New Age Media
How is the Internet changing lives forever?
These days with inexpensive air travel, mobile phones, email and the
Internet, teenagers see the world as a smaller place than it appeared to their
grandparents. Of these innovations, the Internet appears to be the one with the
most potential for global influence, and which will change lives the most.
For example, up until recently friendships developed over a lifetime but that
has now changed. People often made friends locally at school and continued those
friendships into adulthood, but many young people today find the majority of their
friendships over the Internet. This is not restricted to teenagers. Paula Sen, who has
just turned 30, says: “I’ve met most of my best friends over the Internet, through
common interest forums. I couldn’t live without the Internet. It’s my lifeline.”
The Internet has also greatly influenced how people buy and sell goods.
International Internet shopping is now common, with people buying all sorts of
goods, from sites such as amazon, the most successful online retail site. The
international auction site eBay allows millions of participants to buy from and sell
to strangers, setting their own prices. But beware – there are so many unscrupulous
salespeople online as on the high street.
One of the Internet’s greatest success stories is Wikipedia, the free online
encyclopedia, which is compiled and updated by its users. It carries far more
content than any other encyclopedia and it is a great starting point for research, but
remember to double-check important facts as it does contain errors. If you don’t
have time to check your facts, consider purchasing a reliable online encyclopedia
such as the Encyclopedia Britannica. The other major information resource on the
Internet is Google, a search engine which finds and ranks web pages according to
the number of links made to them.
Probably the biggest impact that the Internet has had is the way in which it
has influenced social networking. The most frequently “googled” word in the
world recently was Bebo – the social networking site- followed by MySpace.
People can meet new friends through sites like these, the can renew old
acquaintances through different sites and they can also play games with each other
in virtual worlds. This Internet-based, three-dimensional virtual world is
“inhabited” by more than 6.6 million residents from around the world, and global
companies even have outlets there.
It’s now much easier to share experiences with others too. Sites such as
YouTube allow people to upload and share videos, with unlikely clips becoming
huge hits and a number of figures becoming Internet phenomena.
Much of the power of the Internet lies in the fact that people are developing
new ways to be creative and innovative, combining ideas and skills without an
organization or hierarchy. No one is in overall control. Collective creativity and
collaboration are the key ideas. But even more powerful than this is its power to
solve crimes, help change the world through giving to charities on sites like
justgiving.com or find missing individuals.
*From: “Language Leader” (upper-intermediate)
Answer the following questions.
1. What positive characteristics of the Internet can you name?
2. How has the Internet changed our minds?
3. What kind of search engine is the most popular?
4. Does the Internet have negative sides? Could you think about them? Try to
make the list of advantages and disadvantages.
Work with a partner to discuss the following.
1. Do people indulge in fantasy virtual life because of the disappointments of
their real lives?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of:
a) Buying and selling over the Internet?
b) Social networking with people you have never met face-to-face?
3. Should teenagers’ use of the Internet be limited?
Mass Media 