The Use of the Internet as a Social Activity and Self-expression Essay

The Use of the Internet as a Social Activity and Self-expression - Essay Example ss the statement: â€Å"the internet has presented individuals with real possibilities for self-expression, conversation and creative work.† To appreciate its relevance, a brief history of the origins of the Internet would initially be discussed. Other various uses of the Internet, aside from the focal points, would also be presented. What is exciting in this technological development is that it has not stopped evolving and there is still a vast future ahead. A lot of stakeholders have the desire to continue their quest to discover new applications and uses which would define the future of the Internet. However, the consequences of information overload and accessibility to data have tremendous effects on the traditional concepts of culture. Our way of life, due to the technology provided by the Internet, will never be the same. written by J.C.R. Licklider of MIT in August 1962. According to Leiner, et.al. (2003), the history of the Internet revolves around four distinct aspects: the technological aspect, operational and management aspect, social aspect, and commercialization aspect. The emergence of new media technologies such as the cable, satellite and the Internet has a tremendous impact on the traditional forms of mass media. In a book on Media and Cultural Theory, Freedman wrote that â€Å"a combination of technological innovations (concerning digitization) and cultural shifts (towards a more individualistic consumer society) appear to have handed new media technologies a competitive advantage over their predecessors† (â€Å"Internet Transformations†, 275). With more and more people utilizing the Internet for various purposes, there had been significant declines in primetime viewing of broadcast networks and circulations in magazines and broadsheets. The Internet boasts of a variety of uses for a wide range of clientele. From among the famous users of the Internet, our teenagers of today are seen to be the primary consumers of the Internet. A study