One of them 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

One of them 4 - Essay Example This paper shall look at the different ways in which the internet has affected the lives of people at the level of the individual and larger collectives like the nation. Many thinkers are of the opinion that the influence of the internet on people who are rich enough to afford it is so immense that in the years to come, it would deepen the gulf between those who have it and those who don’t (Hermeking). Apart from increasing the distance between the haves and the have-nots, it has also redefined what it means to be a have in an ever-changing society. To take the case of how people spend their money on shopping, a lot of the shopping for clothes, electronic goods and books is done on the internet at this point of time. There are an immense number of websites that offer goods to be bought online. This has changed the culture of the supermarket and the department store in a massive way. These sites for socialization have undergone changes as far as their social roles are concerned. This argument may be refuted by the claim that most of the perishable items that are consumed by people are still bought in stores that people physically go to. This s till, however, means a reduction in the spaces that are available for the socialization of people. This brings one to a discussion of the virtuality of the internet space. Beginning from internet chatrooms to online dating and social networking sites, the space of the internet has changed to that of a virtual one where people meet and talk without being themselves or otherwise. They do not, however, meet each other physically and the contact remains at a virtual level. This has been the subject of many a study and people have often referred to how this has reduced actual human contact in today’s world. This has led to changes in the way in which people approach relationships and human emotions. Shawn P. Wilbur has talked about this phenomenon and