14 Ways The Internet Has Changed Us Forever
14.
Multitasking and the Human Brain The Internet has revolutionized every facet
of modern life.
In addition to the ubiquity of email and online streaming, the rise of social media over the
last fifteen years has drastically changed the way human beings communicate with one
another.
As a result, it is common for the average person to check their devices frequently or
to even have multiple screens running content or information simultaneously.
In many cases, without even noticing, the use of technology connected to the internet
has become addictive, leading many people to find themselves mentally unable to unplug.
It turns out the modern deluge of information flooding everyone's lives has a scientifically-proven
negative impact on the human brain.
According to many scientists, even after we cease multitasking activities involving technology,
a lack of focus on subsequent activities increases our dependency on technology.
Researchers at the National Institute of Drug Abuse have stated conclusively that unlike
physical addiction to alcohol or drugs, dependency on technology is more comparable to overeating
in that many people take a basic necessity and consume it to excess.
13.
The Decline of the Postal Service In 2006, the communication and financial services
company Western Union became the final American entity to cease the delivery of telegrams.
The internet was credited as the primary motivator behind the service's downfall, as email
rendered telegrams an irrelevant form of communication.
Despite its efficiency, the U.S. Postal Service is facing a similar fate.
While faxing and cell phone use have been contributing factors in the decline of postal
services, the prevalence of basic email, online chat networks and social media messaging collectively
render traditional "snail mail" less and less necessary.
Because of these and other factors, many Americans no longer check for mail on a daily basis.
This has created a decrease in the post office's value proposition, leading to the widescale
layoff of public employees and fewer days of mail delivery in some regions.
This all happens while we refresh our web pages in search of information our ancestors
had to wait weeks or even months for as it travelled slowly through the mail.
12.
Medical Consultation From mysterious symptoms to the common cold,
there was once a time when visits to the doctor or the local pharmacy could address almost
any ailment.
But unfortunately for those more prone to hypochondria, the internet has changed the
way we address health and wellness.
The original intent of online services like WebMD was for concerned patients to attain
an early understanding of their symptoms, which they could then follow up on when speaking
to a doctor.
But more frequently, WebMD and similar sites are relied upon for complete diagnosis.
This can lead to widespread confusion, as relatively basic health issues can be overblown
into much more severe conditions.
Even placing a symptom in a search engine like Google can lead a user down a rabbit
hole of misinformation and inadequate medical advice.
When in doubt, it's best to consult an in-person medical professional.
11.
The Rise of "Internet Fame" From makeup tutorials to gaming reviews to
video essays, the internet has made fame easier to achieve than ever before.
Because of popular video platforms like YouTube, relative unknowns are able to achieve superstardom
overnight from a single piece of content.
Others spend years cultivating a brand, building a view count and earning subscribers.
This has led to obscure, everyday folks with free accounts accruing showbiz representation,
record contracts, film and TV production deals, and huge success in fundraising for future
projects.
Sometimes, this type of fame can be accidental, as exemplified by funny videos or personal
appeals going viral.
It's clear that, in the digital age, the constant presence of recording devices can
make a celebrity out of anyone.
10.
Social Media With the rise of online social communities
like MySpace and Facebook in the early-to-mid 2000s, the manner through which we communicate
irreversibly changed.
With the ability to re-establish contact with almost anyone, events like high school reunions
became pointless.
Families and friend groups shared images, videos and stories with speed and efficiency
that had never before been possible.
Dating apps and sites altered the dynamic of romance and courtship among couples.
Blog sites provided platforms for awareness, activism and shared interests that were previously
unimaginable.
In an age of near-constant contact with the outside world in one form or another, human
beings have never been more connected than we are now.
9.
Digitized Archival Memory In addition to the information stored on social
media, the internet created a paradigm shift in data storage and backup.
Through the use of safe-keeping avenues like secure websites and the cloud, information
can be conserved in greater volume and for longer periods of time than if left in its
physical form.
A prime example of this is the storage and maintenance of medical records, which used
to be vulnerable to loss or miscategorization when maintained in old-fashioned filing systems.
But as more and more hospitals, universities and medical facilities began to digitize patient
records, the shift enabled improved care and the avoidance of potentially life-threatening
mistakes.
The benefits also extended to the law enforcement community, with police departments and intelligence
agencies all over the world now able to rapidly share decades-old evidence and case histories
with each other.
These new tools also have unsettling implications, especially when considering the existence
of digital libraries like the Internet Archive, which provides near-universal access to everything
ever posted online, including that embarrassing Facebook post from when you were in eighth
grade.
8.
The Decline of Print Journalism Beginning in 2000, print publications saw
an unprecedented decline in their readership.
The drop was far from an anomaly, as it quickly became clear those subscribers would not return.
In the first 15 years of the New Millennium, printed advertising revenue fell by 40 billion
dollars.
This proved to be a crippling blow to the medium.
The availability of news provided via digital platforms progressively made newspapers and
magazines irrelevant to the modern age.
As online and televised competitors continued to raise the bar by producing minute-to-minute
coverage, requiring consumers to wait for daily or weekly issues simply became unrealistic.
While some outlets have survived by establishing online editions or being overtaken by larger
conglomerates, many have ceased to operate.
7.
The Modern Music Industry After the peer-to-peer MP3 sharing website
Napster launched in 1999, music distribution was never the same.
While it did not survive in its original form, Napster's business model and commercial
appeal was quickly replicated by other cross-platform media distributors.
As more households acquired internet access over the following decade, music consumption
continued to defy the conventional approach of recording companies and labels.
This has led to widespread conflict and litigation.
Over the past few years, music streaming services like Spotify have suffered backlash over compensation
of artists for the use of their music, leading some of those artists to pull their content
from the applications.
Regardless of the ensuing controversies, the popularity of music sharing and streaming
signifies that it is here to stay, consistently forcing the music industry to adapt.
6.
Advertisement-Free Entertainment As video streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu
and Amazon Prime became more widely used, many people gave up their cable subscriptions
in favor of binge-viewing content on their own schedules.
This created an unparalleled crisis for traditional advertisers, many of whom had come to rely
on televised events to sell their products.
While major spectacles like sporting occasions and 24-hour news continue to draw viewers
to the established televised format, the partial shift in consumption has rattled corporate
sponsors in numerous ways.
To address the unwelcome loss of target demographics, corporate sponsors have inserted subtle forms
of product placement into TV shows and monetized media like YouTube videos with sporadic commercial-like
ads.
As viewership continues to grow more and more convenient, the commercials and advertisements
that many of us grew up with may eventually become antiquated reminders of an obsolete
sales formula.
5.
The Loss of Languages Conservative estimates indicate that at least
one language created by mankind reaches extinction every two weeks.
Of the over 7,000 languages currently spoken, an overwhelming majority of them are comprehended
by 100,000 people or less.
And many of those have never been properly documented or preserved.
While most experts consider language loss to be an inevitable repercussion of human
progress on Earth, it is widely believed that the Internet has greatly accelerated the process.
With only about 500 languages used in online spaces, reliance on the Internet has caused
many across the globe to leave their native languages behind in search of greater opportunity
and immersion with the international economy.
This trend tends to favor western nations, perhaps most noticeable in the general lack
of web content written in Hindi, despite the fact that it is a language spoken by over
310 million people.
4.
Online Banking and Bill Payment When the Internet surpassed visits to local
branches as the go-to option for banking, customers found themselves relieved of the
threat of dealing with long lines, temperamental tellers or inconvenient business hours.
This change reaches beyond everyday convenience, as complex processes like applying for mortgages
and loans can now be done online.
As a result, the entire financial system has had to adjust to the new technological landscape.
But as sensitive information continually reaches the digital domain, larger numbers of people
have become vulnerable to identity theft and the loss of their savings.
While many different safeguards have been introduced as new threats continue to emerge,
the ability of banks to maintain the trust of their customers is no longer as certain
as it was before the dawn of the Internet.
3.
Online Shopping and Its Effect on Retail As reliance on digital resources has expanded
over the past ten years, the retail industry has suffered deeply.
Unable to keep up with the appeal of online competitors, retailers like JCPenney have
been forced to lay off thousands of their employees.
This occurs as companies like Amazon open up new warehouses that bring jobs of different
skill levels with them in service of an ever-expanding customer base that chooses to pick out items
from the comfort of home.
The tilt from in-person shopping to online shopping is happening at a faster rate than
most economic experts originally expected.
The term widely applied to this shift is known as "creative destruction," the process
by which modern industrial enterprises replace those incapable of maintaining pace with a
changing market.
If the slide in favor of at-home shopping continues at its present rate, as many economists
expect it will, traditional retail venues like shopping malls may soon become shuttered
ghost towns.
As retail companies continue to face a choice between increased productivity or insolvency,
the effects of the Internet on this once-sprawling industry have become devastatingly clear.
2.
The Slow Disappearance of Libraries and Encyclopedias While public and school-based libraries still
exist, their function and use to the communities they serve has changed significantly.
Since most people can buy, rent or check out books online, or even read them entirely on
a digital platform, the traditional need for libraries has been eroded.
Today, many libraries serve the purpose of providing free Internet access to students
or individuals unable to afford web access at home.
This has turned these libraries into venues for use of the very thing that has driven
their slide towards irrelevance - the Internet.
Furthermore, the days of relying on encyclopedias to write research papers are most certainly
over.
Due to the ability of online educational resources to provide up-to-date information regarding
an almost endless range of subjects, bound volume encyclopedias now seem like an outdated
reminder of what the research and fact-finding process used to be.
1.
Self-Medication Through Technology According to a 2009 survey conducted by the
Pew Research Center, an estimated three fourths of Internet users turned to the web to relieve
stress or fear related to the fallout from the 2008 Financial Crisis.
It turns out this occurrence is not isolated to the repercussions of one chain of events.
According to medical experts, the psychological and emotional lift that comes from switching
on or logging in has proven short-term benefits to those experiencing exterior anxieties.
But just like with regular medication, the danger comes when the resource is overused.
Addiction to media is a known ailment that can harm both creativity and a sense of self-worth.
In the same way television, along with theatre and literature before it, provided hope to
those down on their luck, it is also apparent that Internet use can provide us with the
sense of belonging we need in the moments when we feel most isolated.
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