The development of mobile phones and new smart phones being released in the current day has had a major impact on the way many use the internet. Because of new smart phones they can connect to the internet on the move, and is much faster than previously, making the internet a part of there daily lives, they can use it while travelling to work to catch up or check emails etc. many companies now make apps for mobiles phones so that they can connect with customers and advertise using these apps so that they can connect constantly with all there customers instantly. Now smart phones face much better capability’s and give the user a better interface and example of this is the point and zoom making browsing much easier. New phone such as the Samsung galaxy and iphone, give the same interface and a normal computer and sometimes even the same speeds, now it has become the norm to have mobile phones at a much younger age this has also become apart of peoples lives, it has also been used as an entertainment system, games can be played using the internet and even with other users. Now anyone can connect to the internet pretty much 24/7 and most providers give unlimited data plans so you can use as much data as needed, but this is always dependant of your personal tariff.
Over the years the computers that are now more available and cheaper, they have become much faster with larger memory and faster processors and this has also made it easier to access the internet they now can handle more than previous thought possible.
All of the above have played a major factor in the increased use of the internet worldwide, and continue to do so, and I believe this will carry on in future as all of the above will continue to grow and cause the internet to also grow.
Academic impact on the internet
Technology has changed the academic environment largely. Before the internet students in higher education had to access knowledge using libraries and books, and may have had to pay for books they required, this has been the traditional way many student got there information for many years. Students used to do research using this method which was a very time consuming process, because of the internet this process is now much faster and can be done almost entirely online, using search engines and educational websites. Students now using search engines such as : , , and , because of these information is much easier accessible at a much aster rate and may not have to pay for this information as they previously had to, it is pretty much free to find research on the internet. Also such website such as Google books are very beneficial.
Now higher educational facilities like Wolverhampton University have many computer and Macs and this is a good example that shows the internet is having an impact on education and research. They provide large areas that previously used to hold book with computers as they are more effective and can provide a lot more information for the user.
There are many online specific libraries that publishers subscribe to and play a big part in university education, they provide free information, and example of this is Payne-Gallway have there text and publications online on the websites an example of this is .
Even in primary and secondary sectors the use of the internet has grown rapidly, this s due to new resources that can be accessed on the internet, they have become a part of children school life’s and education over the past years educational authorities/consultants have seen the potential of using the internet to access innovative sources that will help students learn, these can be video or interactive educational games. With in Wolverhampton schools the government have pushed the use of PDAs and net books within schools, to allow student to access more fun yet educational resources on the internet. Many schools now use the gadgets above more often and they are becoming apart of the school life, they are used as they are more interactive and engaging for the student but are still educational. There are many website that school may subscribe to access these websites they include such websites as . The use of blogs is used for educational purposes to evidence students work for the examiner/moderator. And example of the is , many UK universities and other universities in developed countries allow students to use free access to internet by provided wifi and computers connect to the internet all over campus. This enables students access the internet when required for there studies and can be done at almost any time. With in the educational structure there is the use of forums that allow students to connect with other and ask questions about further educational and allow the students to share/work projects together letting them build on collaborative working programmes enhancing the students educational experience.
Education is a biog reason for the growth and use of the internet as it has provided many with information they may not have been able to access previous it pushes may people around the world to use the internet to educate themselves where they could not before and has been sued to do research and studies to do work and this has been done by suing a vast amount resources and knowledge that can be accessed using the internet. The use of technology within education has increased the number of people accessing these website for these purposes.
Social impact on the internet
When the internet first came about, people used it for only when required and not much for personal benefits, they were not as educated as many people are today, as it was a new form of technology at the time. With the introduction of email people used the internet much more and began to communicate more using emails rather than using letters as they were free, they also became popular with in the average home in the 1990s and technology was also devolving as the internet started to become a part of the household, in the past few years the use of the social networking websites has become much more popular than in previous years, a few examples of these social networking websites are: : , , and . These types of website are not only popular but have become apart of many peoples lives, and some have it has become an addiction, they sue this to keep in contact with friends and family, they also use mobile phones to stay connected to these websites, so now they can be accessed on the go and pretty much anywhere, this can be done using just the internet or using a downloaded app for the specific social networking website, the app will provide notifications at all times allowing the user to be social at all times making it much easier to do so, you can also receive text alerts for this as well. An example of this would be that originally the users of face book could only send messages and update there profiles to inform others about themselves but recently they have updated there website, allowing more features, giving them features such are: sending private/public messages, instant messaging, video chats, add photo and videos, join groups/organisations, add people to you family, add your location, tag people in your status notifying they that your are posting about them, play games on the websites. In 2009 there were 350 million users of the website.
As well as face book there are many other socially networking websites, although there are many different social networking websites users many change due to boredom and not many features to entertain the user. So because of this social websites constantly change to ensure they keep there user base interested and do no lose them to another website. People can become addicted to socially networking websites, this impacts the growth of the internet as these people tend to use it much more than the average person.
With the use of web conferencing technology and software now widely available this is also adding to communication and socially networking to business meetings and helping people keep in tough with friends and relatives that live far away, for example large organisations such as Microsoft: would hold meetings using web conferencing to talk to other people working on the same project internationally to ensure everyone is doing the same thing. Chat rooms are also used a lot to communicate with others for both social and work settings.
As mentioned in the technology section online game via platforms/consoles players can play with other across the world, they can also interact with this using mics, to talk and tacitly play with others. This feature of playing and communicating with others has added to the social aspect and has increased the use of the internet as many people can play with friends and also talk to them for free.
People have become socially dependant on technology rather than speak to other they may just message them, creating social awkwardness that can be the opposite of the desired effect. There are many people that can not do with out the internet and social networking websites, many times a day this can be seen as a addiction. This is affecting and increasing the growth and use of the internet.
Political factors
Due to the recent growth of the internet there has been as need to safeguard those using the internet, this has been done by placing legislation and laws regarding the internet this is done to protect internet users and regulate the use of the internet. The growth of the internet and technology as discussed earlier has enabled people to transfer and move files and folders to one place to another this has obvious potential dangers were information could be intercepted by others and the privacy of one user may be violated, this I why the server providers must ensure your data is kept safe and secure and legislation ahs been pout in place to stop this from happening. For example I could place files on my Google drive account the company that provides this service, needs to ensure that the relevant security is in place to safe guard peoples files and documents as they may contain sensitive information, they must do this to ensure they meet the data protection law and computer misuse acts. Websites such as iTunes are used by many people to download music files legal, by buying them, But there are many other websites that you can access that give you illegal access to download the music one example of this would be: , were users can get music files for free but this is breaking the copyright act, this is also illegal and breaking the law as the people creating the music (artist) are not gaining profits from there produce, this is why this the law is in place to protect this data. Films can also be downloaded illegal, they may do this for personal use or may distribute illegal copies to sell on and make there own profits they may use websites such as , these types of activities although they are breaking the law they difficult to enforce and implement on the internet, because of this the growth on the internet has an effect on the politics and legislation and how it can be enforced.
If was to buy a product from a website such as I could pay for this online through a method such as PayPal or credit card both are relatively safe payment methods, organisation such as PayPal that hold your payment details and personal details must ensure that this information is kept secure as part of the data protection act and your safety. This information potentially be very sensitive if someone were to quire this, this I why legislation need to keep up with the development and growth of the internet to ensure users are safe at all times.
The use of the internet has grown rapidly and this is the same fro political party as they sue the internet to engage with the public as much as possible as they would like to promote there polices and advertise themselves and there parties as they would like other to joining or vote for them, we have seen this as many have released video clips, for example from David Cameron showing that he is a normal person as we are. The main party in power are using these sorts of media to there advantage and make an image that is in touch with the public. The increased use of the internet has also enabled pornographic images and videos, and this is obviously a politic concern, this may be easily accessible to younger audience, an example of this would be Gary glitter was convicted of child pornography in Thailand 1997. this shows that the growth of the internet has made these types of material more accessible via the internet. Although the websites must ensure the users are only 18 and above this is not very secure as you must only click one box the access the website.
In the year 2000 the children’s internet protection act was introduced requiring schools and libraries to block pornography websites; the software filters all websites and images with 8% of flesh showing.
There are many other controversial topics such as racism is discussed over the internet, this can have both positive and negative effects depending on who enters the or sees the form, because anyone can see this information, this can be a controversial matter. For example, when the footballer Fabrice collapsed on the field, someone posted on a social networking website, offensive language towards the player. This person was later jailed for this. With the rise an growth on the internet politics are affecting the use of the internet by the many laws that are now in place to protect peoples information, how ever these laws are difficult to enforce as it is not possible as the internet is to large to fully monitor, there is no governing body for the internet, at the current time, as this is something that many have been calling for as it needs to be regulated strictly some believe.
