“The Internet has empowered us.
It has empowered you, it has empowered me, and it has empowered some other guys
as well.”
—Patrick Chappatte
The 21st Century skills are a set
of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the
information age. One skill in particular is that every student needs to be technology literate. This is the ability to responsibly use appropriate technology to communicate, solve problems, access, manage,
integrate, evaluate, design and create information to improve learning in all
subject areas and to acquire lifelong knowledge and skills in the 21st century.
The Internet is well known in the
21st Century because it is the greatest advancement of technology invented
that can shrink the world and bring information, expertise, and knowledge on
nearly every subject imaginable straight to your computer, but is the internet
a basic need? Is it beneficial or harmful? And how can it change the way of
thinking of an individual?
There
are different kinds of lists that emphasize the basic needs of each country,
but the traditional list of immediate "basic needs" are food (including water), shelter and clothing
for a person to survive hence, today in our generation, sanitation, education and healthcare also became needs, but the reason people consider the Internet as a basic need is that because people today became very
dependent at the Internet. If they are seeking information; it can only take one
click and Google will answer your questions. Treating the Internet as a basic
need is not that bad. Times are changing and we need to adapt quickly or get
left behind. But it shouldn’t be the reason we lose so much of who we are and
what we can be without it.
The
Internet is beneficial yet harmful. It can help a lot of people in their
everyday lives like unlimited
communication. We can communicate with everyone in the world; it is cheaper,
but there are a lot of people that can trick
you. It is also abundant in information
and resources. There are multiple search engines that can provide the
information we need; it is easier, but there is a lot of adult-only content that are not suitable for children, e.g. pornography. Unfortunately, such content can be accessed by children as young as ten years old.
It is also convenient because sharing is very easy. You can promote
and it is very fast, but there are many malicious
programs that can cause harm to your computer and on your personal data
like viruses, malware, and more. It can also provide online services. It allows users to
transact, pay bills, shop online it is also beneficial to the growth of our e-commerce
yet it is risky because the number of fraud
cases rise due to credit/debit card details that are particularly vulnerable to
unreliable payment processors.
One of the major reasons why
people use the Internet is for entertainment
purposes. You can watch movies, listen to music, read the news and play games
over the Internet, but this is also one major reason of internet addiction that people tend to use the Internet more they spend
more time using it than doing social interactions.
The
Internet has many effects on a human. It may be physical, psychological and spiritual but we need to focus on its psychological effects to a human
because we need to know if there are changes within the thinking capacity and behavior of a
human. According to many people that defend their beliefs about the
effects of internet use, it has both positive and
negative effects on the thinking capacity of a human:
- "Internet use reduces the deep thinking that leads to true creativity." —Nicholas Carr, American Writer
- "Internet users are impatient and are likely to get more impatient with time." —Ramesh Sitaraman, Computer Scientist
- "People have control over what they do, and that research and reasoning never came naturally to people." —Steven Pinker, Psychologist
- "Social networks are the true downfall for people who use the Internet." —Andre de Castro, Psychologist
“The Internet is beneficial yet harmful.”
In a recent study involving millions of users watching online videos, users with faster Internet connectivity (e.g., fiber) abandoned a slow-loading video at a faster rate than similar users with slower Internet connectivity (e.g., cable or mobile). Commentators have argued that the Sitaraman study shows that when humans get accustomed to a faster flow of information on the Internet, they become more impatient and have less tolerance for delays.
According to research that in
terms of brain power surfing, the internet does more brain activity than reading
a book. It is said that it can improve brain function. In productivity, a person
cannot multi-task while using the internet. An individual doing a project without using any form of social
media is more productive.
Today, people living in the 21st Century establish the use of Internet and social media sites. It is said that the social media made a big effect on the thinking
capacity of a human because in social media many forms of cyber-bullying are present
like flaming, exclusion, denigration and more; victims of cyber-bullying tend to
have depression, low self- esteem and suicidal attempts. People spend more time
on social media sites and this is the place where we can find Twitter Wars, Bashers, Scammers and more
hence Social media has the biggest factor in the change of behavior and
thinking capacity of a human.
People became free inside the
virtual world of the Internet because they don’t have any physical interaction
with another person. There is a time that people meet other people through
online chatting and when the person’s trust deepens this is the time where
personal information discloses and then forms of cyber-bullying can be present.
People think that the Internet is
another dimension which they can escape reality to and spend more time on it. The
last factor that can affect the thinking capacity of a person by using the
Internet is the relationship of parents to their children. Today there is a big
generation gap between parents and children; some adults are not used in the
sudden changes and advances of technology and children of this generation are
more aware or they can adapt easily to the rapid changes and advances of
technology.
The problem is that parents think that the Internet is very harmful to their child that it may affect the
performance of his/her child in school; they may be prone to adult–content information; and that their child will be prone to scammers. This is where
conflicts between the parent and child start and the thinking capacity of the child
will change. Parents in this generation need to adapt the advances of
technology and merge between the generation gaps to help the youth today to be
safe on the internet and the youth, meanwhile, need to find some time to bond with their parents.
The Internet is the greatest
advancement of technology that was ever invented. It is very beneficial to us, yet it is very harmful. All of us need to learn how to be safe in this virtual
world. We need to protect ourselves from harm. It has many effects on human
psychology or thinking capacity, but we can’t let the Internet ruin our
personality. It is another world but it is not an escape from reality. Like the
famous quotation, “Think before you click”.
Thank you for reading :)
Thank you for reading :)
Project in ICT 10
Fernandez, Dwight Lorenz S.
Del Rosario, Andrea Raina P. G-13
Del Rosario, Andrea Raina P. G-13
10 – St. Aloysius Gonzaga
CCC S.Y. 2016 – 2017
Submitted to: Ms. Jobelle Santos
Grade 10 ICT Teacher
Grade 10 ICT Teacher
References:
- http://www.overpass.co.uk/internet-basic-need/
- http://www.enkivillage.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-internet.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_effects_of_Internet_use
- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/internet.html
- http://www.coloradotechliteracy.org/org/documentation/module1/definition.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_needs
- "Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains | Magazine". Wired.com. 2010-05-24. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- "NPR Morning Edition: In Video-Streaming Rat Race, Fast is Never Fast Enough, October 2012".
- Pinker, Steven (2010-06-10). "Mind Over Mass Media". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
Media Resources:
Image Resources:
- http://www.edutopia.org/sites/default/files/styles/content_image_breakpoints_theme_edutopia_desktde_1x/public/content/cc/parents-technology.gif?itok=8wlrJxQ3
- https://www.colourbox.com/preview/11777768-mobile-internet-collage-with-icons-background.jpg
- https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZbcRdvC0QuWL1biXt_DxfMaFFAAx2ZDhwZgumgsPIbAv2OCcfsr5KK9Xcc5IvLst8yJQmXHdIu-PJdxRWiBIkvnIYk_MhIiMta9csv3vLIfT0re7fHacJhgzVL2pfJ3LHHODG5dNwq0/s1600/multiliteracies.png
- http://www8.gmanews.tv/webpics/v3/2012/07/tbyc-tcard.jpg
Video Resources:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKaWJ72x1rI
CSS code Background Reference:
- http://www.stramaxon.com/2013/01/full-page-background-blogger.html
