The Internet and Its Impact on Global Communication

People’s ability to communicate with each other is a major component of the glue that pieces societies together. The Internet – a virtual world that connects people from all walks of life – has had an extensive impact on communication since its proliferation and globalization. The Internet makes communication easier and faster, and makes modes of communication more diverse. Since the 1990s a whole culture has grown up around the new possibilities of keeping in touch on the Web.

The Internet marks the latest in a long series of technological developments that have helped distant acquaintances continue to be a presence in each other’s lives. With the Internet, people can stay in touch with friends and family regardless of time and location. This helps foster intimacy and togetherness in an increasingly spread-out, mobile world. On the flipside, it also creates more opportunities for strangers to meet because of common interests, and for new friendships and other relationships to develop between random acquaintances. With the Internet ordinary people have more power to grow their networks of contacts and thereby expand their reach.

Geography has always constrained people’s social boundaries. It’s easier and faster to keep in touch with someone who lives physically close by. Class has also helped define people’s social circles, with economic, sexual, racial, religious and national factors acting as obstacles to global communication. The Internet hasn’t destroyed these constraints, but it has diminished their relevance by allowing people to participate together in the same virtual arena. Thanks to the Web, people can connect with each other from virtually anywhere in the world that has Internet access. The result has been a mixing of traditional cultures as like-minded people seek each other out online. Subsequently, interest-based cultures have become much stronger. This helps isolated people find communities and expand their horizons.

The Internet provides new media for people to communicate with others by expressing themselves. Web technologies help amateur media personalities produce and distribute their own videos. These technologies help artists exhibit, refine and even create their art. Writers can find their voice using limitless Web resources; activists can organize their communities, and chronically busy people retrieve information and express themselves in 140 characters thanks to Twitter. Also, the rise of Internet memes has created a new social currency that people can use to relate to one another – giving rise to whole new social structures that help to shape the future of society.

The Internet has accelerated the pace of business and broadened the scope of what is possible in the workplace. The most obvious benefit is that people have better options for direct communication, including email, texting and videoconferencing. Long-distance conversations that used to take days to resolve over the telephone can wrap up in a few minutes. Email filtering helps the most important messages get the priority they need. But, the benefits run even deeper than this. Thanks to the Internet, modern companies can exist in multiple locations, with each site connected seamlessly to the others through the Internet. Good IT practices help to automate many business processes, such as online sales. This lets computers do a lot of the leg work – reducing opportunities for human error.

(From http://science.opposingviews.com/internet-its-impact-global-communication-2961.html)

Post-Reading Tasks

Discuss the following problems with your partner using the ideas from the text:

1) Does the Internet really connect people from all walks of life?

2) What do we mean by saying ‘the Internet culture’?

3) Is there an opportunity to make new friendships on the Internet?

4) Has the Internet destroyed all obstacles to global communication (economic, sexual, racial, religious, national)?

5) How can the interest-based cultures help isolated people?

6) How can people express themselves using Web technologies?

7) What are the most obvious Internet benefits in business?

 

Vocabulary Work

1. Guess the crossword based on the text:

										1
				2	3
4
													5		9
	6	7										8									11
														10
					12
																		14
								16							13
					15
												17			20
					18
						19

Across

2) a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something (par.2)

4) end the existence of (something) by damaging or attacking it (par.3)

5) become larger in distance from side to side (par.5)

6) an advantage or profit gained from something (par.5)

10) a person whom one does not know or with whom one is not familiar (par.2)

12) a person one knows slightly, but who is not a close friend (par.2)

13) a mistake (par.5)

15) a thing that is or may be chosen (par.5)

17) severely restrict the scope, extent, or activity of (par.3)

18) publicly display (a work of art or item of interest) (par.4)

19) a group or system of interconnected people or things (par.2)

Down

1) a line which marks the limits of an area (par.3)

3) rapid increase in the number or amount of something (par.1)

7) become or make larger or more extensive (par.3)

8) the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively (par.3)

9) a thing that blocks one’s way or prevents or hinders progress (par.3)

11) a place or scene of activity, debate, or conflict (par. 3)

14) a commercial business (par. 5)

16) spread over an area (par. 4)

20) relating to society or its organization (par.4)

2. Look through the text above once again. Make necessary changes to the boldface words to make the following sentences meaningful:

    The Internet is a family world that connects people from all walks of life. It makes common easier and faster. People can stay in touch with friends and email regardless of time and location. It also creates more opportunities for strangers to meet because of legwork interests. Thanks to the Web, people can connect with each other from virtually anywhere in the pace. It gives rise to whole new social structures that help to shape the future of modern. The Internet has also accelerated the society of business. People have better options for direct communication, including world, texting and videoconferencing. Thanks to the Internet, communication companies can exist in multiple locations. Computers do a lot of the virtual and reduce opportunities for human error.