Consequences of the Internet and Social Networking

Consequences of the Internet and Social Networking
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code and Name
Professor’s Name
Date

Consequences of the Internet and Social Networking
The Internet has become a ubiquitous tool that many people are using for various reasons. The number of individuals using the web is increasing every day due to the affordability of high-processing electronic devices. Educational institutions and other organizations have made it a requirement for students and employees to use the Internet when undertaking their daily duties. The web has made it possible for social networking where individuals use social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Instagram, to remain in touch with each other. In that light, the Internet and social networking consequences affect people’s social identities, politics and social culture, human rights and relations, and education and language.
The Internet has significantly changed people’s social culture and politics. Nowadays, many individuals do not appreciate the physical presence of their friends or colleagues since they focus on conversations with virtual friends on the web. The Internet is killing the closeness or physical relationships that people had, and the majority of individuals are not realizing it. Politics have been affected by the Internet, where people amplify things they have done in the past to convince others of their fitness in various public leadership positions. At some point, Lori Andrews says that “I haven’t responded to any wealthy widows seeking my legal help for their $50 million estates, nor to emails purportedly from friends whose wallets and passports were stolen in London” (Andrews, n.d.). Here, the author is showing how the Internet has changed individuals’ habits such that when one wakes up in the morning, the individual focuses on less essential things in life.
When it comes to language and education, the Internet has fostered people’s social potential and communicative power. In particular, the web has facilitated the presence of virtual communities that enable individuals to create a sense of belongingness to a specific group. That way, it has become possible to learn various concepts and languages. Language and education facilitate effective communication, which has been realized in the current digital era (Crystal, 2004). People can now understand distinctive languages since the web provides various tools that individuals can utilize to train themselves on speaking or writing in different languages. Consequently, the Internet has continually eliminated the language barrier and reduced illiteracy level.
Social identity refers to how an individual identifies or want to be perceived by others. For sure, the Internet has significantly changed people’s social identities. Some indiv...