The Internet Age and Its Impact on Society

Within the context of “A Measure of Restraint,” ignorance is bliss. The cesium-137 shining like an, “enchanted elfin sprite,” mystified the junk dealer’s niece and many other residents of Goiânia, Brazil. If she understood the substance would cause her cells to deteriorate, then she may not have been so excited to cover her face in radioactive cesium.

Curiosity is part of human nature. Similar to the girl’s wonder of the powder, Americans are amazed by the advancement in telecommunications technology. Computers have become a dominant aspect in the American life because of the internet. Social forums and networking sites have solidified the internet’s existence, and allowed for millions of sites to join in the online community. We are at a point in time that almost anything can be found only, which is a blessing and a curse to our generation.

While older generations were forced to tire hours of research in encyclopedias, we can access information in seconds. Want to know how many acres the Okefenokee Swamp occupies? Don’t use books! The internet has the answer! An answer that can be accessed in a microscopic period of time determined by the speed of your computer, bandwidth, and internet provider. This immediate access facilitates research, but leaves the searcher addicted to the provided information. Speed is a danger aspect of the internet. Why read an entire novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald when a synopsis is available free online. Why solve calculus problem uses complex thought when Google you the work along with the answer. The internet takes away our drive to think freely.

Communication is much easier today through networking today. A message to my aunt in Norway would take weeks through postage, and only seconds through Facebook. The task is easier, but communication has become emotionally hollow. Following the internet’s speed capabilities, sending an email or a text message is effortless, and communicating out loud is dying in public. Communication has become so much broader that we have become dependent on other peoples’ information, no matter how meaningless it really is. We are slaves to the information that is literally at our fingertips. Every person is an addict looking for the next information fix.

There also seems to be an illusion of security online. Social networking was enticing at first, but the information left online can have serious consequences to your ordinary life. It offers strangers the ability to view your basic information, and once that information is online, it is nearly impossible to remove. Deleting a Facebook account still retains some of your information in their databases. Our generation needs to learn that we should only use our private information when it is absolutely necessary.

Would our generation be better off without the advancement in telecommunications? Probably not, but the generations impacted by the internet will have severe social disturbances in the future.