Bradley manning.Most of us you might have heard this name.He was the guy who leaked the US army secrets to wikileaks and is subsequently being tried for that 'offence'.I'm not going into legalities but wasn't it due to him that we came to know about US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq?So no doubt he has a lot of supporters even in the US where he is being tried.But why did i mention him?Actually for quite a long time i have been thinking about the impact and extent of internet on the global politics ,society as well as culture and today i'll try to pen down although in brief what i've been thinking lately.But mind you i don't want to get into that technology freak vs the old man kind of debate as i don't believe in stereotype discussions.That kind of discussion is fruitless an it brings with it paranoia thus spoiling the very cause of a constructive discussion.
The internet no doubt is the greatest thing ever invented by mankind.The enormous ever increasing impact it has had on world governments,society and culture is remarkable.People have found a very cheap and easily accessible source of information right at their hands which had never been possible.Everything we did before can now easily be done through internet and the best part it saves us money and effort.Life had never been so comfortable.Everything governments and businesses around the world do can be accessed by anyone sitting anywhere in the world.All right i'll pause there as i'm not discussing the benefits of the internet.i concede internet has a lot of benefits but it is the wrong side which i want to explore and discuss.Most of people do not to get into that aspect and those who go pay the price,remember Julien Assange?Well right now he is locked up in Equador embassy in London and no one knows when he will be out.So moving on first of all we have to realize everything is not the way we see it.There are a lot of illusions which are intended for us so as to distract from the truth.What my point is that one must always be prepared to realize some strange truths which might resemble fiction.It is not that i've found something or i'm about to reveal some spicy truth but it is just that i've studied some things which have shaken my beliefs and want everyone to start as non believers.
All right,let's get back to internet.In this particular section i'll discuss the personal aspects i.e the impacts of internet on your personal life.The internet has revolutionized the way we communicate.We now have a lot of social networking sites,blog sites,youtube as well as thousands of discussions forums.So i think it is possible that within a few years we wouldn't feel the need for physical communication i mean talking.Everything can be done using your keyboard!People here in Delhi and elsewhere are on that course i can feel it.When i was a kid we used to go out everyday in the evening to play and share our school experiences with other guys in the colony.We even played football in the mud when it was rainy season!Now i see kids doing everything on the computer after school.I don't know they even get out to play or not.Being online is the new trend.Some people wake up with facebook and sleep with facebook !Every one wants to be online 24x7 and do stuff not necessary of course.Being in touch with people is one thing but there is so much clicking,liking,sharing and commenting these days i think we are looking at a future when everything will be done using these basic things only.
Showing off which seems synonymous with 'urban' culture has multiplied manifold thanks to the internet.With their profiles on hundreds of websites it seems a hectic task to manage all of them and yes get appraisal as well.Not for the people of today after all we were built for showoff so,what's wrong in showing oneself off in a 100 different 'avatars'!This is the level we are talking.I don't know whether i live in the same land where self was not even considered important some time back.Some call it westernization of our country i call it degradation.
Then we have the 'learnt' men.They are found everywhere on the internet in fact i think it is default that you know everything once you are on internet.'i don't know' is the most precious phrase to type and i don't think a lot of people type it!The garbage that we find on the internet is because of these guys only and the worse part?there is no law anywhere to stop these stupid people from typing!And it has a very adverse impact on the way opinions are made,i'm talking young people here.I mean the youth tend to believe everything on the internet and that too blindly.Tell anyone this God from this ancient book had 4 arms,he'll laugh it off.Tell him i read it on the internet,he'll pay some attention.And show him the stupid site where you read it,he'll believe it straightaway.Such is the belief of the internet.The problem with today is that everyone knows a lot or thinks that he does.With such 'knowledge' at hand the entire meaning of being educated is taking a horrible turn.Information and knowledge are two different things.Information might prove useless after a certain time but education is ever fruitful.
A lot of studies have shown that internet is making us dumb.Obviously i can't validate their observations but i can certainly agree with them looking at the modern day changes.With Google these days at the tip of your hands it feels useless to remember things.The result is that we are losing capability to retain memories.Our forefathers could remember more things than we do.Other thing is that we are being lazy because of the internet.I agree to some point but its technology and our thinking rather than the internet which is making us lazy.That was the impact that internet has had on us because of ourselves but there are a lot of things which are beyond our control and only cautious eyes can see them.
I will talk a little about privacy here.Privacy is something which everyone seeks.There are private moments in everyone's life which can embarrass a person once out in public.Then there are personal data which can cause sufficient damage if released.With internet everywhere these days can we expect privacy?Believe me it is very difficult to be private once the data is out there on the internet.If you follow the news you might know the US govt asked for all the users' telecom data from Verizon and they gave it as well.I don't know what they will do with it as they have the same age old excuse-fight terrorism.We as users put a lot of data everyday on the internet.Some are meant for public such as our blogs,photos,tweets and comments on various sites while some are private such as data in dropbox or google drive or personal photos on flicker.Mind you i'm only talking common user here businesses and governments are intentionally excluded because of my lack of knowledge about their data handling/processing.Then there is your data which companies and government put on the internet which is obviously not private.Within a few years there will be some information of each and every individual living in this country.The govt is even working towards preparing NPR(national population register) to ensue every one is present in their database.Keeping it to themselves seems fair but i don't know why so much information about everyone is there in public domain.
The internet has had no doubt a heavy impact on the generation of today and it does have a lot of benefits but there is also flip side to every coin.I've tried to understand and present that flip side in maybe worst way possible.
The internet no doubt is the greatest thing ever invented by mankind.The enormous ever increasing impact it has had on world governments,society and culture is remarkable.People have found a very cheap and easily accessible source of information right at their hands which had never been possible.Everything we did before can now easily be done through internet and the best part it saves us money and effort.Life had never been so comfortable.Everything governments and businesses around the world do can be accessed by anyone sitting anywhere in the world.All right i'll pause there as i'm not discussing the benefits of the internet.i concede internet has a lot of benefits but it is the wrong side which i want to explore and discuss.Most of people do not to get into that aspect and those who go pay the price,remember Julien Assange?Well right now he is locked up in Equador embassy in London and no one knows when he will be out.So moving on first of all we have to realize everything is not the way we see it.There are a lot of illusions which are intended for us so as to distract from the truth.What my point is that one must always be prepared to realize some strange truths which might resemble fiction.It is not that i've found something or i'm about to reveal some spicy truth but it is just that i've studied some things which have shaken my beliefs and want everyone to start as non believers.
All right,let's get back to internet.In this particular section i'll discuss the personal aspects i.e the impacts of internet on your personal life.The internet has revolutionized the way we communicate.We now have a lot of social networking sites,blog sites,youtube as well as thousands of discussions forums.So i think it is possible that within a few years we wouldn't feel the need for physical communication i mean talking.Everything can be done using your keyboard!People here in Delhi and elsewhere are on that course i can feel it.When i was a kid we used to go out everyday in the evening to play and share our school experiences with other guys in the colony.We even played football in the mud when it was rainy season!Now i see kids doing everything on the computer after school.I don't know they even get out to play or not.Being online is the new trend.Some people wake up with facebook and sleep with facebook !Every one wants to be online 24x7 and do stuff not necessary of course.Being in touch with people is one thing but there is so much clicking,liking,sharing and commenting these days i think we are looking at a future when everything will be done using these basic things only.
Showing off which seems synonymous with 'urban' culture has multiplied manifold thanks to the internet.With their profiles on hundreds of websites it seems a hectic task to manage all of them and yes get appraisal as well.Not for the people of today after all we were built for showoff so,what's wrong in showing oneself off in a 100 different 'avatars'!This is the level we are talking.I don't know whether i live in the same land where self was not even considered important some time back.Some call it westernization of our country i call it degradation.
Then we have the 'learnt' men.They are found everywhere on the internet in fact i think it is default that you know everything once you are on internet.'i don't know' is the most precious phrase to type and i don't think a lot of people type it!The garbage that we find on the internet is because of these guys only and the worse part?there is no law anywhere to stop these stupid people from typing!And it has a very adverse impact on the way opinions are made,i'm talking young people here.I mean the youth tend to believe everything on the internet and that too blindly.Tell anyone this God from this ancient book had 4 arms,he'll laugh it off.Tell him i read it on the internet,he'll pay some attention.And show him the stupid site where you read it,he'll believe it straightaway.Such is the belief of the internet.The problem with today is that everyone knows a lot or thinks that he does.With such 'knowledge' at hand the entire meaning of being educated is taking a horrible turn.Information and knowledge are two different things.Information might prove useless after a certain time but education is ever fruitful.
A lot of studies have shown that internet is making us dumb.Obviously i can't validate their observations but i can certainly agree with them looking at the modern day changes.With Google these days at the tip of your hands it feels useless to remember things.The result is that we are losing capability to retain memories.Our forefathers could remember more things than we do.Other thing is that we are being lazy because of the internet.I agree to some point but its technology and our thinking rather than the internet which is making us lazy.That was the impact that internet has had on us because of ourselves but there are a lot of things which are beyond our control and only cautious eyes can see them.
I will talk a little about privacy here.Privacy is something which everyone seeks.There are private moments in everyone's life which can embarrass a person once out in public.Then there are personal data which can cause sufficient damage if released.With internet everywhere these days can we expect privacy?Believe me it is very difficult to be private once the data is out there on the internet.If you follow the news you might know the US govt asked for all the users' telecom data from Verizon and they gave it as well.I don't know what they will do with it as they have the same age old excuse-fight terrorism.We as users put a lot of data everyday on the internet.Some are meant for public such as our blogs,photos,tweets and comments on various sites while some are private such as data in dropbox or google drive or personal photos on flicker.Mind you i'm only talking common user here businesses and governments are intentionally excluded because of my lack of knowledge about their data handling/processing.Then there is your data which companies and government put on the internet which is obviously not private.Within a few years there will be some information of each and every individual living in this country.The govt is even working towards preparing NPR(national population register) to ensue every one is present in their database.Keeping it to themselves seems fair but i don't know why so much information about everyone is there in public domain.
The internet has had no doubt a heavy impact on the generation of today and it does have a lot of benefits but there is also flip side to every coin.I've tried to understand and present that flip side in maybe worst way possible.
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