In the past five decades, the world has experienced high levels of globalization which have emanated from the integration of economies, easy flow of information across the borders, and the liberalization of markets. The entry of the internet has revolutionalized the communication sector. There have been significant changes in the way people interact with each other and the level of integration has increased tremendously especially at a time when the movement of people across the borders has improved significantly. This paper will therefore, discuss in details the impact of internet on communication and the way it has changed the way people think and talk.
The young generation has been quick to shift from analogue to digital platform. Over the years, multinational companies that specialize in the production of mobile phones and computers have scaled up their output levels in order to take advantage of the growing market for internet-enabled devices (Hill, 2012). The sizes of these gadgets have reduced significantly making them more portable. Furthermore, companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple Inc. have been developing new solutions to make internet more accessible to the users. For instance, Apple Inc. has partnered with institutions of higher learning in order to help it identify highly talented young people who will spearhead growth within the company (Liu, 2001). This explains the reason why the company has been able to develop new ideas that target the young people. Moreover, the costs of internet-enabled gadgets has reduced drastically over the years the companies tries to increase efficiency in order to meet the varying demands in the market. Therefore, there has been a smooth transition to digital and the number of those who have migrated continues to grow. Nevertheless, the older generation is still reluctant to use the internet (Mansell, 2013). However, the adoption of internet by various organizations such as banks has left them with no options other than to migrate.
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Internet has changed the way we look for solutions. Initially, human beings believed in brainstorming in search for problems that affected them. Young scholar would spend a lot of their time in the library and other research areas trying to debunk the issues that were affecting the society. This enabled them to come up with new innovations. However, according to Kraut, Brynin, & Kiesler, (2006) overreliance on the internet has reduced the number of ideas being introduced into the market. However, proponents of the internet argue that it has created a platform to innovate. The reason is that there is a lot of information for the innovators, thereby, enabling them to refine their ideas. This explains the reason why new technologies are being innovated.
Internet has resulted to a decline in critical thinking especially among the young people. Previously, young people would form groups to discuss ideas that have the potential to change the lives of the people (None & Azamat 2012). In addition, they would move a notch higher and read a variety of literature in order to understand the problem at hand in depth. This would enable them to develop well-crafted solutions that would last for a long period of time (Hanson, 2007). However, with the entry of the internet, students have easy access to summarized information. Therefore, they are able to finish their assignments without having to read a large content of information (Klotz, 2004). Therefore, institutions of higher learning are releasing graduates who are internet-dependent. Many of them cannot solve simple problems without having to refer to the internet. This is affecting their performance in their workplaces. The reason is that people are thinking less (Yus, 2011).
The internet has a major impact on the vocabularies and sayings that are frequently being used by people. Initially, people had to read extensively to learn new vocabularies (Solway, 2010). Furthermore, others opted to listen actively in order to develop their language. However, with the entry of the internet and social media, hashtags and emoticons have significantly diminished spoken words (Jackson, 2014). Therefore, the language being used especially by the young people has been influenced immensely by other people’s culture and vocabularies. This has lowered the standards of language across the world. However, on the hand, people have been able to refine their language by learning new vocabularies via the internet (Kappas & Kramer, 2011). This has played a significant role in enabling the young people to speak more fluent while incorporating complex terms majority of which have been influenced by the new trends.
Internet has revolutionalized the way people communicate with each other. Initially, people used to call each other. This enhanced the level of cohesion between close family members and relatives. However, the entry of the internet has reduced the number of calls significantly. Instead, people are opting to chat with each other through the emails or social media platforms (Greiffenstern, 2010). This has affected the relationship between people. Therefore, the level of integration in the family which was being enhanced by talking to each other has reduced significantly. This has increased the level of individualism in the society. As a result, the social life of the young people has been affected significantly. The reason is that they are being forced to spend much of their time playing games or chatting with virtual friends because there is no one to talk to directly (Cellary, Wojciech, Iyengar, & Arun, 2013). This explains the reason why the number of young people that are ending up abusing drugs and joining criminal groups has increased tremendously.
Although internet has connected people across the world, it has also played a significant role in disconnecting people. Initially, face-to-face communication was the common way of communication in the society. Parents and family members would spend a lot of time with the young people, an aspect that would play a significant role in addressing some of the challenges that were affecting them (Biagi & Cengage Learning, 2017). However, with the entry of the internet, parents are opting to use social media to interact with their children. The reason is that the worsening economic times have forced many of them to spend a lot of their time in the workplaces. Therefore, children do not have someone to talk to in times of crisis. As a result, they are turning to their peers for solace, thereby, ending up being misled (Atwood & Gallo, 2011). Others have used social media to seek emotional support. This has created room for cyber bullying. As a result, the number of young people who are suffering from stress and stress-related diseases as a result of loneliness has increased significantly.
In conclusion, internet has improved the level of communication. People are able to find critical information with ease. This has boosted the level of innovation in the world. However, it has also lowered the level of critical thinking among the learners. On the other hand, it has disconnected people and made them lonelier. The reason is that face-to-face communication is becoming a thing of the past as more people embrace this modern technology.
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