The Internet

    According to the article we read during week 5 of my Internet and Society class, a basic description of the internet is that it is the connection of computer networks around the world into one entity, so to speak. It’s not one big computer, but rather numerous networked computers connected. (Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia) I was already a little older when the internet became something that could be used by everyone. I remember signing up for my first email address and realizing that I now could be connected to people across the world at a much faster pace. As I have gotten older I have also seen the internet age and grow. I have seen it add many more functions and possibilities to make people's lives easier. My kids will never know what it is like to do homework, write a paper, or do research for a school project without the internet or even a computer. In a way my entire lifetime so far has been part of an ethnographic study of the internet as it developed right alongside myself into what it is today.

    Sheila Jasanoff tells us that human beings are given to redescribing their world. The greatest achievements of human creativity - in art, literature, and in the sciences - come from just that urge to reread and rewrite experience. (Jasanoff, 2016) Because of our access to the internet and all the information you can find online that may be outdated, we can do what she describes by rereading and rewriting those things so that they make more sense in our world today. Our vocabulary has changed as well over time and so many things need to be updated constantly to keep the ideas current and relevant. The internet is allowing us to do so on a broad scale as we are able to collect all of these outdated ideas and rewrite them for our use today.

    Because we have access to the internet and lots of different information, we need to make sure that the information online is relevant, true, and accessible to all. Surveys can be more easily distributed to reach larger populations and large groups of people can collaborate with each other seamlessly online to further research and other important matters. A lot of our knowledge today comes from the internet and what is posted and uploaded by many different people. We have access to lots of different points of view for all types of situations. Rules and regulations are being placed on the internet as it continues to grow and give access to people who previously would never have been able to take part in it. Governments all over the world have had to create new laws for privacy, false accusations, copyright issues, and much more as the internet can now be found in many homes and businesses. We don’t even need to leave our home anymore for grocery shopping, schooling, work, and entertainment as it can all be accessed by us online.

    The digital divide is becoming narrower as now more than ever people have access to the internet and all its abilities. Older generations that did not grow up with this technology are catching up quickly and are able to keep pace with the younger generations in all aspects. They can be part of the online community in their homes, on their phones, at work, or wherever they are. Many elementary and secondary schools use technology in the classrooms and teach their students how to submit work online and do homework that way. Universities have online classes such as this one that don’t require students to ever set foot on a physical campus. For the first few years when I came back to UVU to finish my degree I had started a long time ago, I was able to take all my classes online while continuing to work full time. All I needed was a computer and an internet connection. I was able to have class discussions this way, log into live stream sessions, and do Team chats with my classmates and professors.

    There are so many components to the internet that are not visible to us. Underwater cables and satellite dishes in the sky keep us connected without our knowledge. We can get Wi-Fi at work, in our homes, and on the go with hotspots, internet routers, or just our regular cell service. Technology is replacing paper left and right by allowing us to write research papers online and submit them that way as well. Receipts are now sent to email addresses instead of physically handed to a customer at the end of a transaction. The multiple invisible components of the internet keep us going about our business without even stopping to think how this is all possible. Our lives are interrupted briefly when the Wi-Fi goes out or we lose cell service, but most of the time those hiccups are temporary, and we are back to business within a short period of time. The internet is fascinating at what it can do for us daily, even when we do not realize its impact on most of our day-to-day activities.

Sources:

Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. (n.d.). Evaluating Internet resources. GALILEO. https://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit07/internet07_01.phtml

Jasanoff, S. (2016). The floating ampersand: Sts past and sts to come. Engaging Science,
Technology, and Society, 2, 227–237. https://doi.org/10.17351/ests2016.78

[Paper written for SOC 3690 class UVU Spring 2024]
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