The internet as a social entity

The internet as a social entity The internets remarkable rise in such a short period of time has changed the world enormously. When time is taken to look at the internet, its role within society and its affect on everyday life of people it is easy to see that the internet is influencing and reshaping the entire world, even those places where it is barely even known or used.  When looking at the internets lifetime it is hard to believe that anything could affect the lives of so many in such a short period of time. It is exciting to learn how much it has developed. Improvements like its availability, speed and sophistication leave the door wide open for what the future holds. The internet has taken on a life of its own. The internet itself has continued to improve and it appears that as it does people and society tend to change in their own ways accordingly. The idea of using the internet to share information across countries would have not been its’ main reason for developed but as time has moved on and technology improved it is now one of the key uses for the internet. In the space of 13 years, since WWW came about the internet has broken down cultural, international and language barriers in all aspects of life sport, business, leisure and travel. It really has made the world smaller.  I really enjoyed the quote from Marx. I think it really gets you to think about who or what is controlling our future. For example, do we use the internet to give us information so that we can get things done, help us make important choices on where to travel and what to buy? So that we can be in charge of our lives. Alternatively, is the internet simply spitting predetermined answers with existing paths and finish lines, thus choosing for us what social group we will dress like, what brand names we will buy and what news stories we will believe?