to explore the role of the Internet in the construction of autonomy. Using factor analysis we identified six major types of autonomy based on projects of individuals according to their practices:

a) professional development b) communicative autonomy c) entrepreneurship d) autonomy of the body e) sociopolitical participation f) personal, individual autonomy

These six types of autonomous practices were statistically independent among themselves. But each one of them correlated positively with Internet use in statistically significant terms, in a self-reinforcing loop (time sequence): the more one person was autonomous, the more she/he used the web, and the more she/he used the web, the more autonomous she/he became (Castells et al. 2007). This is a major empirical finding. Because if the dominant cultural trend in our society is the search for autonomy, and if the Internet powers this search, then we are moving toward a society of assertive individuals and cultural freedom, regardless of the barriers of rigid social organizations inherited from the Industrial Age. From this Internet-based culture of autonomy have emerged a new kind of sociability, networked sociability, and a new kind of sociopolitical practice, networked social movements and networked democracy. I will now turn to the analysis of these two fundamental trends at the source of current processes of social change worldwide.

The Rise of Social Network Sites on the Internet

Since 2002 (creation of Friendster, prior to Facebook) a new socio-technical revolution has taken place on the Internet: the rise of social network sites where now all human activities are present, from personal interaction to business, to work, to culture, to communication, to social movements, and to politics.

Social Network Sites are web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

(Boyd and Ellison 2007, 2)

Social networking uses, in time globally spent, surpassed e-mail in November 2007. It surpassed e-mail in number of users in July 2009. In terms of users it reached 1 billion by September 2010, with Facebook accounting for about half of it. In 2013 it has almost doubled, particularly because of increasing use in China, India, and Latin America. There is indeed a great diversity of social networking sites (SNS) by countries and cultures. Facebook, started for Harvard-only members in 2004, is present in most of the world, but QQ, Cyworld, and Baidu dominate in China; Orkut in Brazil; Mixi in Japan; etc. In terms of demographics, age is the main differential factor in the use of SNS, with a drop of frequency of use after 50 years of age, and particularly 65. But this is not just a teenager’s activity. The main Facebook U.S. category is in the age group 35–44, whose frequency of use of the site is higher than for younger people. Nearly 60 percent of adults in the U.S. have at least one SNS profile, 30 percent two, and 15 percent three or more. Females are as present as males, except when in a society there is a general gender gap. We observe no differences in education and class, but there is some class specialization of SNS, such as Myspace being lower than FB; LinkedIn is for professionals.

Thus, the most important activity on the Internet at this point in time goes through social networking, and SNS have become the chosen platforms for all kind of activities, not just personal friendships or chatting, but for marketing, e-commerce, education, cultural creativity, media and entertainment distribution, health applications, and sociopolitical activism. This is a significant trend for society at large. Let me explore the meaning of this trend on the basis of the still scant evidence.

Social networking sites are constructed by users themselves building on specific criteria of grouping. There is entrepreneurship in the process of creating sites, then people choose according to their interests and projects. Networks are tailored by people themselves with different levels of profiling and privacy. The key to success is not anonymity, but on the contrary, self-presentation of a real person connecting to real people (in some cases people are excluded from the SNS when they fake their identity). So, it is a self-constructed society by networking connecting to other networks. But this is not a virtual society. There is a close connection between virtual networks and networks in life at large. This is a hybrid world, a real world, not a virtual world or a segregated world.

People build networks to be with others, and to be with others they want to be with on the basis of criteria that include those people who they already know (a selected sub-segment). Most users go on the site every day. It is permanent connectivity. If we needed an answer to what happened to sociability in the Internet world, here it is:

There is a dramatic increase in sociability, but a different kind of sociability, facilitated and dynamized by permanent connectivity and social networking on the web.

Based on the time when Facebook was still releasing data (this time is now gone) we know that in 2009 users spent 500 billion minutes per month. This is not just about friendship or interpersonal communication. People do things together, share, act, exactly as in society, although the personal dimension is always there. Thus, in the U.S. 38 percent of adults share content, 21 percent remix, 14 percent blog, and this is growing exponentially, with development of technology, software, and SNS entrepreneurial initiatives. On Facebook, in 2009 the average user was connected to 60 pages, groups, and events, people interacted per month to 160 million objects (pages, groups, events), the average user created 70 pieces of content per month, and there were 25 billion pieces of content shared per month (web links, news stories, blogs posts, notes, photos). SNS are living spaces connecting all dimensions of people’s experience. This transforms culture because people share experience with a low emotional cost, while saving energy and effort. They transcend time and space, yet they produce content, set up links, and connect practices. It is a constantly networked world in every dimension of human experience. They co-evolve in permanent, multiple interaction. But they choose the terms of their co-evolution.

Thus, people live their physical lives but increasingly connect on multiple dimensions in SNS.

Paradoxically, the virtual life is more social than the physical life, now individualized by the organization of work and urban living.

But people do not live a virtual reality, indeed it is a real virtuality, since social practices, sharing, mixing, and living in society is facilitated in the virtuality, in what I called time ago the “space of flows” (Castells 1996).

Because people are increasingly at ease in the multi-textuality and multidimensionality of the web, marketers, work organizations, service agencies, government, and civil society are migrating massively to the Internet, less and less setting up alternative sites, more and more being present in the networks that people construct by themselves and for themselves, with the help of Internet social networking entrepreneurs, some of whom become billionaires in the process, actually selling freedom and the possibility of the autonomous construction of lives. This is the liberating potential of the Internet made material practice by these social networking sites. The largest of these social networking sites are usually bounded social spaces managed by a company. However, if the company tries to impede free communication it may lose many of its users, because the entry barriers in this industry are very low. A couple of technologically savvy youngsters with little capital can set up a site on the Internet and attract escapees from a more restricted Internet space, as happened to AOL and other networking sites of the first generation, and as could happen to Facebook or any other SNS if they are tempted to tinker with the rules of openness (Facebook tried to make users pay and retracted within days). So, SNS are often a business, but they are in the business of selling freedom, free expression, chosen sociability. When they tinker with this promise they risk their hollowing by net citizens migrating with their friends to more friendly virtual lands.

Perhaps the most telling expression of this new freedom is the transformation of sociopolitical practices on the Internet.

Communication Power: Mass-Self Communication and the Transformation of Politics

Power and counterpower, the foundational relationships of society, are constructed in the human mind, through the construction of meaning and the processing of information according to certain sets of values and interests (Castells 2009).

Ideological apparatuses and the mass media have been key tools of mediating communication and asserting power, and still are. But the rise of a new culture, the culture of autonomy, has found in Internet and mobile communication networks a major medium of mass self-communication and self-organization.

The key source for the social production of meaning is the process of socialized communication. I define communication as the process of sharing meaning through the exchange of information. Socialized communication is the one that exists in the public realm, that has the potential of reaching society at large. Therefore, the battle over the human mind is largely played out in the process of socialized communication. And this is particularly so in the network society, the social structure of the Information Age, which is characterized by the pervasiveness of communication networks in a multimodal hypertext.

The ongoing transformation of communication technology in the digital age extends the reach of communication media to all domains of social life in a network that is at the same time global and local, generic and customized, in an ever-changing pattern.

As a result, power relations, that is the relations that constitute the foundation of all societies, as well as the processes challenging institutionalized power relations, are increasingly shaped and decided in the communication field. Meaningful, conscious communication is what makes humans human. Thus, any major transformation in the technology and organization of communication is of utmost relevance for social change. Over the last four decades the advent of the Internet and of wireless communication has shifted the communication process in society at large from mass communication to mass self-communication. This is from a message sent from one to many with little interactivity to a system based on messages from many to many, multimodal, in chosen time, and with interactivity, so that senders are receivers and receivers are senders. And both have access to a multimodal hypertext in the web that constitutes the endlessly changing backbone of communication processes.

The transformation of communication from mass communication to mass self-communication has contributed decisively to alter the process of social change. As power relationships have always been based on the control of communication and information that feed the neural networks constitutive of the human mind, the rise of horizontal networks of communication has created a new landscape of social and political change by the process of disintermediation of the government and corporate controls over communication. This is the power of the network, as social actors build their own networks on the basis of their projects, values, and interests. The outcome of these processes is open ended and dependent on specific contexts. Freedom, in this case freedom of communicate, does not say anything on the uses of freedom in society. This is to be established by scholarly research. But we need to start from this major historical phenomenon: the building of a global communication network based on the Internet, a technology that embodies the culture of freedom that was at its source.

In the first decade of the twenty-first century there have been multiple social movements around the world that have used the Internet as their space of formation and permanent connectivity, among the movements and with society at large. These networked social movements, formed in the social networking sites on the Internet, have mobilized in the urban space and in the institutional space, inducing new forms of social movements that are the main actors of social change in the network society. Networked social movements have been particularly active since 2010, and especially in the Arab revolutions against dictatorships; in Europe and the U.S. as forms of protest against the management of the financial crisis; in Brazil; in Turkey; in Mexico; and in highly diverse institutional contexts and economic conditions. It is precisely the similarity of the movements in extremely different contexts that allows the formulation of the hypothesis that this is the pattern of social movements characteristic of the global network society. In all cases we observe the capacity of these movements for self-organization, without a central leadership, on the basis of a spontaneous emotional movement. In all cases there is a connection between Internet-based communication, mobile networks, and the mass media in different forms, feeding into each other and amplifying the movement locally and globally.

These movements take place in the context of exploitation and oppression, social tensions and social struggles; but struggles that were not able to successfully challenge the state in other instances of revolt are now powered by the tools of mass self-communication. It is not the technology that induces the movements, but without the technology (Internet and wireless communication) social movements would not take the present form of being a challenge to state power. The fact is that technology is material culture (ideas brought into the design) and the Internet materialized the culture of freedom that, as it has been documented, emerged on American campuses in the 1960s. This culture-made technology is at the source of the new wave of social movements that exemplify the depth of the global impact of the Internet in all spheres of social organization, affecting particularly power relationships, the foundation of the institutions of society. (See case studies and an analytical perspective on the interaction between Internet and networked social movements in Castells 2012.)

The Internet, as all technologies, does not produce effects by itself. Yet, it has specific effects in altering the capacity of the communication system to be organized around flows that are interactive, multimodal, asynchronous or synchronous, global or local, and from many to many, from people to people, from people to objects, and from objects to objects, increasingly relying on the semantic web. How these characteristics affect specific systems of social relationships has to be established by research, and this is what I tried to present in this text. What is clear is that without the Internet we would not have seen the large-scale development of networking as the fundamental mechanism of social structuring and social change in every domain of social life. The Internet, the World Wide Web, and a variety of networks increasingly based on wireless platforms constitute the technological infrastructure of the network society, as the electrical grid and the electrical engine were the support system for the form of social organization that we conceptualized as the industrial society. Thus, as a social construction, this technological system is open ended, as the network society is an open-ended form of social organization that conveys the best and the worse in humankind. Yet, the global network society is our society, and the understanding of its logic on the basis of the interaction between culture, organization, and technology in the formation and development of social and technological networks is a key field of research in the twenty-first century.

We can only make progress in our understanding through the cumulative effort of scholarly research. Only then we will be able to cut through the myths surrounding the key technology of our time. A digital communication technology that is already a second skin for young people, yet it continues to feed the fears and the fantasies of those who are still in charge of a society that they barely understand.

These references are in fact sources of more detailed references specific to each one of the topics analyzed in this text.

Abbate, Janet. A Social History of the Internet. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999.

Boyd, Danah M., and Nicole B. Ellison. “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13, no. 1 (2007).

Cardoso, Gustavo, Angus Cheong, and Jeffrey Cole (eds). World Wide Internet: Changing Societies, Economies and Cultures. Macau: University of Macau Press, 2009.

Castells, Manuel. The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture. 3 vols. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996–2003.

———. The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

———. Communication Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

———. Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2012.

Castells, Manuel, Imma Tubella, Teresa Sancho, and Meritxell Roca.

La transición a la sociedad red. Barcelona: Ariel, 2007.

Hilbert, Martin, and Priscilla López. “The World’s Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information.” Science 332, no. 6025 (April 1, 2011): pp. 60–65.

Papacharissi, Zizi, ed. The Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Networking Sites. Routledge, 2010.

Rainie. Lee, and Barry Wellman. Networked: The New Social Operating System. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012.

Trajectory Partnership (Michael Willmott and Paul Flatters). The Information Dividend: Why IT Makes You “Happier.” Swindon: British Informatics Society Limited, 2010. http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/info-dividend-full-report.pdf

Selected Web References.   Used as sources for analysis in the chapter

Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento. “Observatório de Sociedade da Informação e do Conhecimento (OSIC).” http://www.umic.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3026&Itemid=167

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. “Features, Press and Policy.” http://www.bcs.org/category/7307

Center for the Digital Future. The World Internet Project International Report. 4th ed. Los Angeles: USC Annenberg School, Center for the Digital Future, 2012. http://www.worldinternetproject.net/_files/_Published/_oldis/770_2012wip_report4th_ed.pdf

ESRC (Economic & Social Research Council). “Papers and Reports.” Virtual Society. http://virtualsociety.sbs.ox.ac.uk/reports.htm

Fundación Orange. “Análisis y Prospectiva: Informe eEspaña.” Fundación Orange. http://fundacionorange.es/fundacionorange/analisisprospectiva.html

Fundación Telefónica. “Informes SI.” Fundación Telefónica. http://sociedadinformacion.fundacion.telefonica.com/DYC/SHI/InformesSI/seccion=1190&idioma=es_ES.do

IN3 (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute). UOC. “Project Internet Catalonia (PIC): An Overview.” Internet Interdisciplinary Institute, 2002–07. http://www.uoc.edu/in3/pic/eng/

International Telecommunication Union. “Annual Reports.” http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/sfo/annual_reports/index.html

Nielsen Company. “Reports.” 2013. http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/reports/2013.html?tag=Category:Media+ and+Entertainment

Oxford Internet Surveys. “Publications.” http://microsites.oii.ox.ac.uk/oxis/publications

Pew Internet & American Life Project. “Social Networking.” Pew Internet. http://www.pewinternet.org/Topics/Activities-and-Pursuits/Social-Networking.aspx?typeFilter=5

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The Impact of the Internet on Society: A Global Perspective

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The Internet is the decisive technology of the Information Age, and with the explosion of wireless communication in the early twenty-first century, we can say that humankind is now almost entirely connected, albeit with great levels of inequality in bandwidth, efficiency, and price.

People, companies, and institutions feel the depth of this technological change, but the speed and scope of the transformation has triggered all manner of utopian and dystopian perceptions that, when examined closely through methodologically rigorous empirical research, turn out not to be accurate. For instance, media often report that intense use of the Internet increases 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 increases sociability, civic engagement, and the intensity of family and friendship relationships, in all cultures.

Our current “network society” is a product of the digital revolution and some major sociocultural changes. One of these is the rise of the “Me-centered society,” marked by an increased focus on individual growth and 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 interests, values, and projects. Community is formed through individuals’ quests for like-minded people in a process that combines online interaction with offline interaction, cyberspace, and the local space.

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Globally, time spent on social networking sites surpassed time spent on e-mail in November 2007, and the number of social networking users surpassed the number of e-mail users in July 2009. Today, social networking sites are the preferred platforms for all kinds of activities, both business and personal, and sociability has dramatically increased — but it is a different kind of sociability. Most Facebook users visit the site daily, and they connect on multiple dimensions, but only on the dimensions they choose. The virtual life is becoming more social than the physical life, but it is less a virtual reality than a real virtuality, facilitating real-life work and urban living.

Because people are increasingly at ease in the Web’s multidimensionality, marketers, government, and civil society are migrating massively to the networks people construct by themselves and for themselves. At root, social-networking entrepreneurs are really selling spaces in which people can freely and autonomously construct their lives. Sites that attempt to impede free communication are soon abandoned by many users in favor of friendlier and less restricted spaces.

Perhaps the most telling expression of this new freedom is the Internet’s transformation of sociopolitical practices. Messages no longer flow solely from the few to the many, with little interactivity. Now, messages also flow from the many to the many, multimodally and interactively. By disintermediating government and corporate control of communication, horizontal communication networks have created a new landscape of social and political change.

Networked social movements have been particularly active since 2010, notably in the Arab revolutions against dictatorships and the protests against the management of the financial crisis. Online and particularly wireless communication has helped social movements pose more of a challenge to state power.

The Internet and the Web constitute the technological 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 this digital communication technology 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.

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Essay on Internet

Here we have shared the Essay on Internet in detail so you can use it in your exam or assignment of 150, 250, 400, 500, or 1000 words.

You can use this Essay on Internet for any assignment or project whether you are in school (class 10th or 12th), college, or preparing for answer writing in competitive exams. 

Topics covered in this article.

Essay on Internet in 150 words

Essay on internet in 250-400 words, essay on internet in 500-1000 words.

The Internet has revolutionized communication, information access, and business operations. It connects people globally, enabling faster and more convenient communication through email, instant messaging, and social media. It democratizes information, providing vast knowledge and resources at our fingertips. The Internet has also transformed businesses, allowing them to reach a global customer base through e-commerce. However, challenges like online privacy and the digital divide remain. Privacy concerns require protection measures, and efforts are needed to bridge the gap in Internet access based on geography and socioeconomic factors. Despite these challenges, the Internet continues to shape our lives, offering immense potential for positive change and advancement. It is a powerful tool that connects people, empowers individuals with knowledge, and provides opportunities for businesses to thrive in the digital era.

The Internet has become an indispensable part of our lives, transforming the way we communicate, access information, and conduct business. It is a vast network of interconnected computers and servers that enables the sharing and exchange of data worldwide.

One of the most significant impacts of the Internet is its ability to revolutionize communication. With the advent of email, instant messaging, and social media platforms, communication has become faster, more convenient, and more accessible. People can connect with each other instantly, regardless of geographical distances. Social media platforms have also provided new avenues for individuals to express themselves, share ideas, and build virtual communities.

Moreover, the Internet has democratized access to information. With a few clicks, anyone can access a wealth of knowledge on almost any topic. Online libraries, databases, and search engines have made information easily accessible, empowering individuals to learn, research, and stay informed. This unprecedented access to information has transformed education, enabling online learning platforms and resources to reach learners across the globe.

In addition to communication and information access, the Internet has revolutionized business operations. E-commerce has witnessed significant growth, allowing businesses to reach a global customer base and conduct transactions online. Online platforms have opened up new opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation, enabling small businesses to thrive and compete on a global scale.

However, the Internet also poses challenges. Online privacy and security have become major concerns, with the risk of data breaches, identity theft, and cybercrime. Safeguarding personal information and practicing responsible online behavior is essential to protect oneself in the digital realm.

Furthermore, the digital divide remains a significant issue. While the Internet has connected billions of people worldwide, there are still disparities in access based on geography, income, and socioeconomic factors. Bridging this divide is crucial to ensure equal opportunities for all.

In conclusion, the Internet has revolutionized communication, information access, and business operations. It has connected people globally, democratized knowledge, and opened up new opportunities. However, challenges like online privacy and the digital divide need to be addressed. The Internet is a powerful tool that has transformed our lives and society, and its continued advancement requires responsible use and efforts to ensure inclusivity and security in the digital age.

Title: The Internet – Connecting the World in the Digital Age

Introduction :

The Internet has emerged as one of the most transformative technologies in human history. It has revolutionized communication, transformed information access, and reshaped the way we conduct business. This essay explores the origins and evolution of the Internet, its impact on communication and information access, the role of the Internet in business and entrepreneurship, as well as its social and cultural implications.

Origins and Evolution of the Internet

The Internet’s origins can be traced back to the 1960s when it was developed as a research project by the United States Department of Defense. Initially known as ARPANET, it was designed to create a decentralized network that could withstand a nuclear attack. Over time, the Internet expanded beyond its military origins, becoming a global network of interconnected computers and servers.

Communication Revolution

The Internet has transformed communication, making it faster, more convenient, and more accessible than ever before. Email, instant messaging, and social media platforms have revolutionized the way people connect and interact. Distance is no longer a barrier, and individuals can communicate in real time across continents. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, have provided new avenues for self-expression, networking, and building virtual communities.

Information Access and Knowledge Sharing

The Internet has democratized access to information, fundamentally changing the way we seek and share knowledge. Online libraries, databases, and search engines have made a vast amount of information easily accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Websites, blogs, and online forums serve as platforms for individuals to share their expertise, experiences, and opinions. Online educational platforms have also emerged, offering courses and resources that reach learners across the globe, revolutionizing education and lifelong learning.

The Internet and Business

The Internet has transformed the business landscape, offering new opportunities and challenges. E-commerce has witnessed tremendous growth, allowing businesses to reach a global customer base and conduct transactions online. Online marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, have revolutionized retail, providing convenience and variety to consumers. Moreover, the Internet has enabled small businesses and entrepreneurs to compete on a global scale, as they can establish an online presence and reach customers without the need for physical storefronts.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Internet has fueled entrepreneurship and innovation, empowering individuals to turn their ideas into viable businesses. Online platforms and marketplaces have facilitated the launch of startups, creating a fertile ground for innovation and creativity. Crowdfunding platforms have democratized access to funding, allowing entrepreneurs to secure capital from a global community of investors. The Internet has also facilitated collaboration and knowledge sharing among entrepreneurs, enabling them to learn from each other and form strategic partnerships.

Social and Cultural Implications

The Internet has had profound social and cultural implications. It has connected people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, fostering a global exchange of ideas and perspectives. Social media has become a powerful tool for social and political movements, enabling grassroots activism and mobilization. However, the Internet has also given rise to challenges such as cyberbullying, misinformation, and the erosion of privacy. Society is grappling with issues related to digital citizenship, online ethics, and the balance between freedom of expression and responsible behavior.

Conclusion :

The Internet has revolutionized communication, transformed information access, and reshaped the business landscape. It has connected people globally, facilitated knowledge sharing, and fostered entrepreneurship and innovation. However, challenges related to privacy, cybersecurity, and the digital divide remain. As the Internet continues to evolve, it is crucial to strike a balance between the opportunities it presents and the responsibilities it entails. The Internet has become an integral part of our lives, and navigating its impact requires thoughtful engagement, ethical practices, and continuous adaptation to the ever-changing digital landscape.

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2020 Impact Report

The internet is a lifeline, try to imagine living through 2020 without the internet..

Medical researchers, loved ones, and even work acquaintances would have been hard to reach, or even worse, cut off. There would have been a total stop to education, with young people losing a crucial year. Our society would have been faced with a terrible choice between economic or medical collapse. The Internet did not make everything perfect. This year has shown us that nothing could. But without it, we would have fared much worse. The Internet is a force for good in society, for sure.

At the start of 2020, the Internet Society reaffirmed our goals for the Internet to be open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy. In service of those goals, we committed to our Action Plan https://www.internetsociety.org/action-plan/2020/ .

“The Internet Society supports and promotes the development of the Internet as a global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people’s lives, and a force for good in society.” Internet Society Mission Tweet

This Impact Report shows what we have achieved together. When the pandemic hit, the whole Internet Society responded to the challenge. From the Smart Mom program developed by our Haiti Chapter, to the changes that Loretta Odame in Ghana made to improve her online security; from improvement of digital literacy in Yemen, to the chapters who made their websites more accessible and reliable – all these activities show how, by working together in the Internet Way, we can make sure the Internet is for everyone. I find it inspiring, and I hope you do, too.

But our work is not done. The Internet still faces threats, both from governments who want to shut it down or control it, and from industrial interests that want to own it all. Nearly half the world had to live through 2020 without Internet access. We must keep working in 2021 to make the Internet bigger and stronger – to make our vision true: The Internet is for everyone.

Andrew Sullivan, President and CEO

The Internet is for everyone.

THE STORY OF 2020

More than any year in history, 2020 showed that the Internet is indispensable.

The year changed the way we live, work, study, advocate, and communicate in fundamental ways that are likely to persist. It forced physical distance between us while bringing us closer together online. For all its contradictions, 2020’s impact on the Internet has been a rapid acceleration of trends already in motion.

The Internet became a virtual lifeline, giving people vital health information and access to medical care. It allowed people to telework and enabled businesses to stay afloat through online sales. It heralded unprecedented e-learning. It allowed isolated people to connect with loved ones. The Internet has also allowed people to continue to exercise their rights and advocate for change.

However, this was only the reality for people with Internet connectivity.

For those without it, closing the digital divide has never been more urgent. Internet access should not be a luxury, and it can no longer be neglected.

As more people shifted their lives online, it was initially unclear if the Internet could withstand the increased demand. The answer was a resounding yes. It allowed people to be more resilient to the social and economic shocks of the pandemic.

The Internet remained reliable while our world became increasingly unpredictable.

The Internet’s resilience is a reflection of the people who developed it and who work to strengthen it and keep it growing.

Chapters, individual and organization members, partners, communities of interest, and staff around the world worked together to meet challenges and overcome obstacles with energy, vision, and determination.

Our annual Impact Report tracks our work by actions and impacts, organized by major shifts in the way people used the Internet compared to years prior. While the projects we highlight in the 2020 report touch on particular successes, they represent only a fraction of our activities.

Surge in Internet Usage

U.S. & EU Broadband Consumption

tbps World-Record Data Consumption

Globally, lockdowns caused Internet use to surge up to 70% by one account Mark Beech, “COVID-19 Pushes Up Internet Use 70% And Streaming More Than 12%, First Figures Reveal” FORBES, 25 MAR 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/markbeech/2020/03/25/covid-19-pushes-up-internet-use-70-streaming-more-than-12-first-figures-reveal/?sh=2ef2fbe83104 . In the U.S. and Europe, first quarter average subscriber usage data Broadband Insights Report (OVBI) OPENVAULT, Q1 2020, https://openvault.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Openvault_Q120_DataUsage_FINAL.pdf revealed that broadband consumption increased 47%, from 273.5 GB in 2019 to 402.5 GB in 2020. The Deutsche Commercial Internet Exchange (DE-CIX) in Frankfurt even set a new world record DE-CIX sets a new world record: More than 9 Terabits per second data throughput at Frankfurt Internet Exchange DE-CIX website, 11 MAR 2020, https://www.de-cix.net/en/about-de-cix/media-center/press-releases/de-cix-sets-a-new-world-record for data consumption in March, hitting more than 9.1 Terabits per second.

With Internet resilience thrust into the spotlight like never before, these usage spikes pushed providers to enhance their networks in order to minimize connection and speed hiccups. With the African Union Commission (AUC) and African Telecommunications Union (ATU), the Internet Society organized a series of seven seminars on African Internet resilience https://www.internetsociety.org/events/african-internet-resilience/ to keep networks up and strong. Participants explored solutions ranging from shared spectrum strategies https://www.internetsociety.org/events/african-internet-resilience/shared-spectrum-strategies-to-increase-affordable-access-in-rural-areas/ to complementary access models https://www.internetsociety.org/events/african-internet-resilience/what-about-complimentary-access-models/ to fiberoptic backbone infrastructure https://www.internetsociety.org/events/african-internet-resilience/the-role-of-fibre-optic-backbone-infrastructure-in-affordable-access/ .

HOW DID INTERNET FARE?

A record number of people were online in 2020.

While Internet usage was up, the number of routing incidents reported worldwide dropped – from more than 5,000 in 2017 to fewer than 4,000 at the end of 2020 .

Participant Growth

Network Operators Trained

PARTICIPATION IN MUTUALLY AGREED NORMS FOR ROUTING SECURITY (MANRS) GREW OVER THE YEAR, DOUBLING ITS REACH FROM 317 TO 588 PARTICIPANTS FROM OVER 60 COUNTRIES. 

MANRS launched Ambassador https://www.manrs.org/ambassadors-program/ and Fellowship https://www.manrs.org/ambassadors-program/fellows/ programs, bringing together 17 seasoned practitioners. They jointly organized 58 workshops and engaged over 1,400 network operators around the world. Seventy-five Internet Society chapters took part in a global training workshop in March, after which the UbuntuNet Alliance partnered with Internet Society to subsequently train 18 network engineers “NREN engineers hail MANRS training workshop”, UBUNTUNET ALLIANCE, 1 SEP 2020, https://ubuntunet.net/2020/09/nren-engineers-hail-manrs-training-workshop/ from national research and education networks (NRENs) in eight African countries in July.

In addition, Akamai, Amazon Web Services, Azion, Cloudflare, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, and other Internet leaders are now working together to secure large portions of cloud infrastructure – thanks to the new MANRS program for content delivery networks and cloud providers https://www.internetsociety.org/news/press-releases/2020/leading-cdn-and-cloud-providers-join-manrs-to-improve-routing-security/ .

Internet exchange points (IXPs) keep traffic local and improve network resiliency.

We supported IXPs with technical expertise, training, and equipment in 26 countries, including 12 in Africa, 3 in Asia-Pacific, 2 in Europe, 8 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 1 in North America.

We trained more than 600 individuals and organized 20 virtual meetings with peering, network operator, and NREN communities with our partners. We also teamed up with the Asia Pacific Internet Exchange Association (APIX) to study the impact of COVID-19 on IXP operations in 12 countries across the region https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2020/07/ixps-keeping-local-infrastructure-resilient-during-covid-19/ .

Countries Supported

Individuals Trained

Virtual Community Meetings

Countries Studied for Impact of COVID-19 on IXP Operations

IMPACT SPOTLIGHT

New IXP gains momentum in Guatemala

“The IXP.GT is the best thing that happened to us in 2020! Since we connected in August, we’ve doubled [or tripled] the average bandwidth,” says Ariel Tello, engineer and Project Manager at Señal Nacional, Guatemala’s third-largest residential Internet service-provider (ISP) and one of 10 organizations connected to IXP.GT.

He says connecting to IXP.GT has reduced their payments to international suppliers by at least 15%, allowing them to lower prices and improve capacity. In July, a 1 Mbps monthly download plan ran 149 quetzales (US$19). Now, customers pay that price for triple the download (3 Mbps). If costs fall further, Tello says they’ll be able to invest in expanding to more places without Internet access.

A Facebook node is now being installed – the first Point of Presence in Central America – and connections are being negotiated with other content delivery networks, with help from the Internet Society and the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Exchange Association.

“Before the IXP, it took 30 to 40 milliseconds to receive content, but it takes 2 milliseconds or less now,” explains Marco Antonio To, engineer, professor and IXP.GT President. IXP.GT also enhances security by keeping sensitive data within the country.

IXP.GT also makes participants less vulnerable to natural disasters, says To. Severe hurricane-related flooding in December damaged several international fiber-optic cables, causing delays for non-IXP operators.

Marco Antonio To (IXP.GT President) – Julio Ramírez (Intertelco) – Iván Morales (IXP.GT Technical Director) – Ervin Jiménez (Comnet)

Organizations Connected 

Times Average Bandwidth

Decrease in Payments to International Suppliers

Decrease in Speed to Receive Content

Business not as usual

With numerous stores, banks, and government offices closed during the pandemic, many people shifted to paying bills, collecting benefits, and shopping online. As a result, the first half of 2020 saw an increase in e-commerce equivalent to that of the previous 10 years “The next normal arrives: Trends that will define 2021—and beyond”, MCKINSEY & COMPANY, 4 JAN 2021, ACCESSED 3 FEB 2021, https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/the-next-normal-arrives-trends-that-will-define-2021-and-beyond . An UNCTAD survey of nine countries “COVID-19 has changed online shopping forever, survey shows “, UNCTAD, 8 OCT 2020, https://unctad.org/news/covid-19-has-changed-online-shopping-forever-survey-shows found more than half of respondents now shop online more frequently, and a survey in Brazil “Painel TIC COVID-19, 1ª Edição”, CETIC.BR, ACCESSED 3 FEB 2021, https://cetic.br/pt/tics/tic-covid-19/painel-covid-19/1-edicao/C6W/ revealed that 54% of people were paying bills or taxes online and 71% were banking or doing financial transfers online.

As the months dragged on, the Great Work-from-Home Experiment became reality. With many workplaces closed, half of the workforce or more was working from home – one global survey found that 45% of respondents worked from home in 2020, while another found that 47% of businesses would allow their employees to work remotely full-time, moving forward, and 82% would allow it at least some of the time. With so many people working and transacting online, the need for online privacy and security has become even more critical.

Spain was among the first countries to be devastated by COVID-19. Amid lockdowns, people suddenly had to adapt to working, buying groceries and paying bills online. For many seniors and small businesses in particular, the learning curve was steep. To help them navigate the transition, 67-year-old retired IT veteran Paulino Moreno, delivers workshops and seminars for Cibervoluntarios (Cyber-volunteers), a Spanish non-profit and Internet Society organization member that provides international technology training and awareness-raising. Moreno was among the 85 participants in an encryption webinar https://youtu.be/nADsFZl1bMY delivered jointly by Internet Society and Cibervoluntarios in May 2020, their first joint activity since partnering in 2019. “The way they explained how to transmit data and documents safely has been useful to me, especially the six-point recommendations from the Internet Society https://www.internetsociety.org/encryption/protect-encryption-protect-yourself/ on how to keep your communications safe,” explains Moreno. He has since incorporated these tips into at least six of his own talks and workshops for audiences ranging from seniors to young entrepreneurs.

Cibervoluntarios, an Internet Society organization member, has also joined the Global Encryption Coalition ( GEC https://www.globalencryption.org/ ) which was launched in May in an effort to challenge laws and proposals that could weaken encryption. Led by a Steering Committee composed of the Internet Society, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Global Partners Digital, the GEC has grown from 30 members to a diverse array of more than 100 like-minded organizations. The GEC has already made gains in promoting and defending encryption. In November, a group of 50 expert members of the Coalition issued a technical report analyzing and debunking a leaked European Commission document, which analyzed different ways to spot illegal content in encrypted private communications. The Coalition also engaged in lobbying and issued a joint statement https://www.globalencryption.org/2020/10/cdt-gpd-and-internet-society-reject-time-worn-argument-for-encryption-backdoors/ after the “Five-Eyes” intelligence alliance, plus India and Japan, called on companies to create backdoor access for law enforcement to their encrypted devices and services.

While governments and law enforcement agencies continued to call for backdoor access to encrypted communications, we issued policy recommendations https://www.internetsociety.org/covid19-policy-recommendations/ urging lawmakers and network operators to protect the trustworthiness of the Internet .

The recommendations called for policies and regulations to support the use of end-to- end encryption. Our encryption work intensified in 2020 with global advocacy, regional messaging consultations, and global encryption training https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2020/09/chapter-leaders-worldwide-make-the-case-for-strong-encryption/ for 139 participants from 66 chapters. Training participants went on to engage in advocacy or organize their own local sessions, including in Ghana and Nicaragua.

Internet Society chapters also responded with tenacity and innovation to the turmoil of 2020, creating initiatives to help see their communities through times of crisis and recovery.

One of the three winning Chapterthon projects in 2020 Chapterthon is an opportunity for Internet Society chapters to engage with their members to create projects around a central theme. https://www.internetsociety.org/grants/chapterthon/2020/ https://www.internetsociety.org/grants/chapterthon/2020/projects/ focused on making sure people could use the Internet productively and securely. The Haiti Chapter developed the Smart Mom 2020 program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE5E7awrhA , training 20 mothers to use online banking or mobile money accounts.

The Bangladesh Chapter hosted a workshop for journalists working from home https://youtu.be/TQoa5fzfoEc at a time when most were using personal devices to publish news, leaving them prone to cyber attacks and disinformation. And the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Chapter produced a tutorial on automating small businesses’ booking services https://youtu.be/c96Q18riufI , with tips to help small businesses enhance their efficiency by using free digital tools.

The Internet Society hosted a series of virtual trainings which over 70 chapter representatives attended to learn how to improve the overall security and availability of their websites and web servers. As a result of the training, many chapters significantly increased their websites’ compliance with open, secure standards. “After the training session, our chapter made several changes,” says Kolkata India Chapter participant Rittika Ratawa. Indeed, the Kolkata Chapter took its website from 32% compliance to an impressive 100% https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2020/07/open-standards-everywhere-how-the-kolkata-chapter-got-a-perfect-score/ .

Strengthening the Internet so it remains a force for good.

Students and journalists secure their online communications after encryption training.

Loretta Odame, a 28-year-old student at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, previously used social media without much thought about security or privacy. But after taking an Internet Society-sponsored workshop on encryption, organized by one of her professors, she has since made “a complete change” in the information she shares online and how she uses social media.

“The program helped us see the reasons why encryption matters, because it protects our privacy. That has given us an awareness that there are certain things that we used to do and are not doing anymore. And we are aware of the need to secure our data.”

The workshop content largely replicated the Internet Society’s encryption training course, which was delivered to more than 90 chapter representatives around the world in May. One of the participants in that training was 26-year-old Theorose Elikplim Dzineku, Chair of Programs and Communications for Internet Society Ghana.

Dzineku, who regularly teaches a second-year new media class to 120 students at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, went on to write a research paper examining how Ghanaian journalists understand encryption and apply it to their work. The topic was timely as the pandemic had forced many to use online means of communicating with sources,

and misinformation was rife. She was surprised to learn that most working journalists had no knowledge of encryption.

She put together a proposal and won a $3,000 small grant from the Internet Society Foundation to implement an encryption workshop at the Ministry of Communications.

“I really wanted to use the knowledge that I gained to make a change. I didn’t just want to be part of the numbers who do a training and just go home with a certificate without doing anything,” she says.

Vincent Amedzake is a 24-year-old freelance journalist who attended one of Dzineku’s encryption workshops.

“Before the workshop, we exchanged messages and information using mediums that we didn’t know weren’t secure,” he says, adding that he now relies on basic encryption techniques he learned in the workshop. He’s also changed the way he uses social media and now uses password-secured public WiFi connections.

“One very valid and important thing we learned was that protection is key – encryption is key,” he says.

Education in a pandemic

Amid the global wave of pandemic lockdowns, there was an unprecedented rise in e-learning. As of 1 April, nearly 1.5 billion children in 173 countries “Global monitoring of school closures caused by Coronavirus (Covid-19),” UNESCO [see interactive map data for 1 April 2020], ACCESSED 2 APR 2021, https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse were affected by school closures. In China, the largest “online movement” in the history of education Cathy Li and Farah Lalani, “The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how,” WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, 29 APR 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/ occurred in mid-February after the government instructed a quarter of a billion full-time students to resume their studies online.

Having students of all ages studying, submitting homework, and videoconferencing with teachers and classmates online has heightened awareness of the need for safe communications.

The pandemic ushered in a pressing need to improve the digital literacy of children, teachers, and parents. To address these needs, we hosted a Kids, the Internet, and COVID-19 https://www.internetsociety.org/events/kids-the-internet-covid-19-how-to-keep-our-children-safe-online/ webinar to show parents how they can protect their children’s privacy and security online via encryption. The video of the webinar was viewed nearly 3 million times , setting a record for the Internet Society as the most viewed video content.

Further, the original webinar content was replicated by members of the community, including our Japan Chapter which translated the English version into Japanese.

Internet Society chapters devised a number of education-focused projects to keep kids learning and teachers educating online – and to ensure this happened safely and effectively. The Chapter in the Democratic Republic of Congo prepared a video guide to help teachers use Zoom https://youtu.be/fwCv1Om9PYI . The Sri Lanka Chapter developed a blueprint for a catalogue of online educational resources to help school teachers use online tools https://youtu.be/3ohnlal4mtI and catch up on missing lessons. In Trinidad and Tobago, the Chapter developed a crowdsourcing project to build a repository of shared teaching resources https://youtu.be/fUtRIkMkX9E , help teachers access online training, and find other experts. And to empower educators to safely navigate online teaching amid the pandemic, the Uganda Chapter delivered a training on digital safety for 50 educators from 38 schools https://youtu.be/nztoCfYQ9w8 .

Since most schools weren’t closed for the entire year, ensuring connectivity was also a continued priority. To help, the Armenia Chapter provided computers, WiFi connections, and training for rural art schools and libraries https://youtu.be/gDd8qsd3-ps , while the Gambia Chapter refurbished and networked computer labs and donated computers to three schools “Internet Society Gambia Chapter- ISOC Gambia Chapterthon 2020 project, in Partnership with MCJSupport Org”, MCJSUPPORT ORGANIZATION, https://mcjsupport.org/2021/02/16/internet-society-gambia-chapter-isoc-gambia-chapterthon-2020-project-in-partnership-with-mcjsupport-org/ for children with disabilities.

Helping students continue their education amid twin crises in Yemen

More than 150 elementary and high-school students at five different public schools in war-ravaged and pandemic-ridden Yemen now know how to use the Internet safely and effectively to learn.

This was the result of Chapterthon-winning training sessions organized by the Yemen Chapter: Reinforcing digital awareness in Yemeni schools https://youtu.be/yTvQJwAS2-Q . The lessons focused on digital security, privacy, online search techniques, and free e-learning tools such as Zoom and Google Classroom.

When one in five schools in Yemen can no longer be used as a direct result of conflict “As school year starts in Yemen, 2 million children are out of school and another 3.7 million are at risk of dropping out”, UNICEF, SEP 2019, https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/school-year-starts-yemen-2-million-children-are-out-school-and-another-37-million , the Internet is enabling students to continue their education remotely when they can’t physically attend school.

The training sessions have also faced obstacles. They’ve had to be planned around ceasefires or rescheduled due to the eruption of violence. Another challenge was convincing school principals and directors that e-learning training was needed.

“Lots of people have Internet access through mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. There is a big gap in knowledge between parents and their children, as well as teachers,” says Internet Society Yemen Chapter President Sharaf Azzain. “When we realized that the teachers were interested and needed training as well, we included them.”

After the first Chapterthon project, undertaken in the capital of Sanaa, Azzain says the project team went on to organize a similar project in the opposition-recognized capital of Aden. There, four trainers reached more than 120 students and 20 teachers at four schools, providing training on computer literacy and safe Internet use.

Keeping healthcare secure

Increase of “Ping An Good Doctor” app users in China

Increase of demand for telehealth services in US

At a time when COVID-19 information was crucial, there was substantial growth in telemedicine. Additionally, doctors’ inability to see patients face-to-face catapulted online video consults to record-setting figures. The number of new users on a Chinese healthcare app rose nearly 900% in January 2020 compared to December 2019 Vikram Kapur and Alex Boulton, “Covid-19 Accelerates the Adoption of Telemedicine in Asia-Pacific Countries,” BAIN & COMPANY. APR 2020, https://www.bain.com/insights/covid-19-accelerates-the-adoption-of-telemedicine-in-asia-pacific-countries/ , and visits to a Singaporean telemedicine platform rose more than 160% from the beginning of 2020. A May report showed demand for telehealth services would grow 64.3% in the US in 2020 alone Mike Miliard, “Telehealth set for ‘tsunami of growth,’ says Frost & Sullivan,” HEALTHCARE IT NEWS, MAY 2020, https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/telehealth-set-tsunami-growth-says-frost-sullivan – and a staggering seven-fold increase was predicted by 2025. Meanwhile, COVID-19 contact-tracing, testing, vaccine development, and vaccination scheduling were all made easier thanks to the Internet.

But people need to know how to use and benefit from these new health apps and services. And with so many people using telehealth, confidential health records must stay private and secure.

The Internet Society, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Global Partners Digital hosted a webinar series with leading security and technology experts that explored topics like Health, Encryption, and COVID-19: Keeping people and countries safer online https://www.internetsociety.org/events/health-encryption-covid-19/ . Another focused on Health, the Internet and COVID-19: Government backdoor access proposals that threaten Canadian health and security online https://livestream.com/accounts/686369/events/9128375/videos/206047873/player?width=640&height=360&enableInfo=false&defaultDrawer=&autoPlay=false&mute=false .

In addition, the Internet Society’s webinar in the African Internet resilience series explored digital health services and solutions for the medical industry during the pandemic https://www.internetsociety.org/events/african-internet-resilience/digital-solution-for-health-services-and-the-medical-industry-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ .

Chapters championed health-related projects. In Guinea, they provided community healthcare centers with an Internet connection, an interactive web platform, and messaging services to facilitate interactions between patients and health entities https://youtu.be/3fdzMsKJauY . In Somalia, efforts focused on educating and informing the community about privacy, online security, and getting reliable health information https://youtu.be/ajtsrev02T8 . Meanwhile, the Togo Chapter’s DokitaEyes community digital school project https://youtu.be/N84eTrNJnoM trained community health workers on digital tools to help implement the “Health of Mothers and Children of Togo” project.

How a remote rural town prepared for a pandemic and improved its connectivity

Imagine facing COVID-19 without the Internet. That could have been the reality in El Cuy, a remote town in southern Argentina, had the Internet Society not helped deploy its community network in 2019. Its impact was magnified in 2020.

Maria Goicochea, Director of the El Cuy Hospital, says being connected has allowed doctors to do online consults with specialists, get statistical reports, send urgent patient or administrative records, and find suppliers. They can also access training and Ministry of Health teleconferences. She says without the Internet, COVID-19’s impact would have been unthinkable. “We would have been disarmed, stressed, and helpless!”

Nearly half of El Cuy’s population is over the age of 60 – a high-risk group. People used to have to travel 130 km to a nearby city to get medical prescriptions approved. This is now done online, eliminating long, risky, and costly travel.

The network initially used a 10 Mbps connection borrowed from an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) 200 km away, and the increased traffic amid lockdowns made the connection slow and patchy. In May, the Internet Society published a blog by Nelso Rodríguez, a nurse at the hospital and one of the network’s founders, where he called for more capacity, and placed an article about El Cuy’s network “Cuando una conexión a Internet es el único lazo al mundo en cuarentena: el caso de El Cuy, en Río Negro “, LA NACION, MAY 2020, https://www.lanacion.com.ar/tecnologia/cuando-conexion-internet-es-unico-lazo-al-nid2363234/ in an important Argentine newspaper – La Nación . Soon after, a local Internet service provider upped El Cuy’s backhaul through the IXP by 50% and expanded the number of connections.

For Rodríguez, empowerment has been the greatest impact. “We realized that we could accomplish things and organize our community around a common good,” he said.

Mobilizing—at a safe distance

Being able to raise our voices is a human right and a cornerstone of democracy. But at a time of restricted movement, typical ways of organizing and mobilizing for change have had to adjust.

STAYING HOME HASN’T MEANT STAYING SILENT.

The boom in Internet-based advocacy was accelerated in 2020. U.S. citizens used digital advocacy to engage with all levels of government, undertaking eight times more digital actions in the first half of 2020 than in the last presidential election year in 2016 “State of Advocacy 2020: The year of Digital Advocacy,” PHONE2ACTION, ACCESSED 24 FEB 2021, https://phone2action.com/state-of-advocacy-2020/ . In a Gallup poll Abby Kiesa, “Lack of Voting Information Could Hamper Youth Turnout,” GALLUP 14 JUL 2020, https://news.gallup.com/poll/315761/lack-voting-information-hamper-youth-turnout.aspx , 79% of young people said “the coronavirus pandemic has helped them realize how much political leaders’ decisions impact their lives.” And with the #BlackLivesMatter movement gaining broad public support Nate Cohn and Kevin Quealy, “How Public Opinion Has Moved on Black Lives Matter”, NEW YORK TIMES, 10 JUNE 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/10/upshot/black-lives-matter-attitudes.html globally, a Pew Research survey Brooke Auxier, “Americans’ activism on social media differs by race, age, party,” PEW RESEARCH CENTER, 13 JUL 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/13/activism-on-social-media-varies-by-race-and-ethnicity-age-political-party/ in the U.S. in June found that 54% of social media users aged 18-29 reported using social media to look for information about rallies or protests in their area.

times more digital action than in last U.S. presidential election

of young people realized impact of political leaders’ decisions

of young adult social media users use social platforms to find local rally/protest information

With activities moving online amid the pandemic, the Internet has become more crucial to awareness-raising and advocacy – and advocates’ data and communications must be kept safe and private.

This is even more urgent for marginalized communities and professional advocates, such as journalists, who need to be safe online in order to exercise their rights, engage in advocacy, and hold governments and institutions accountable . We produced factsheets on encryption for LGBTQ+ communities https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2019/encryption-factsheet-essential-for-lgbtq-community/ and how encryption can protect journalists and the free press https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2020/fact-sheet-how-encryption-can-protect-journalists-and-the-free-press/ so that more people can securely tell their impactful stories.

In 2020, the Internet Society launched two critical resources to support policy and advocacy.

Internet Society Pulse https://pulse.internetsociety.org/ , launched in December 2020, provides deeper, data-driven insights into the Internet. The platform includes data about the health, availability, and evolution of the Internet, including Internet shutdowns and the deployment of key technologies that enable the Internet’s scalability and security. Policymakers, researchers, journalists, network operators, and civil society groups can gain insights and context to better inform stories, research, and policies – and advocate for undisrupted Internet access.

As the first organization to officially call for an Impact Assessment and work to integrate it into regulatory processes, the Internet Society developed the Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit https://www.internetsociety.org/issues/internet-way-of-networking/internet-impact-assessment-toolkit/ (IIAT). The IIAT assesses the potential effects of emerging policy and technical proposals on critical properties of the Internet . Over time, the IIAT will strengthen accountability in the regulatory process by enabling policymakers and technologists to make more informed, conscious decisions about how to keep the Internet healthy.

Growing the Internet so everyone can benefit from it

A Harlem community news streaming project empowers advocacy, while serving as a virtual lifeline amid the pandemic.

Across the United States, communities were shaken by the homicide of George Floyd “George Floyd death: Violence erupts on sixth day of protests “, BBC NEWS, 1 JUN 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52872401 by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May. A smartphone recording of the event went viral, triggering worldwide protests “How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody “, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 31 MAY 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html against racism and police brutality and reigniting the Black Lives Matter movement.

In the past, the Black community’s lack of access to media made advocacy difficult. It’s one of the reasons the Internet Society’s New York Chapter applied for an Internet Society Foundation grant https://www.isocfoundation.org/2019/12/internet-society-foundation-announces-300000-in-grants/ for a Streaming Station Community News Project in Harlem. According to Stuart Reid, a community technologist and board member of the New York Chapter, roughly two-thirds of residents are Black and nearly a third are Latino. Half are unemployed and half live below the poverty line. The chapter won a $30,000 grant to help underserved communities produce and stream programs for and about their community.

Pivoting during the pandemic

Weeks into the project, COVID-19 hit, so the project was adapted https://www.isocfoundation.org/story/in-coronavirus-hit-harlem-community-streaming-gives-residents-a-virtual-lifeline/ by shifting from physical studio settings to online applications like Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube, and various websites, such as www.safensmart.org https://www.safensmart.org/ , to host the community-produced content. News broadcasts, discussions, and motivational shows kept local residents informed about everything from health and safety precautions to local food distribution.

According to Polly Spain, President of the Federal 8 Housing Group, this information has “made a world of difference – it’s been a matter of life and death, really! … We set up access to food, figured out who needed health services…and lawyers, because many people are facing eviction after losing their jobs…. It’s truly been a lifeline.”

The Wisdom Table, co-hosted by Brother Leroy, produced by and for senior citizens, invited a cavalcade of doctors to speak about COVID-19 prevention. Viewers could ask questions of medical providers online.

“Everyone was scared because we’re in the epicenter,” says project manager and Digital Divide Partners co-Chair Doug Frazier.

“Once we got all these doctors on, it helped calm people down. At the time, you couldn’t see a doctor, and you couldn’t go to the emergency room if you didn’t have COVID… so being able to talk to a doctor was worth its weight in gold.”

These shows also debunk misinformation, while dealing with angles not covered by mainstream media, such as how the East Harlem zip code was the hardest-hit by COVID-19 in Manhattan. They’ve also covered the Black Lives Matter movement, with shows like Community & Technology discussing racial equity, policing, corporate sponsorship, and a universal basic income.

“It’s been electricity in terms of the engagement and enthusiasm,” says Brother Leroy, adding that having the community tell its own stories makes the project “a game changer.”

The New York Chapter also engaged in advocacy of its own, issuing a public statement http://lists.isoc-ny.org/pipermail/announce-isoc-ny.org/2020/000795.html in response to the George Floyd killing.

Expanding community networks

Up to one in three Harlem households Household Internet Access , KEEPING TRACK ONLINE, https://data.cccnewyork.org/data/map/1325/household-internet-access#1325/a/3/1547/62/a/a do not have home Internet access – either via computer or mobile phone. Among low-income households, only half are connected.

Under a previous project by Digital Divide Partners https://www.digitaldividepartners.org/ , the Y-Fi Community Network was established, with 500 nodes across New York City. The recent Internet Society Foundation grant helped to expand its coverage by 25 nodes. As a result, more than 75,000 public housing residents can now watch community-produced programming, many of them using the Y-Fi in 10 public housing developments in Harlem and South Bronx.

“We don’t think people should pay a private operator to get Internet access, be safe or to get educated,” says Frazier. “So, we built something so that people could be informed and help and empower themselves. The residents help build the network so you build their skills in the process, and then hopefully get jobs to keep maintaining the network.”

For all the ways the Internet was a lifeline amid the pandemic, the reality is that less than half of the world’s population had access to this lifeline in 2020.

Connecting the unconnected

Completing schoolwork on a cellphone

Unable to do schoolwork because of no at-home computer

Worried about high-speed Internet bill payment

Further, there were gaping inequalities in access between, and within, developed and developing countries. According to a UNICEF-ITU report “Two thirds of the world’s school-age children have no internet access at home, new UNICEF-ITU report says,” UNICEF, 30 NOV 2020, https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/two-thirds-worlds-school-age-children-have-no-internet-access-home-new-unicef-itu , 63% of the world’s school-age children  – 1.3 billion children aged 3 to 17 – have no Internet access at home. The gap is greatest in poor and rural households: fewer than 1 in 20 school-age children from low-income countries have Internet at home, compared with nearly 9 in 10 from high-income countries. Even in developed countries, connectivity is low among those with low incomes.

According to a Pew Research Center survey “53% of Americans Say the Internet Has Been Essential During the COVID-19 Outbreak”, PEW RESEARCH CENTER, 30 APR 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/04/30/53-of-americans-say-the-internet-has-been-essential-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/ in the United States in April, 43% of lower-income parents with children whose schools were shut down said their kids would have to do schoolwork on their cellphones and 36% said their children would be unable to do schoolwork because they lacked access to a computer at home. Among those with Internet, 52% of lower-income broadband users said they worried about being able to pay for their high-speed Internet connection over the coming months.

Internet access is no longer optional.

When education, work, life-saving health information, and even medical attention have all shifted to digital platforms, connecting the unconnected is an urgent matter. The pandemic has laid bare the global failure in making “last mile” connectivity widely accessible and affordable.

To fill such gaps, in 2020, the Internet Society supported at least 25 new and existing community networks (CNs) around the world – in Argentina, Canada, the Galapagos Islands, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2021/03/sarantaporo-gr-community-network-tending-to-our-communities-needs-with-care-and-flexibility/ , Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda Latanya Tower Construction 2020 video, BOSCO UGANDA, https://youtu.be/D80kWubF2jw , Zimbabwe, and in the United States ( New York City https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2020/03/in-new-york-city-building-a-network-while-social-distancing/ , Baltimore “Community school, tech groups join forces to set up free Wi-Fi network in Sandtown”, BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8 MAY 2020 https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2020/05/08/community-school-tech-groups-join-forces-to-set-up.html , Seattle, and Hawaii).

The 2020 Chapterthon included several projects focused on providing Internet access to those who were offline, one of which was a community network in Salinas, Bolivia https://youtu.be/9Uo_LU6CxwU . A project in Turkey developed and deployed a blockchain network in four different cities https://youtu.be/ewkJK1SzzKA with a goal to help non-government agencies communicate and manage their resources efficiently when responding to disasters. The South Africa Chapter’s Internet-In-A-Box https://youtu.be/FJljDlPyuDk tutorial and the Panama Chapter’s manual for digital inclusion https://youtu.be/mueX5dGIeOA focused on Internet access through Raspberry Pi devices. The Panama Chapter also trained residents of Parara Puru, a local Indigenous community with no electricity, potable water, or Internet. “More than anything we need computers, electricity and technology, so our children can study,” said Brenio, one of the participants in the training.

We also improved know-how and helped CNs thrive through virtual meetings and expert advice exchange. ​Furthermore, we expanded the set of countries and intergovernmental organizations that recognize the value and support CNs.

More than 2,000 participants took part in the Community Network Exchange Asia-Pacific meeting, as well as a webinar to share Asian success stories https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2020/07/how-community-networks-are-helping-during-covid-19/ . As part of the 2020 Indigenous Connectivity Summit https://www.internetsociety.org/events/indigenous-connectivity-summit/2020/ , 80 people completed courses on Community Networks https://www.internetsociety.org/events/indigenous-connectivity-summit/2020/trainings/community-networks-webinar/ and Policy&Advocacy https://www.internetsociety.org/events/indigenous-connectivity-summit/2020/trainings/policy-advocacy-webinar/ and agreed to a set of policy recommendations https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2020/2020-ics-policy-recommendations/ that could make it easier for Indigenous communities to get connected on their own terms. The Summit on Community Networks in Africa https://www.internetsociety.org/events/summit-community-networks-africa held three sessions in September-November; partner organizations conducted a series of webinars on CNs and access issues; and an interactive panel discussion on Building Community Networks in the Middle East and North Africa took place in December. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 295 people, including policymakers, took our “Building Wireless Community Networks” course, while our high-level webinar “Innovative Models to Connect the Unconnected” attracted 174 representatives from the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission from more than 20 countries.​

Finally, we worked with governmental authorities to secure their support to CNs. At the local and regional levels, we partnered with key countries, such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Brazil, towards enabling regulatory environments. At the global level, we secured that the value of CNs was recognized in official outcomes of the ITU-D and the G20.

Bringing Internet access to homes when public access became impossible

Before the pandemic began, most residents of the town of Murambinda, eastern Zimbabwe, accessed the Internet at the local Cybercafé, the main public access point for Africa’s first community network. Others could connect through Murambinda Works hotspots in schools, government offices, and the district health centre.

But as pandemic-related lockdowns, quarantines and restrictions began, many residents realized they could no longer connect from these public places.

This “caused a major outcry from communities who needed to keep in contact with their loved ones,” says Joseph Bishi, who was the technical lead during the Murambinda Works CN expansion and training project https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2018/12/murambinda-works-community-engagement-workshop/ sponsored by the Internet Society in 2018–2019. That project helped expand the community network along a 40-km radius, connecting four schools, a district referral hospital, some non-governmental organizations, and local government offices.

In 2020, with many residents unable to work and children unable to access e-learning, Bishi decided to approach the Internet Society to connect people from their homes.

He got a $10,000 grant, which enabled a mast with solar-powered systems to be installed in Murambinda from November through December. This has created residential hotspots that allow community residents to access public health education materials offline, through a platform developed in collaboration with TunapandaNET. Residents can access local content for free or the Internet for a fee.

“The support was of a great relief to us as a community ISP … to accommodate a new way of living for rural communities, so that you can work from home, attend church from home, and even [do] schooling,” says Bishi. “The availability of a community network in Murambinda has become the life hub of the community.”

Now, another platform allows students to access educational material through the school management system Murambinda Works developed in 2019. Students and teachers can experience a virtual classroom. Many children and teachers are already equipped for e-learning – a downwind impact of Internet Society’s earlier funding. Prior to the pandemic, at least 1,500 teachers out of 3,224 and over 400 health workers across the province had also been trained by Murambinda Works on basic ICT and computer literacy.

The school management system has also allowed district education inspectors to remotely access schools without the need for travel. Bishi says additional policy changes could be on the way that will benefit all underserved communities across the country.

The Internet was a cornerstone of 2020.

The pandemic created unique, and often surprising, challenges to our work. But we kept up the momentum, even if it meant we had to sometimes adjust our expectations.

The myriad challenges of 2020 have underscored the creativity, expertise, and perseverance of the Internet Society community and staff in the face of adversity. They fueled solutions that helped the world navigate this time of global confusion, anxiety, and insecurity. This drive will help navigate the recovery, in 2021 and beyond.

And while the world understands more than ever how essential and how powerful the Internet can be, it still cannot replace face-to-face interaction. Rather, it plays an important supporting role for human interaction that shines through during crises, and can be a beacon on our path back to normal.

As we work to overcome the barriers of the digital divide by building better and stronger networks, more people will have the means to weather future storms. Connecting the unconnected is especially pressing, to ensure no one is left behind.

Our mission — to ensure an open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy Internet for all — is as challenging as ever. But 2020 has helped the world understand its importance, and urgency, more clearly than ever.

We can’t do it alone.

Join our growing global movement of people committed to creating a bigger and stronger Internet for everyone. Become a member. Attend an Internet Society event. Become a partner. Follow us on social media. Above all, learn more and engage in the conversations that will help create an open and trusted Internet for everyone.

Essay On Internet for Students and Children

500+ words essay on internet.

We live in the age of the internet. Also, it has become an important part of our life that we can’t live without it. Besides, the internet is an invention of high-end science and modern technology . Apart from that, we are connected to internet 24×7. Also, we can send big and small messages and information faster than ever. In this essay on the Internet, we are going to discuss various things related to the internet.

Reach of Internet

It is very difficult to estimate the area that the internet cover. Also, every second million people remain connected to it with any problem or issue. Apart from that, just like all the things the internet also has some good and bad effect on the life of people. So the first thing which we have to do is learn about the good and bad effect of the internet.

Good effects of the internet mean all those things that the internet make possible. Also, these things make our life easier and safer.

Bad effects of the internet mean all those things that we can no longer do because of the internet. Also, these things cause trouble for oneself and others too.

You can access in any corner of the world. Also, it is very easy to use and manage. In today’s world, we cannot imagine our life without it.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Uses Of Internet

From the time it first came into existence until now the internet has completed a long journey. Also, during this journey, the internet has adopted many things and became more user-friendly and interactive. Besides, every big and small things are available on internet and article or material that you require can be obtainable from internet.

Tim Berners-Lee can be called one of the main father of internet as he invented/discovered the WWW (World Wide Web) which is used on every website. Also, there are millions of pages and website on the internet that it will take you years to go through all of them.

The Internet can be used to do different things like you can learn, teach, research, write, share, receive, e-mail , explore, and surf the internet.

Read Essay on Technology here

Convenience Due To Internet

Because of internet, our lives have become more convenient as compared to the times when we don’t have internet. Earlier, we have to stand in queues to send mails (letters), for withdrawing or depositing money, to book tickets, etc. but after the dawn of the internet, all these things become quite easy. Also, we do not have to waste our precious time standing in queues.

Also, the internet has contributed a lot to the environment as much of the offices (government and private), school and colleges have become digital that saves countless paper.

Although, there is no doubt that the internet had made our life easier and convenient but we can’t leave the fact that it has caused many bigger problems in the past. And with the speed, we are becoming addict to it a day in will come when it will become our basic necessity.

{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “FAQPage”, “mainEntity”: [ { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What are the limitation of internet?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Although internet can help you with anything but there are certain limitation to it. First of it does not have a physical appearance. Secondly, it does not have emotions and thirdly, it can’t send you to a place where you can’t go (physically).” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What is the ideal age for using internet?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Nowadays everybody from small kids to adult is internet addicts. So it is difficult to decide an ideal age for using internet. However, according to researches using internet from an early age can cause problems in the child so internet usage of small children should be controlled or banned.” } } ] }

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• Internet Essay

Essay on Internet

Introduction The Internet is a system of interconnection of computer networks that link several billion devices worldwide. It is a global network of networks that consists of millions of non-public, public, academic, business and government packet switched networks, joined by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an intensive variety of information resources and services, like applications of world wide web (www), the infrastructure to support email, peer-to-peer networks for file sharing and telephony. It has become an important part of our life and we cannot live without it. Internet can be called as the discovery of man that has revolutionized his style of working and living.

The Internet was started as the creation of a small band of dedicated researchers and has grown to be a commercial success with billions of dollars of annual investments. It has completely reduced distance, minimized all limitations and made our world relatively a smaller place. The Internet has brought information at our doorstep at the click of a button. The Internet revolutionized the computer and world of communication like never before. 

The Internet is replete with countless advantages. It has made possible man’s access to countless websites, information programs, scientific discoveries, global political, social, economic and cultural developments and happenings, libraries, entertainment and much more. 

The Internet boom in India has become one of the major contributors towards the economic growth of the country. It has revolutionized the metros, the towns and the villages. The Internet has contributed massively to the employment sector across the country. The need for professionals has increased who would feed the information into the web. Content writing and management, web page designing, Internet advertisements have become booming sectors within the IT industry.

In the education field, learners can coordinate projects with classrooms all over the globe. Students across the globe do research works online and all information related to research is accessible on the web at the touch of a button. Not only for the students, the Internet has become an incredible tool for the job seekers. 

The Internet is being used for finding people, place or information on any subject. One can use the directory services to search phone books of any country together with zip codes. People are connecting with friends and families by exchanging emails to facilitate letter writing, keeping down the cost of phone calls.

In the field of travel, cities, towns, states and countries are using the web to post detailed tourist and event information. Travelers can easily find information on weather, maps, timings for events and transportation schedules and buy tickets to various tourists’ spots.

Today the Internet is used for shopping, paying utility bills, credit card bills, admission fees, E-commerce, online banking facility. In the world of marketing and sales, companies are marketing and selling their products and creating brands over the net. 

Patients and doctors keep up-to-date with the latest medical findings, share treatment information and give one another support in medical problems. 

Furthermore, people are also finding partners through matchmaking sites. 

Today, people are doing financial research; trading like buying and selling stock and investing money. 

However, the Internet has some setbacks too, which is a threat to the entire mankind. People, especially youngsters are getting addicted to the Internet and thus causing problems to their health. It is making this generation lazy. Internet hackers are on the rise, creating nuisance in the world of business and communication. There are a lot of thefts, frauds and unscrupulous businesses cropping up that are taking undue advantage of innocent people. Anti-social elements of society and cyber crime are also using the Internet against humanity. 

Internet is a great tool that man has discovered but its wrong use and negative impact must be minimized. 

FAQs on Internet Essay

1. What is the Internet?

The Internet is a computerized network of information. It is a system of interconnection of computer networks that link several billions of devices.

2. What are the Advantages of the Internet?

The Internet has brought information to our doorstep. It has made possible man’s access to countless websites, information programs, scientific discoveries, global political, social, economic and cultural developments and happenings, libraries, entertainment and much more.

3. What are the Disadvantages of the Internet?

Some of the disadvantages of the Internet: people especially, the youngsters are getting highly addicted to the Internet. There are a lot of thefts, fraudulent activities and unscrupulous business happening, which have become a threat to humankind.

4. How has the Internet has Become a Boon to India?

The Internet in India has made revolutionary changes in the metros, small towns and villages. It has created a plethora of job opportunities. The rise in the use of the Internet has led to the growth of cyber cities, cyber cafes and Internet parlors across the country.

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• World Psychiatry
• v.18(2); 2019 Jun

The “online brain”: how the Internet may be changing our cognition

Joseph firth.

1 NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead, Australia

2 Division of Psychology and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

3 Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

John Torous

4 Division of Digital Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Brendon Stubbs

5 Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK

6 Physiotherapy Department, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

Josh A. Firth

7 Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

8 Merton College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Genevieve Z. Steiner

9 Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

10 Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK

Mario Alvarez‐Jimenez

11 Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

John Gleeson

12 School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia

Davy Vancampfort

13 Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

14 University Psychiatric Center, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Christopher J. Armitage

15 NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK

16 NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre, Manchester, UK

Jerome Sarris

17 Professorial Unit, The Melbourne Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Australia

The impact of the Internet across multiple aspects of modern society is clear. However, the influence that it may have on our brain structure and functioning remains a central topic of investigation. Here we draw on recent psychological, psychiatric and neuroimaging findings to examine several key hypotheses on how the Internet may be changing our cognition. Specifically, we explore how unique features of the online world may be influencing: a) attentional capacities, as the constantly evolving stream of online information encourages our divided attention across multiple media sources, at the expense of sustained concentration; b) memory processes, as this vast and ubiquitous source of online information begins to shift the way we retrieve, store, and even value knowledge; and c) social cognition, as the ability for online social settings to resemble and evoke real‐world social processes creates a new interplay between the Internet and our social lives, including our self‐concepts and self‐esteem. Overall, the available evidence indicates that the Internet can produce both acute and sustained alterations in each of these areas of cognition, which may be reflected in changes in the brain. However, an emerging priority for future research is to determine the effects of extensive online media usage on cognitive development in youth, and examine how this may differ from cognitive outcomes and brain impact of uses of Internet in the elderly. We conclude by proposing how Internet research could be integrated into broader research settings to study how this unprecedented new facet of society can affect our cognition and the brain across the life course.

The Internet is the most widespread and rapidly adopted technology in the history of humanity. In only decades, Internet use has completely re‐invented the ways in which we search for information, consume media and entertainment, and manage our social networks and relationships. With the even more recent advent of smartphones, Internet access has become portable and ubiquitous to the point at which the population of the developed world can be considered “online” 1 , 2 , 3 .

However, the impact that this new channel for connection, information, communication, and screen time is having on our brains and cognitive functioning is unclear. Prior to the Internet, a large body of research had convincingly demonstrated that the brain is somewhat malleable to environmental demands and stimuli, particularly with regards to learning new processes, due to its capacity for neuroplasticity 4 . Various scenarios have been observed to induce long‐term changes in the neuronal architecture of the human brain, including second‐language acquisition 5 , learning new motor skills (such as juggling) 6 , and even formal education or exam preparation 7 . The widespread use of the Internet across the globe has introduced, for many, the necessity and opportunity to learn a myriad of new skills and ways to interact with society, which could bring about neural changes. As an example, even simple interactions with the Internet through the smartphone's touchscreen interface have been demonstrated to bring about sustained neurocognitive alterations due to neural changes in cortical regions associated with sensory and motor processing of the hand and thumb 8 . Beyond this, the Internet also presents a novel platform for almost‐endless learning of new information and complex processes, relevant to both the online and offline world 9 .

Along with neuroplastic mechanisms, other environmental and biological factors can also cause changes in the brain's structure and function, resulting in cognitive decline 10 . In aging samples, for instance, there is evidence to indicate that age‐related cognitive decline may be partly driven by a process of atrophy. Some studies have shown that adopting a less engaging lifestyle across the lifespan may accelerate loss of cognitive function 11 , due to lower “cognitive reserve” (the ability of the brain to withstand insult from age and/or pathology) 12 . Some emerging evidence indicates that disengaging from the “real world” in favor of virtual settings may similarly induce adverse neurocognitive changes. For example, a recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) 13 found that six weeks of engaging in an online role playing game caused significant reductions in grey matter within the orbitofrontal cortex – a brain region implicated in impulse control and decision making. However, the study did not address the extent to which these results were specific to online gaming, rather than general internet usage. Nonetheless, this raises the possibility that various types of Internet usage could differentially affect the brain and cognitive processes – in both adverse and beneficial ways. This may be of particular relevance to the developing brains of children and adolescents, as many cognitive processes (particularly those relevant to higher executive functions and social cognition) are not entirely innate, but rather are strongly influenced by environmental factors 14 .

Although only recently emerging, this possibility has led to a substantial body of research empirically investigating the multiple potential pathways through which the Internet could affect our brains’ structure, function, and cognitive development. Specifically, the bulk of existing research can be separated into three specific domains, examining how the internet is affecting: a) attention (i.e., how the constant influx of online information, prompts and notifications competing for our attention may encourage individuals to displace their concentration across multiple incoming media streams – and the consequences this may have for attentional‐switching versus sustained‐attention tasks); b) memory and knowledge (i.e., the extent to which we rely on the Internet as our primary informational resource, and how unique properties of online information access may affect how we process new memories and value our internal knowledge); c) social cognition (along with the personal and societal consequences of increasingly embedding our social networks, interactions, and status within the online world).

In this state‐of‐the‐art review, we present the current leading hypotheses of how the Internet may alter these cognitive processes, subsequently examining the extent to which these hypotheses are supported by recent findings from psychological, psychiatric and neuroimaging research. In this way, we aggregate the contemporary evidence arising from multiple fields of research to produce revised models on how the Internet may be affecting our brains and cognition. Furthermore, whereas studies to date have focused upon only specific age groups, we examine the effects of the Internet on the human brain across the entire life course. In particular, we explore how the potential benefits/drawbacks of extensive Internet integration with cognitive processes may differ among children and older adults. Finally, we identify important gaps in the existing literature to present key priorities for future research in order to gain new insights for minimizing detrimental effects of the Internet, while capitalizing on this new feature of our societies to potentially influence neurocognitive processes in a beneficial way.

“DIGITAL DISTRACTIONS”: A HIJACK OF ATTENTION ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY?

How does the internet gain and sustain our attention.

The Internet consumes a considerable chunk of our attention on a day‐to‐day basis. The vast majority of adults go online daily, and over a quarter report being online “almost constantly” 2 . Within this, one in five American adults are now “smartphone‐only” Internet users 1 . Importantly, the introduction of these Internet‐enabled mobile devices has also reduced the “digital divide” previously experienced by lower and middle income countries 15 . The amount and frequency of Internet usage is even more pronounced amongst younger people. Most adults today witnessed the beginning of the transition from “Internet‐free” to “Internet‐everywhere” societies. However, younger generations (termed “digital natives” 16 ) have been brought up entirely within a “connected world” , particularly in developed countries. Consequently, digital natives are often the first to adopt new online technologies as they arise 16 , and engage extensively with all existing features of the Internet. For instance, 95% of US teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% are online “almost constantly” 3 .

Multiple factors are driving the rapid uptake and extensive usage of Internet‐enabled technologies across the globe. This is partly due to the Internet now being unavoidable, ubiquitous, and a highly functional aspect of modern living. For instance, Internet use is now deeply entwined with education, travel, socializing, commerce, and the majority of workplaces. Along with pragmatic uses, the Internet also offers an endless array of recreational and entertainment activities, through podcasts, e‐books, videos, streaming movies and gaming. However, the ability of the Internet to capture and hold attention is not solely due to the quality of media content available online. Rather, it is also driven by the underlying design and presentation of the online world. One such example is the self‐evolving “attraction mechanism”; whereby aspects of the Internet that fail to gain attention are quickly drowned out in the sea of incoming information, while the successful aspects of the adverts, articles, apps or anything that does manage to capture our attention (even superficially) are logged (through clicks and scrolls), noticed (through online shares), and subsequently proliferated and expanded upon. Alongside this, leading technology companies have been accused of intentionally capitalizing on the addictive potential of Internet, by studying, testing, and refining the attention‐grabbing aspects of their websites and applications (“apps”) to promote extremely high levels of engagement, without due concern for user well‐being 17 .

Furthermore, even when not using the Internet for any specific purpose, smartphones have introduced widespread and habitual “checking” behaviours, characterized by quick but frequent inspections of the device for incoming information from news, social media, or personal contacts 18 . These habits are thought to be the result of behavioural reinforcement from “information rewards” that are received immediately on checking the device 19 , potentially engaging the cortico‐striatal dopaminergic system due to their readily available nature 20 . The variable‐ratio reinforcement schedule inherent to device checking may further perpetuate these compulsive behaviours 21 .

Cognitive consequences of the attention‐grabbing Internet

The unprecedented potential of the Internet to capture our attention presents an urgent need for understanding the impact that this may have on our thought processes and well‐being. Already, education providers are beginning to perceive detrimental effects of the Internet on children's attention, with over 85% of teachers endorsing the statement that “today's digital technologies are creating an easily distracted generation” 22 . The primary hypothesis on how the Internet affects our attentional capacities is through hyperlinks, notifications, and prompts providing a limitless stream of different forms of digital media, thus encouraging us to interact with multiple inputs simultaneously, but only on a shallow level, in a behavioural pattern termed “media multi‐tasking” 23 , 24 .

The seminal study by Ophir et al 23 was among the first to explore the sustained impact of media multi‐tasking on cognitive capacities. This was a cross‐sectional study of individuals who engaged in “heavy” (i.e., frequent and extensive) media multi‐tasking compared to those who did not. Cognitive testing of the two groups produced the then‐surprising finding that those involved in heavy media multi‐tasking performed worse in task‐switching tests than their counterparts – contrary to the authors’ expectation that the “extra practice” afforded by frequent media multi‐tasking would confer cognitive benefit in task‐switching scenarios. Closer inspection of findings suggested that the impeded task‐switching ability in heavy media multi‐tasking individuals was due to their increased susceptibility to distraction from irrelevant environmental stimuli 23 .

Since these initial findings, the effects of media multi‐tasking on cognition have come under increasing scrutiny, because the increasingly diverse forms of entertainment and activities available through the online world can further our capabilities (and temptation) of engaging in media multi‐tasking 25 , even on single devices. For instance, Yeykelis et al 26 measured participants’ media multi‐tasking between different types of online media content while using just one device (personal laptops), and found that switches occurred as frequently as every 19 seconds, with 75% of all on‐screen content being viewed for less than one minute. Measures of skin conductance during the study found that arousal increased in the seconds leading up to media switching, reaching a high point at the moment of the switch, followed by a decline afterward 26 . Again, this suggests that the proclivity for alternating between different computer windows, opening new hyperlinks, and performing new searches could be driven by the readily available nature of the informational rewards, which are potentially awaiting in the unattended media stream. Supporting this, the study also found that, whereas switching from work‐related content to entertainment was associated with increased arousal in anticipation of the switch, there was no anticipatory arousal spike associated with entertainment to work‐content switches 26 .

The growing concern around the increasing amount of media multi‐tasking with the spread of ubiquitous Internet access has resulted in further empirical studies. These have produced conflicting findings, with some failing to find any adverse effects on attention 27 , and others indicating that media multi‐tasking may even be linked to increased performance for other aspects of cognition, such as multisensory integration 28 . Nonetheless the literature, on balance, does seem to indicate that those who engage in frequent and extensive media multi‐tasking in their day‐to‐day lives perform worse in various cognitive tasks than those who do not, particularly for sustained attention 25 .

Imaging studies have shed light onto the neural differences which may account for these cognitive deficits. Functionally, those who engage in heavy media multi‐tasking perform poorer in distracted attention tasks, even though exhibiting greater activity in right prefrontal regions 29 . As right prefrontal regions are typically activated in response to distractor stimuli, the observed increases in recruitment of these regions alongside poorer performance suggests that heavy media multi‐taskers require greater cognitive effort to maintain concentration when faced with distractor stimuli 29 . Structurally, high levels of Internet usage 30 and heavy media multi‐tasking 31 are associated with decreased grey matter in prefrontal regions associated with maintaining goals in face of distraction (such as the right frontal pole and anterior cingulate cortex). However, the findings to date must be interpreted with caution, as various confounding factors may be affecting the results of these cross‐sectional imaging studies. Although the differences persist when controlling for general digital media use and other simple confounders (age, gender, etc.), further research is required to examine if the observed neural differences are specifically attributable to heavy vs. light media multi‐tasking, or in fact driven by broader differences in lifestyle between the two groups.

Given the amount of time that people now spend in media multi‐tasking via personal digital devices, it is increasingly relevant to consider not only sustained changes which arise in those who engage in large amounts of media multi‐tasking, but also the acute effects on immediate cognitive capacities. A meta‐analysis of 41 studies showed that engaging in multi‐tasking was associated with significantly poorer overall cognitive performance, with a moderate‐to‐large effect size (Cohen's d=–0.71, 95% CI: –0.86 to –0.57). This has been confirmed by more recent studies, further showing that even short‐term engagement with an extensively hyperlinked online environment (i.e., online shopping for 15 minutes) reduces attentional scope for a sustained duration after coming offline, whereas reading a magazine does not produce these deficits 32 .

Overall, the available evidence strongly indicates that engaging in multi‐tasking via digital media does not improve our multi‐tasking performance in other settings – and in fact seems to decrease this cognitive capacity through reducing our ability to ignore incoming distractions. Much of the multi‐tasking investigations so far have been focusing on personal computers. However, smartphone technologies may even further encourage people to engage in media multi‐tasking through high rates of incoming prompts from emails, direct messages and social media notifications occurring while both using and not using the device. Thus, along with determining long‐term consequences of media multi‐tasking, future research should examine how the constant multi‐tasking made possible by Internet‐enabled mobile devices may impact daily functioning through acute but high frequency effects.

Furthermore, both the immediate and chronic effects of media multi‐tasking are relatively unexplored in children and adolescents, who are the prime users of such technologies 33 and are at a phase of development that is crucial for refining higher cognitive abilities 14 . The first longitudinal study of media multi‐tasking in young people has recently found that frequent multi‐tasking behaviours do predict the development of attentional deficits specifically in early adolescents, but not in older teens 34 . Additionally, extensive media multi‐tasking during childhood and adolescence could also negatively impact cognitive development through indirect means, by reducing engagement with academic and social activities, as well as by interfering with sleep 35 , or reducing the opportunity to engage in creative thinking 36 , 37 . Clearly, further research is necessary to properly measure the effects of ubiquitous computing on children's cognitive development, and to find practical ways for ameliorating any detrimental impact this may be having.

“iFORMATION”: NEUROCOGNITIVE RESPONSES TO ONLINE INFORMATION GATHERING

The internet and transactive memory.

In response to the question “How has the Internet changed your life?” , some common answers include finding new friends, renewing old friendships, studying online, finding romantic relationships, furthering career opportunities, shopping, and travel 38 . However, the most common answer is people stating that the Internet has “changed the way in which they access information” 38 . Indeed, for the first time in human history, the majority of people living in the developed world have access to almost all factual information in existence literally at their fingertips.

Along with the obvious advantages, this unique situation also introduces the possibility of the Internet ultimately negating or replacing the need for certain human memory systems – particularly for aspects of “semantic memory” (i.e., memory of facts) – which are somewhat independent from other types of memory in the human brain 39 . An initial indication of Internet information gathering affecting typical memory processes was provided by Sparrow et al 40 , who demonstrated that the ability to access information online caused people to become more likely to remember where these facts could be retrieved rather than the facts themselves, indicating that people quickly become reliant on the Internet for information retrieval.

It could be argued that this is not unique to the Internet, but rather just an example of the online world acting as a form of external memory or “transactive memory” 40 , 41 . Transactive memory has been an integral part of human societies for millennia, and refers to the process by which people opt to outsource information to other individuals within their families, communities, etc., such that they are able to just remember the source of the knowledge, rather than attempting to store all of this information themselves 41 . Although beneficial at a group level, using transactive memory systems does reduce an individual's ability to recall the specifics of the externally stored information 42 . This may be due to individuals using transactive memory for “cognitive offloading” , implicitly reducing their allocation of cognitive resources towards remembering this information, since they know this will be available for future reference externally. This phenomenon has been demonstrated in multiple contexts, including those of team work 43 and other “non‐Internet” technologies (e.g., photography reducing individuals’ memories of the objects they photographed) 44 .

However, it is becoming clear that the Internet actually presents something entirely novel and distinct from previous transactive memory systems 45 , 46 . Crucially, the Internet seems to bypass the “transactional” aspect that is inherent to other forms of cognitive offloading in two ways. First, the Internet does not place any responsibility on the user to retain unique information for others to draw upon (as would typically be required in human societies) 45 . Second, unlike other transactive memory stores, the Internet acts as a single entity that is responsible for holding and retrieving virtually all factual information, and thus does not require individuals to remember what exact information is externally stored, or even where it is located. In this way, the Internet is becoming a “supernormal stimulus” 46 for transactive memory – making all other options for cognitive offloading (including books, friends, community) become redundant, as they are outcompeted by the novel capabilities for external information storage and retrieval made possible by the Internet.

How does a supernormal stimulus interact with normal cognition?

Unfortunately, the rapid methods of acquisition and constant availability of information afforded by the Internet may not necessarily lead to better use of information gained. For instance, an experimental study 47 found that individuals instructed to search for specific information online completed the information gathering task faster than those using printed encyclopedias, but were subsequently less able to recall the information accurately.

During Internet and encyclopedia information gathering tasks, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine activation in the ventral and dorsal streams. These regions are referred to as the “what” and “where” streams, respectively, due to their indicated roles in storing either the specific content (ventral stream) or external location (dorsal stream) of incoming information 47 . Although there was no difference in activation of the dorsal stream, results showed that the poorer recall of Internet‐sought information compared to encyclopedia‐based learning was associated with reduced activation of the ventral (“what”) stream during online information gathering. These findings further support the possibility, initially raised by Sparrow et al 40 , that online information gathering, while faster, may fail to sufficiently recruit brain regions for storing information on a long‐term basis.

The potential for online searching to produce a sustained impact upon our cognitive processes has been investigated in a series of studies examining pre‐post changes following a six‐day Internet search training paradigm. In these studies, young adults were given an hour per day of Internet search tasks, and undertook an array of cognitive and neuroimaging assessments pre‐ and post‐training. Results showed that the six‐day Internet search training reduced regional homogeneity and functional connectivity of brain areas involved in long‐term memory formation and retrieval (e.g., temporal gyrus) 48 . This indicates that a reliance on online searching may impede memory retrieval by reducing the functional connectivity and synchronization of associated brain regions 48 . Furthermore, when faced with new questions after the six days, the training had increased participants’ self‐reported impulses towards using the Internet to answer those questions, which was reflected in a recruitment of prefrontal brain areas required for behavioural and impulse control 49 . This increased propensity for relying on Internet searches for gathering new information has been replicated in subsequent studies 50 , and is in keeping with the “supernormal stimulus” nature of the Internet, potentially suggesting that online information gathering quickly trains people to become dependent on this tool when faced with unknown issues.

However, despite the possible adverse effects on regular “offline” memory, the six‐days training did make people more efficient at using the Internet for retrieving information, as participants became faster at the search tasks, with no loss of accuracy 51 . Search training also produced increases in white matter integrity of the fiber tracts connecting the frontal, occipital, parietal and temporal lobes, significantly more than the non‐search control condition 52 . In other studies, cognitive offloading via digital devices has also been found to improve people's ability to focus on aspects that are not immediately retrievable, and thus remember these better in the future 53 .

These findings seem to support the emergent hypotheses that relying on the Internet for factual memory storage may actually produce cognitive benefit in other areas, perhaps by “freeing up” cognitive resources 54 , and thus enabling us to use our newly available cognitive capacities for more ambitious undertakings than previously possible 45 . Researchers advocating this view have pointed to multiple domains of collective human endeavor that have already been transformed by the Internet's provision of supernormal transactive memory, such as education, journalism and even academia 55 . As online technologies continue to advance (particularly with regards to “wearables”), it is conceivable that the performance benefits from the Internet, which are already visible at the societal level, could ultimately become integrated within individuals themselves, enabling new heights of cognitive function 56 .

Unfortunately, however, a more sobering finding with regards to the immediate possibility of ubiquitous Internet access enabling new heights of human intelligence is provided by Barr et al 57 , who observed that analytical thinkers, with higher cognitive capacities, actually use their smartphone less for transactive memory in day‐to‐day situations compared to individuals with non‐analytical thinking styles. Furthermore, the reduced smartphone usage in analytical versus non‐analytical thinkers was specific to online information searching, with no differences in social media or entertainment usages, thus indicating that the differences are likely due to the Internet furthering “cognitive miserliness” among less analytical thinkers 57 .

Alongside this, the increasing reliance on the Internet for information may cause individuals to “blur the lines” between their own capabilities and their devices’ 58 . In a series of experiments, Fisher et al 59 investigated how the Internet influences our self‐perceived knowledge. Results showed that online searching increases our sense of how much we know, even though the illusion of self‐knowledge is only perceived for the domains in which the Internet can “fill in the gaps” for us. The experiments also demonstrated how quickly individuals internalized the Internet's external knowledge as their own – as even immediately after using the Internet to answer the task questions, participants attributed their higher quality explanations to “increased brain activity” . More recent studies have shown that illusions of self‐knowledge similarly persist when using smartphones to retrieve online information 58 . As individuals become more and more connected with their personal digital devices (which are also always accessible), it seems inevitable that the distinction between self and Internet's abilities will become increasingly elusive, potentially creating a constant illusion of “greater than actual knowledge” among large portions of the population.

Overall, the Internet clearly can provide a “superstimulus” for transactive memory, which is already changing the way we store, retrieve, and even value knowledge. However, with popular online information sources such as Google and Wikipedia less than 20 years old, it is currently not possible to ascertain how this may eventually be reflected in long‐term changes to the structure and function of the human brain. Nonetheless, our constant connection with the online world through personal devices (i.e., smartphones), along with the emerging potential for more direct integration through wearable devices, certainly indicates that we are set to become more reliant on the Internet for factual information as time goes on. Also, whereas the studies described above have focused on factual knowledge, the Internet is also now becoming a superstimulus for spatial information (through providing constant access to online maps and global positioning system). As spatial memory is somewhat independent from semantic memory in the human brain 60 , further research should investigate the multitude of ways in which extensive use of these external memory systems may reduce, enhance or alter our cognitive capacities.

ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS: FAULTY CONNECTIONS, OR FALSE DICHOTOMY?

Human sociality in the online world.

Social relationships and having a sense of connection are important determinants of happiness and stress relief 61 , 62 , mental and physical well‐being 63 , 64 , and even mortality 65 . Over the past decade, the proportion of an individual's social interactions that take place online within social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) has grown dramatically 66 , 67 , and our connection with these sites is now strongly meshed with the offline world. The real‐world implications of this are perhaps best evidenced by the critical role that social media have played in multiple global affairs, including reportedly starting and precipitating the London Riots, the Occupy movement 68 , and even the Arab Spring 69 , along with potentially influencing the outcomes of the UK's European Union Referendum (“Brexit”) 70 and the 2016 US elections 71 . Clearly, understanding the shift from real‐world interactions into the online social environment (and vice versa) holds significance to almost all aspects of people's lives.

Our motivations towards using social media is broadly similar to the instinctual desires underlying “real world” social interactions, as people are drawn to online sociality in order to exchange information and ideas, along with gaining social support and friendships 72 . However, whether or not these virtual interactions engage the human brain in ways analogous to real‐world socialization remains a topic of debate since the turn of the century 73 . Whereas it would be highly beneficial if social media sites could fulfil the implicit human needs for social connection, it may be that the distinction between online and offline networks is so great that entirely different cognitive domains are involved in navigating these different environments 74 , 75 .

How does the online environment affect our fundamental social structures?

To investigate the neuroimaging correlates of offline and online networks, the seminal study by Kanai et al 74 collected real‐world social network size, online sociality (i.e., Facebook friends) and magnetic resonance imaging scans from 125 participants. Results showed that both real‐world social network size and number of Facebook friends were significantly associated with amygdala volume. As this has previously been established as a key brain region for social cognition and social network size 76 , these results present a strong case for the overlap between online and offline sociality in the human brain.

However, those authors also found that the grey matter volume of other brain regions (specifically, posterior regions of the middle temporal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus, and the right entorhinal cortex) were predicted by the numbers of participants’ Facebook friends, but held no relationship to their real‐world social networks. This suggests that certain unique aspects of social media implicate aspects of the brain that are not central in “real‐world” social settings. For instance, the tendency for online networks to encourage us towards holding many weak social connections, involving thousands of face‐to‐name pairs, could require high associative memory capacities, which is not typically required in real‐world networks (as these are comprised of fewer, but more familiar, relationships) 74 . As associative memory formation for name‐face pairs involves the right entorhinal cortex 77 , 78 , this could explain the exclusive relationship that this region holds with online social (but not real‐world) network size 74 .

Indeed, one key difference which may separate how the brain handles online and offline social networks is the unique capacity afforded by the Internet for people to hold, and simultaneously interact with, millions of “friendships” 79 , 80 . Empirical testing of this hypothesis is a most fruitful area of investigation stemming from research into the fundamental similarities and differences between these two social worlds at a biological level 66 . When defining “friendships” under a broad context (people who maintain contact and share an emotional bond) 66 , two patterns are prominent across a diverse range of real‐world social networks: a) the average individual has around 150 “friendships” (but this is highly variable between individuals), and b) this is made up of five hierarchical layers, consisting of primary partners, intimate relationships, best friends, close friends, and all friends, which follow a size‐scaling ratio of around 3 (i.e., each cumulative layer is 3 times bigger than the last), and therefore have set average (cumulative/inclusive) sizes of 1.5, 5, 15, 50 and 150 respectively 66 . The patterns of the average number of 150 total friendship connections, and the scaling sizes of the five hierarchical layers of relationships making this up, have been found across regions and time periods within various human organizations, ranging from hunter‐gatherer societies 81 , 82 and historical village populations 83 , armies 66 , residential camps 84 , to personal networks of modern Europeans 85 .

Thus, given the unprecedented potential that online social networks allow in terms of number of connections, and the varied contexts these take place over 79 , 80 , it is imaginable that this extraordinary environment may allow these two apparently set aspects of real‐world social networks to be bypassed. However, recent findings have confirmed that user‐to‐user friendship connections, posting patterns and exchanges within Twitter, Facebook, and even online gaming platforms, all indicate a similar average number of general friendships (around 150, despite high skew), along with maintaining the same scaled sizes of the hierarchical structure of the five distinct friendship layers (as determined by reciprocal communication exchanges) 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 . Therefore, even within the unique realms of online social networks, the most fundamental operations of human social networks appear to remain relatively unchanged 88 , 89 . So, it is highly conceivable that the social connections formed in the online world are processed in similar ways to those of the offline world, and thus have much potential to carry over from the Internet to shape “real‐world” sociality, including our social interactions and our perceptions of social hierarchies, in ways that are not restricted to the context of the Internet.

The driving forces that sustain the set structural patterns of social networks, even when faced with the immense connective potential of the online world, may be broadly explained by two overlapping mechanisms. First, constraints on social cognition within the human brain seem to carry over across social contexts 66 . For instance, humans struggle to engagingly interact with more than three individuals simultaneously in the real world, and this limitation on attention also appears to apply online 90 , 91 . This evidence is in agreement with the hypothesis that circumventing the cognitive constraints on social relationships may be difficult even when technology affords unnatural opportunities to do so 88 .

The second driver of set boundaries on social activity is that simple underlying factors may produce social constraints, even within online settings. Most obviously, investment in social relationships is limited by time constraints, and this may contribute to the set patterns of both the number and type of social connections 93 , 94 . In line with this, analyses across various social contexts have shown that temporal limitations govern the number of social interactions that individuals engage in, and how they distribute these across their different kinds of relationships 93 , 94 . Again, these general interaction rates remain similar within online social networks 87 , 88 .

The possibility that the parameters on all social networks (online or offline) are governed by basic underlying factors is further supported by research showing that similar structures also exist within simpler social systems, such as animal societies 66 , 95 . For instance, the sizes and scaling of hierarchical “friendship” layers found in online and offline human networks are also found in dolphins, elephants, and various primate species 96 , and the phenomena of humans increasing the number and strength of their social networks connections following the death of a friend on Facebook 97 is also seen in wild birds, which show compensatory up‐regulation of their social network connections upon experiencing the loss of a social associate 98 .

Supporting the idea that limited cognitive capacities govern our social structures is research showing that the brain regions predicting individual variation in social network size in humans also do so for macaques 99 . Strong support for simple underlying factors (such as time) governing our general patterning of social interactions can be found in studies demonstrating that entirely computationally simulated systems replicate some of the apparent complexities of human social networks, even under relatively simple rules 100 , 101 . Examples include agent‐based models generating similar social layering structures as humans when sociality is defined as time‐limited 100 .

In light of the current evidence regarding how the Internet may have affected human thinking surrounding social networks, it is undeniable that the online environment poses unique potential and context for social activity 79 , 80 , 102 , 103 , which may invoke some non‐identical cognitive processes and brain areas in comparison to the offline world 74 , 75 . Nevertheless, aside from these comparatively fine‐scale differences, it appears that our brains process the online and offline social networks in surprisingly similar ways, as demonstrated by the shared cognitive capacities and simple underlying factors ultimately governing their fundamental structure 87 , 88 . As such, the online social world has very significant implications for not only measuring and understanding human sociality, but also for governing the outcomes of social processes across various aspects of life.

Social cognitive responses to the online social world

Given the evidence above, an appropriate metaphor for the relationship between online and real‐world sociality could be a “new playing field for the same game” . Even beyond the fundamental structure, emerging research suggests that neurocognitive responses to online social occurrences are similar to those of real‐life interactions. For instance, being rejected online has been shown to increase activity in brain regions strongly linked with social cognition and real‐world rejection (medial prefrontal cortex 104 ) in both adults and children 105 , 106 , 107 . However, within the “same old game” of human sociality, online social media is bending some of the rules – potentially at the expense of users 17 . For instance, whereas real‐world acceptance and rejection is often ambiguous and open to self‐interpretation, social media platforms directly quantify our social success (or failure), by providing clear metrics in the form of “friends” , “followers” , and “likes” (or the potentially painful loss/absence of these) 107 . Given the addictive nature of this immediate, self‐defining feedback, social media companies may even capitalize upon this to maximally engage users 17 . However, growing evidence indicates that relying on online feedback for self‐esteem can have adverse effects on young people, particularly those with low social‐emotional well‐being, due to high rates of cyberbullying 108 , increased anxiety and depression 109 , 110 , and increased perceptions of social isolation and exclusion among those who feel rejected online 111 .

Another process common to human social behaviour in both online and offline worlds is the tendency to make upward social comparisons 112 , 113 . Whereas these can be adaptive and beneficial under regular environmental conditions 112 , this implicit cognitive process can also be hijacked by the artificial environmental manufactured on social media 113 , 114 , which showcases hyper‐successful individuals constantly putting their best foot forward, and even using digital manipulation of images to inflate physical attractiveness. By facilitating exposure to these drastically upward social comparisons (which would rarely be encountered in everyday life), online social media can produce unrealistic expectations of oneself – leading to poor body image and negative self‐concept, particularly for younger people 107 , 111 , 115 , 116 . For instance, in adolescents (particularly females), those who spent more time on social media and smartphones have a greater prevalence of mental health problems, including depression, than those who spent more time on “non‐screen” activities 116 , with greater than 5 hrs/day (versus 1 hr/day) associated with a 66% increased risk of one suicide‐related outcome 117 .

However, a causal relationship between high levels of social media use and poorer mental health is currently difficult to establish, as there is most likely a complex interaction between several confounding factors, including reduced sleep and in‐person social interaction, and increased sedentary behaviour and perceived loneliness 116 , 118 . Nonetheless, given the large amounts of social media use observed among young people, future research should thoroughly examine the potentially detrimental effects that this new setting for sociality may have on health and well‐being, along with aiming to establish the driving factors – such that adjustments can be made in subsequent iterations of social media in order to produce more positive outcomes.

Whereas young people with mental disorders may be the most vulnerable to negative input from social media, these media may also present a new platform for improving mental health in this population, if used correctly. In future, social media may also be exploited to promote ongoing engagement with Internet‐based interventions, while addressing key (but frequently neglected) targets such as social connectedness, social support and self‐efficacy, to aim to bring about sustained functional improvements in severe and complex mental health conditions 119 . To achieve these goals, online social media‐based interventions need to be designed to promote engagement by harnessing, in an ethical and transparent manner, effective strategies used by the industry. For instance, developing technologies which are increasingly adopted by online marketing and tech companies, such as natural language processing, sentiment analyses and machine learning, could be capitalized upon, for example making it possible to identify those at increased risk for suicide or relapse 120 , and rationalizing human driven support to those who need it most at the time they need it 121 . In addition, online systems will be able to learn from what helps individuals and when, opening a window into personalized, real time interventions 121 .

While the use of online social media‐based interventions is in its infancy, pioneering efforts indicate that these interventions are safe, engaging, and have the potential to improve clinical and social outcomes in both patients and their relatives 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 . That said, online interventions have failed up to now to be adopted by mental health services 128 , 129 . The main reasons include high attrition rates, poor study designs which reduce translational potential, and a lack of consensus around the required standards of evidence for widespread implementation of Internet‐delivered therapies 130 , 131 , 132 . Efforts are currently underway to determine the long‐term effects of the first generation of social media‐based interventions for mental illness via large randomized controlled trials 133 , 134 . Alongside this clinical use, developing public health strategies for young adults in the general population to avoid the potential adverse effects and negative aspects of typical social media are also warranted.

CONCLUSIONS AND DIRECTIONS

As digital technologies become increasingly integrated with everyday life, the Internet is becoming highly proficient at capturing our attention, while producing a global shift in how people gather information, and connect with one another. In this review, we found emerging support for several hypotheses regarding the pathways through which the Internet is influencing our brains and cognitive processes, particularly with regards to: a) the multi‐faceted stream of incoming information encouraging us to engage in attentional‐switching and “multi‐tasking” , rather than sustained focus; b) the ubiquitous and rapid access to online factual information outcompeting previous transactive systems, and potentially even internal memory processes; c) the online social world paralleling “real world” cognitive processes, and becoming meshed with our offline sociality, introducing the possibility for the special properties of social media to impact on “real life” in unforeseen ways.

However, with fewer than 30 years since the Internet became publicly available, the long‐term effects have yet to be established. Within this, it seems particularly important that future research determines the impact of the Internet on us throughout different points in the lifespan. For instance, the Internet's digital distractions and supernormal capacities for cognitive offloading seem to create a non‐ideal environment for the refinement of higher cognitive functions in critical periods of children and adolescents’ brain development. Indeed, the first longitudinal studies on this topic have found that adverse attentional effects of digital multi‐tasking are particularly pronounced in early adolescence (even compared to older teens) 34 , and that higher frequency of Internet use over 3 years in children is linked with decreased verbal intelligence at follow‐up, along with impeded maturation of both grey and white matter regions 135 .

On the other hand, the opposite may be true in older adults experiencing cognitive decline, for whom the online environment may provide a new source of positive cognitive stimulation. For instance, Internet searching engaged more neural circuitry than reading text pages in Internet savvy older adults (aged 55‐76 years) 9 . Furthermore, experimental studies have found that computer games available online and through smartphones can be used to attenuate aging‐related cognitive decline 136 , 137 , 138 . Thus, the Internet may present a novel and accessible platform for adults to maintain cognitive function throughout old age. Building from this, successful cognitive aging has previously been shown to be dependent upon learning and deploying cognitive strategies, which can compensate for aging‐related decline in “raw” memory capacities 139 . This has previously been referred to as optimizing internal cognitive processes (e.g., through mnemonic strategies), or taking advantage of cognitive offloading in traditional formats (list making, transactive memory, etc.) 139 . Nonetheless, as Internet‐based technologies become more deeply integrated with our daily cognitive processing (through smartphones, wearables, etc.), digital natives could feasibly develop forms of “online cognition” in the aging brain, whereby older adults can increasingly take advantage of web‐based transactive memory and other emerging online processes to fulfil (or even exceed) the typical capacities of a younger brain.

Although it is an emerging area of study, the same could apply for social aspects of the online world. Whereas young people seem particularly prone to the rejections, peer pressure, and negative appraisals this world may induce 107 , older adults may ultimately be able to harness social media in order to overcome isolation and thus continue to benefit from the diverse range of physical, mental and neurocognitive benefits associated with social connection 73 . Viewed collectively, the nascent research in this area already indicates that equivalent types of Internet usage may have differential effects on individuals’ cognitive and social functioning depending on their point in the lifespan.

For better or for worse, we are already conducting a mass‐scale experiment of extensive Internet usage across the global population. A more fine‐scale analysis is essential to gaining a fuller understanding of the sustained impact of this usage across our society. This could include measuring frequency, duration and types of Internet usage as a standard part of national data projects, for instance through collecting Internet data (from either device‐based or self‐report measures) in “biobank” assessment protocols. Combining this with the extensive genetic, socio‐demographic, lifestyle and neuroimaging data gathered by some ongoing projects, researchers could be able to establish the impact of Internet usage on psychological well‐being and brain functioning across entire populations (rather than the currently limited study samples), while also controlling for multiple confounders.

Overall, this early phase of the Internet's introduction into our society is a crucial period for commencing rigorous and extensive research into how different types of Internet usage interact with human cognition, in order to maximize our opportunities for harnessing this new tool in a beneficial manner, while minimizing the potentially adverse effects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

J. Firth is supported by a Blackmores Institute Fellowship. J. Sarris is supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Clinical Research Fellowship (APP1125000). B. Stubbs is supported by the Health Education England and the National Institute for Health Research Integrated Clinical Academic Programme Clinical Lectureship (ICA‐CL‐2017‐03‐001). G.Z. Steiner is supported by an NHMRC‐Australian Research Council (ARC) Dementia Research Development Fellowship (APP1102532). M. Alvarez‐Jimenez is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (APP1082934). C.J. Armitage is supported by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the above‐mentioned entities.

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• Internet Seen as Positive Influence on Education but Negative on Morality in Emerging and Developing Nations

Internet Usage More Common Among the Young, Well-Educated and English Speakers

Table of contents.

• 1. Communications Technology in Emerging and Developing Nations
• 2. Online Activities in Emerging and Developing Nations
• 3. Influence of Internet in Emerging and Developing Nations
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As more people around the world gain access to all the tools of the digital age, the internet will play a greater role in everyday life. And so far, people in emerging and developing nations say that the increasing use of the internet has been a good influence in the realms of education, personal relationships and the economy. But despite all the benefits of these new technologies, on balance people are more likely to say that the internet is a negative rather than a positive influence on morality, and they are divided about its effect on politics.

Publics in emerging and developing nations are more convinced that the internet is having a negative effect on morality. A median of 42% say it is a bad influence on morality, while only 29% see the internet as a good influence. And in no country surveyed does a majority say that the internet’s influence on morality is a positive.

However, many in these emerging and developing nations are left out of the internet revolution entirely. A median of less than half across the 32 countries surveyed use the internet at least occasionally, through either smartphones or other devices, though usage rates vary considerably. Computer ownership also varies, from as little as 3% in Uganda to 78% in Russia.

But accessing the internet no longer requires a fixed line to a computer, and in many nations cell phones are nearly universal, while landlines are almost unheard of. In some countries, such as Chile and China, smartphone usage rates are comparable to that of the United States.

Internet access and smartphone ownership rates in these emerging and developing nations are greatest among the well-educated and the young, i.e. those 18- to 34-year-olds who came of age in an era of massive technological advancement. People who read or speak English are also more likely to access the internet, even when holding constant other key factors, such as age and education. 1 Overall, across the countries surveyed, internet access rates are higher in richer, more developed economies.

Once online, internet users in emerging and developing nations have embraced socializing as their most preferred type of digital activity. Majorities of internet users in all countries surveyed with large enough sample sizes to analyze say they stay in touch with friends and family online. Many also use cyberspace for getting information about politics, health care and government services. Less common are commercial and career activities, such as searching or applying for a job, making or receiving payments, buying products and taking online classes.

Social networkers in these countries share information on popular culture, such as music, movies and sports. To a lesser extent, they share views about commercial products, politics and religion. Regardless of what internet users choose to do online, most in these emerging and developing countries are doing it daily.

These are among the main findings of a Pew Research Center survey conducted among 36,619 people in 32 emerging and developing countries from March 17 to June 5, 2014. All interviews were conducted face-to-face. Comparison figures from the U.S. are from a Pew Research telephone survey conducted April 22 to May 11, 2014, among 1,002 people, unless otherwise noted.

Internet Influence Seen as Positive on Education, Negative on Morality

A clear majority of people in these emerging and developing countries see the internet as a positive influence on education. A median of 64% among the general population (including non-internet users) in the 32 emerging and developing nations surveyed say the internet is a good influence on education. People are also keen on the internet and its influence on personal relationships (53% good influence) and the economy (52%). Few people say that the internet has no influence on these aspects of life.

Publics are less enthused about the internet’s effect on politics. A median of just 36% say it is a positive for their country’s political system, while three-in-ten say it is a bad influence.

Generally, people who have access to the internet are more positive about its societal influence. For example, 65% of internet users in these emerging and developing nations say the increasing use of the internet is a positive for personal relationships, while only 44% of non-internet users agree. Similar gaps appear on the positive influence of the internet on education, the economy and politics.

Highly educated respondents are also more likely to say the internet is a positive influence. Six-in-ten of those with a secondary education or more say the increasing use of the internet is a good influence on personal relationships, compared with 44% among people with less education.

Internet Access Lacking in Many Countries, but More Common in Wealthier Nations

Even as general publics see the influence of the internet increase in their everyday lives, there are still many people without access to the internet in these emerging and developing countries. Across the 32 nations surveyed, a median of 44% use the internet at least occasionally, either through smartphones or other devices. Comparatively, as of early 2014, 87% of adults in the U.S. use the internet, according to Pew Research Center studies .

Access rates vary considerably across the emerging and developing nations surveyed. Two-thirds or more in Chile (76%), Russia (73%) and Venezuela (67%) have access to the internet, as do six-in-ten or more in Poland, China, Lebanon and Argentina. Yet less than half in Vietnam (43%) and the Philippines (42%) have internet access. And in nations that are less economically developed, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, internet access rates lag even further.

Toward the bottom in terms of access rates are some of the world’s most heavily populated nations in South and Southeast Asia. These include Indonesia, where only 24% of the population has access to the internet, India (20%), Bangladesh (11%) and Pakistan (8%). Combined, these countries account for approximately a quarter of the world’s population.

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For example, 70% of young Vietnamese (18-34 years old) use the internet, while only 21% of those age 35 and older do. And three-quarters of Vietnamese with a secondary education or higher have access to the net, while only two-in-ten with less than a secondary education do. A similar gap appears for Vietnamese who can speak or read at least some English (83%) versus those who cannot (20%).

In addition to these factors, having a higher income, being male and being employed have a significant, positive impact on internet use, though to a lesser degree.

Socializing Most Popular Form of Internet Activity

Along with social networking, an equally popular use of the internet is staying in touch with friends and family. A median of 86% of internet users across the emerging and developing nations surveyed say they have used the internet this way in the past year.

While not as popular as socializing, many internet users also like to access digital information, whether it is political (a median of 54% among internet users), medical (46%) or governmental (42%). Getting online political news is particularly prevalent in Middle Eastern countries, like Tunisia (72%), Lebanon (70%) and Egypt (68%).

Utilizing the internet for career and commerce is a less popular activity. Among internet users, medians of less than four-in-ten say they look and apply for jobs (35%), make or receive payments (22%), buy products (16%) or take online classes (13%).

In certain countries, these professional and commercial online activities are more common. For example, 62% of internet users in Bangladesh and 55% in India say they have used the internet to look for or apply for a job. In China, home to internet commerce giants such as Baidu and Alibaba, 52% of internet users say they have purchased a product online in the last year.

Sharing information about personal views regarding religion and politics and purchases is less common. Less than four-in-ten social networkers in emerging and developing nations say they share views about products (37%), politics (34%) and religion (30%). But there is a range of interest in debating these topics online, from the 8% among social networkers in Russia and Ukraine who discuss religion to the 64% in Jordan who say the same. Similar ranges can be found for sharing views about politics and products on social networks.

Smartphones Have Not Yet Replaced Regular Mobile Phones

In several of the countries surveyed, sizeable percentages access the internet from devices other than a computer in their home. Across the 32 emerging and developing nations, a median of 38% have a working computer in their household. In 10 countries, computer ownership is roughly two-in-ten or less. By contrast, 80% in the U.S. and 78% in Russia have a computer in working order in their house.

But smartphones – and the mobile access to the internet that they make possible in some locations – are not nearly as common as conventional cell phones. A median of only 24% say they own a cell phone that can access the internet and applications (See Appendix B for a full list of devices in each country). In the U.S., 58% owned a smartphone as of early 2014.

These cell phones and smartphones are critical as communication tools in most of the emerging and developing nations, mainly because the infrastructure for landline communications is sparse, and in many instances almost nonexistent. In these emerging and developing nations, only a median of 19% have a working landline telephone in their home. In fact, in many African and Asian countries, landline penetration is in the low single digits. This compares with 60% landline ownership in the U.S.

Cell phones also have the added benefit of being capable of more than just vocal communication. Among cell phone owners across the 32 countries, 76% use text messaging via their phones. This is similar to the 83% of cell owners in the U.S. who text. And an additional 55% of mobile owners in these emerging and developing nations use their phones for taking pictures or video.

• For more on how these demographics influence internet use, see Appendix A. For a list of countries surveyed, including the smartphone devices and social networks specified in our questions in each country, see Appendix B. ↩

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Essay on Internet: Samples in 100, 200, and 300 Words

• Updated on  
• Mar 8, 2024

On this page, we will provide some samples of how to write an Internet essay.

The age of internet is dominating the world. Individuals, community groups, organisations, and even governments rely on the internet for their needs. The robust speed at which the internet has influenced our lives has been remarkable. Today, anybody can have access to the internet and the online services available. All you need is a digital device like a desktop, laptop or cell phone to use the internet.

According to a 2020 census, 59.6% of the global population uses the internet. These uses of the internet can depend on a person’s needs and interests. The Internet can be used for hundreds of activities, some of which are social networking, education and research, e-commerce, communication, business, collaboration, entertainment, etc.

Also Read: 200+ Essay Topics for School Students in English

Table of Contents

• 1 Essay on Internet in 100 Words
• 2 Essay on Internet in 200 Words
• 3 Essay on Internet in 300 Words
• 4 How to Score High in Essay Writing?
• 5 Paragraph on Internet in 100 Worlds

Essay on Internet in 100 Words

The Internet, a sprawling network of interconnected devices and data, has redefined how humanity interacts, learns, and progresses. Born from ARPANET in the 1960s, it evolved into an indispensable tool that facilitates communication, access to information, and commerce. With the World Wide Web’s emergence, it transcended mere data exchange, becoming a repository of knowledge, entertainment, and opportunities. However, its influence brings both benefits and challenges, from online education to cybersecurity threats. The Internet is a testament to human ingenuity and its potential to shape our connected future.

Also Read – Essay on Waste Management

Essay on Internet in 200 Words

The Internet, a technological marvel born from the minds of visionaries, has grown into a global phenomenon that touches every facet of our lives. Its roots trace back to ARPANET’s inception in the 1960s when the revolutionary concept of interconnected computers was born. This early network laid the groundwork for the modern Internet, enabling computers to share data and communicate over vast distances. In the subsequent decades, this technology evolved, leading to the creation of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee in the late 1980s.

Today, the Internet serves as a digital frontier that transcends geographical boundaries. It provides access to a staggering wealth of information, entertainment, and services. From social networking and e-commerce to online education and remote work, its applications are diverse and far-reaching. Moreover, the Internet’s impact on communication cannot be understated, as it has transformed how people interact, fostering connections and collaborations across the globe.

However, this technological marvel also presents challenges. The prevalence of misinformation, cybercrimes, and privacy breaches remind us of the Internet’s dual nature. Striking a balance between its advantages and disadvantages is imperative as we navigate this digital landscape.

Also Read – Essay on Exam Stress

Essay on Internet in 300 Words

The Internet, a monumental achievement in the world of technology, has revolutionized the way we live, work, and communicate. The journey began with ARPANET, a project initiated by the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1960s to create a network that could withstand disruptions. This laid the foundation for modern networking protocols, paving the way for the Internet we know today. The turning point arrived in the late 1980s with the creation of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee, which transformed the Internet into a user-friendly platform accessible to people worldwide.

The Internet’s impact on society is profound. It has democratized information, enabling individuals to access an unprecedented volume of knowledge. Online platforms offer education opportunities, from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to virtual classrooms. The rise of e-commerce has reshaped the retail landscape, allowing consumers to shop with convenience and choice. Moreover, the Internet has fostered connections, facilitating global collaboration, and allowing for the rapid dissemination of ideas.

However, this digital revolution is not without challenges. Cybersecurity threats loom large, with cybercrimes like hacking and identity theft on the rise. The Internet’s role in the spread of misinformation has raised concerns about the credibility of information available online. The addictive nature of social media has also prompted discussions about its impact on mental health and social interactions. The Internet’s influence on society is intricate and multi-faceted, touching upon every aspect of human existence. It has democratized information, transformed commerce, and reshaped how we connect and communicate. While challenges like cyber threats and misinformation persist, harnessing the Internet’s potential for positive change is within our grasp. By fostering digital literacy, promoting ethical behaviour, and leveraging technology for the greater good, we can ensure that the Internet continues to be a force for progress and connectivity.

How to Score High in Essay Writing?

Curating a competitive essay requires the following approach-

• Analyze the essay prompt to grasp its essence and requirements. Ensure your essay addresses the key points while maintaining coherence.
• Devote time to planning. Outline your essay’s structure, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Each paragraph should have a clear focus.
• Begin with a captivating hook that grabs the reader’s attention. Provide context and a clear thesis statement that outlines the essay’s main arguments.
• Each paragraph should present a single idea supported by evidence and examples. Transition smoothly between paragraphs to maintain a logical flow.
• Support your arguments with credible sources, statistics, anecdotes, or real-world examples. This adds depth and authenticity to your essay.
• Write clear and concise sentences. Use transition words to connect ideas and ensure a smooth reading experience.
• Address potential counterarguments and refute them logically. This showcases your understanding of the topic and strengthens your position.
• Summarize your main points, restate your thesis, and provide a thought-provoking closing statement. Avoid introducing new ideas here.
• Thoroughly revise your essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Check for clarity, coherence, and overall impact.
• Regular practice is essential for improving your essay writing skills. Seek feedback from peers or instructors to identify areas for improvement.

Paragraph on Internet in 100 Worlds

Essays foster critical thinking, improve communication skills, and enhance creativity. They provide a platform to express ideas and opinions effectively.

Practice is key. Start by brainstorming ideas, creating outlines, and proofreading your work. Reading diverse essays can also provide insights.

Absolutely! Personal experiences add authenticity and depth to your essays. However, ensure they are relevant to the topic.

A good introduction should grab the reader’s attention, provide context, and present a clear thesis statement.

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We hope that this essay blog on the Internet helps. For more amazing daily reads related to essay writing , stay tuned with Leverage Edu .

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Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Internet — The Importance of the Internet in the World

The Importance of The Internet in The Modern World

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Published: Sep 19, 2019

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The Changes That the Internet Has Brought to Our Lives

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The Internet Impact on Interpersonal Communication Research Paper

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The progress of the digital era is one of the most discussed topics today, and people are free to introduce their attitudes toward the Internet and online services. On the one hand, the Internet performs a critical function of global connection. Finding the necessary information and sharing data does not take much time. On the other hand, it is wrong to neglect that the Internet has changed the quality of interpersonal communication and decreased the number of real-life meetings. This paper aims to answer the question, “How does the Internet affect human relationships and communication processes?” Despite the evident benefits of the Internet in human life, like time-saving and the content of exchanged information, the challenges of interpersonal communication continue to decrease the worth of nonverbal components and privacy issues.

It is hard to imagine this life without the Internet, and the possibility of saving time remains an important benefit in the context of interpersonal communication. In their intention to improve relationships, people try to use a single chance to share data in a timely manner. Sam defines the Internet as a “global village, transcending the boundaries of time and space” (473). Several years ago, society was concerned about the inability to find enough time and space to find the material, report on the event, or demonstrate personal opinions. Today, it is easy to create a post, record a video, or leave a comment from any part of the world. The Internet has facilitated interpersonal communication by significantly reducing time frames.

Another consequence of using the Internet for interpersonal communication is improved content expansion. Most individuals first grab their phones or other digital devices that connect them with the entire world when they wake up. According to Ruben et al., it does not matter if a person turns on the phone to scroll through Facebook or add another picture of their Outfit of the Day; the idea remains the same – the Internet is inevitable. Sometimes, people need more details about the situation or clear evidence not to be alone in this world (Sam 474). The Internet is a connection that is not determined by the weight or physical size of the message. Users can print words, send audio files, share video material, and exchange pictures. Thus, the Internet positively affects interpersonal communication due to a great opportunity of exchanging different types of personal and public information.

At the same time, any impact can be interpreted in different ways, and, together with evident advantages, the Internet may challenge interpersonal communication because of poorly interpreted nonverbal language. Technology-mediated communication is developed in various ways, but nonverbal behavior cues are frequently absent (Ruben et al.). Human gestures, voice tones, physical appearances, touches, and gazes are necessary to express relative status and define relationship roles in everyday life and business (Goman). The Internet transfers visual information but does not contribute to the appropriate interpretation of the material. Still, it is human nature to pay attention to nonverbal responses and “all of the emotional nuance behind the words,” either consciously or unconsciously (Goman). Digital communication is not as powerful and all-encompassing as face-to-face interaction. Many critical elements are neglected, which deprives people of observing many things and details. The Internet damages the quality of interpersonal communication due to the absence of body language and physical cues.

Finally, when people initiate communication processes, they expect their information to be private and personal, which is not always possible on the Internet. Digitalization and globalization are usually associated with vast opportunities and unlimited knowledge. Despite multiple attempts to strengthen the global politics of cyber systems, privacy complications continue emerging, and personal data protection is dramatically challenged (DeNardis 60). Many invisible threats exist even if people think they are alone in the room. For example, camera surveillance and video recording may be stored with the help of cloud services without even notifying users (DeNardis 60). There are many ways to circumvent privacy agreements, and interpersonal communication can never be the same as the one when two people talk to each other face to face. The Internet did not pursue such purposes when it was introduced for public usage, but hackers and technical experts developed their skills to penetrate private human lives in the most meticulous ways.

In conclusion, the impact of the Internet on interpersonal communication is associated with different benefits and shortages. People are easily fascinated with the number of digitalized opportunities they get when they choose the Internet for communication. They enjoy the absence of geographical boundaries, distance, and time limitations and exchange pictures and voices in a convenient way. At the same time, the lack of understanding of nonverbal communication and no privacy questions the appropriateness of the Internet for personal communication. Many individuals need to have guarantees and control their words and information distribution. The Internet facilitates many processes as well as creates additional problems that people need to consider if they want to enjoy their interpersonal relationships and communication. It is high time to realize the difference between online and face-to-face communication to prevent damage and gain personal profits.

Works Cited

DeNardis, Laura. The Internet in Everything: Freedom and Security in a World with No Off Switch . Yale University Press, 2020.

Goman, Carol Kinsey. “Has Technology Killed Face-To-Face Communication?” Forbes , Web.

Ruben, Mollie A., et al. “Is Technology Enhancing or Hindering Interpersonal Communication? A Framework and Preliminary Results to Examine the Relationship Between Technology Use and Nonverbal Decoding Skill.” Frontiers , Web.

Sam, Susan. “Impact of Internet on Interpersonal Relationships.” International Journal of Home Science, vol. 5, no. 2, 2019, pp. 473-476.

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IvyPanda. (2023, October 16). The Internet Impact on Interpersonal Communication. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-internet-impact-on-interpersonal-communication/

"The Internet Impact on Interpersonal Communication." IvyPanda , 16 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/the-internet-impact-on-interpersonal-communication/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'The Internet Impact on Interpersonal Communication'. 16 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "The Internet Impact on Interpersonal Communication." October 16, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-internet-impact-on-interpersonal-communication/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Internet Impact on Interpersonal Communication." October 16, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-internet-impact-on-interpersonal-communication/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Internet Impact on Interpersonal Communication." October 16, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-internet-impact-on-interpersonal-communication/.

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Essay on Internet Influence for Kids

When we think of the internet, most of us probably think of websites we visit daily – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. But the internet is not limited to these, and it has far-reaching consequences for kids. In this essay on internet influence for kids, we will explore how the internet shapes the way kids think and act. Kids today are growing up in a world where the internet plays a massive role in their lives. From helping with homework to finding friends, the internet has become an integral part of their everyday life. However, the internet also has its downsides. Kids today are more likely to develop problems like online addiction due to the constant exposure they get from the internet.

Parents need to be aware of the internet’s effects on their children. By understanding how the internet works and how it affects kids, parents can help keep their children’s online safety and help them develop healthy online habits. While it helps to learn about different cultures and perspectives and can be amazing for fostering creativity and exploration, it can also negatively impact kids. For example, when kids are constantly exposed to harmful content on the internet, it can seriously affect their mental health and development. Additionally, research has shown that children who spend more time online tend to have lower grades in school than their peers who don’t spend as much time online. Now, let us read BYJU’S internet influence on kids essay and understand its pros and cons.

Table of Contents

The pros and cons of online life for kids, how to limit internet exposure for kids.

The essay on internet influence for kids helps them understand the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet. The pros of the internet for kids include learning in a more relaxed environment , accessing information from all over the world, and having fun. On the other hand, there are also some cons of the internet in kids’ lives, such as potential dangers, mental health issues and cyberbullying. Parents need to monitor their children’s online activity to ensure they utilise its benefits and avoid potential dangers.

Suggested Article: Cyber Safety Essay

After learning the pros and cons of the internet for children, let us know how to prevent kids from getting addicted to the internet and engaging themselves in other kids learning activities by reading BYJU’S internet influence on kids essay.

Parents can limit their kids’ internet exposure by using various tools. One way to limit internet time is to set bedtime for kids and establish the rule by turning off the internet when they’re supposed to go to bed. Another way is to set up rules for how much time kids can spend on different websites. For example, parents could limit two hours per day on online gaming and social media use and one hour per day on other websites.

Another way to restrict internet exposure is to have screen-time rules for movies and online shows. Parents can decide on screen time for viewing movies and entertainment shows, and they can set time limits based on age. For example, parents could allow 6-12 years old children to watch one hour of gadgets’ screen time per night, with no more than two hours of screen time per day. Young children (0-5 years old) would be limited to 30 minutes of screen time each day, and 5-8 years old kids would be allowed an hour of screen time each day.

The internet is a potent tool, and kids today are no exception. In this essay on internet influence for kids in English, we have explained the pros and cons of using the internet and ways to limit internet usage for kids. For more kids learning activities, such as stories and poems , visit BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can parents restrict children’s misuse or overuse of the internet.

Many software tools are available to restrict children’s use of the internet to only child friendly websites. Also, parents can place reasonable restrictions on the time children spend on surfing the internet, watching videos and playing online games.

How to reduce the online influence on kids?

You can reduce the online influence on kids by educating them about the dangers of the internet. Teach them how to use platforms safely and responsibly, and talk to them about the importance of privacy online. Encourage children to get involved in offline activities as well. Playing together, participating in sports, and joining clubs can provide opportunities for social interaction that are healthy for both children and adults alike.

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