Contemporary society issues and challenges

¶ … Simulated World: The Emergence of Internet technology in the 21st Century Human Society

Considered as the most important and influential event and development that happened when human society reached the 20th century, computer technology, or more precisely, Internet technology, have encompassed all aspects of human life for the last century and remains to be so in the 21st century.

The invention of computers revolutionized scientific computations by making these quantitative processes faster and easier. However, a computer development that led to global networking of computers, called the Internet and manifested by the World Wide Web, made the use computer technology not only limited for research and scientific endeavors, but for social interaction and communication as well. Social networks began to establish, with the prevalence of electronic mail (e-mail), Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and electronic groups (e-groups), and organization and company web sites. These are just some of the venues where constant interaction and information-exchange in the Internet takes place, connecting people and making information accessible from all over the world.

In effect, these development and innovations concerning Internet technology and communication created a "second world" for its users, wherein human society recreates itself, producing artifacts, norms, and rules that govern what is now called the "Internet culture." As a "second world" Internet has been able to encompass all institutional aspects within society, such as economics, politics, the mass media, and culture.

The issue of Internet as a "second world" is significant for me because through the Internet, I was able to conduct and perform activities that would otherwise have not been accomplished without the Internet. Through the Internet, business transactions are easier to conduct, especially when shopping for specific products, allowing users to access information about a product, and be able to see it at the same time. Furthermore, advertisements became rampant in the Internet, leading to the increase in consumption, online and 'offline,' of commercial products and services. In addition, political propaganda found its way into the Internet, providing opportunities for government agencies and political institutions and organizations to promote their 'cause' through information campaigns that users can easily access to.

Indeed, information exchange is the primary function that the Internet offers to its users. The Internet makes use of information as a cultural artifact, and information is exactly the product and service offered by the mass media institution, an advantage that made the mass media create its own distinct niche in the Internet culture/world. Furthermore, Internet has become a culture of sub-cultures, where users, as its active social actors, create their own communities that have its unique characteristics.