The InternetThe internet is a global network of computers that allow people worldwide to share information & to communicate electronically.Nowadays the growth and health of our digital economies and societies depend on the protocols and infrastructure of the internet. Internet protocols and infrastructure provide good benefits to everyone in the world (Author et al.,2016).
The internet is the work of scientists, programmers and engineers who each developed new features to suit the information superhighway however, during the 1960’s, computer scientists developed the concept of “packet switching”. Packet switching is a method used for effectively transmitting electronic data that would later become one of the major building blocks of the internet (Andrews, E. 2013).The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late 1960s with the creation of ARPANET, or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. ARPANET uses packet switching in order to allow multiple computers to communicate with each other on a single network. APRANET continued to grow in the 1970s after scientists Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, this was a communications model that set standards for how data could be transmitted between multiple networks (Andrews, E.
2013).From there researchers began to assemble the “network of networks” that we today know as the modern Internet. The online world then took on a more recognizable form in 1990, when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is often confused with the Internet, the web is the most common means of accessing data online in the form of websites and hyperlinks. The web helped popularize the Internet among the public and served as an important step in developing the vast addition of information that most of us now access on a daily basis.Internet MotivesThere are several motives for the use of internet.
Some people use the internet for entertainment when they feel lonely, to participate in discussions and to meet other people. Some people use the internet for convenience because sometimes people find it easier to say something online that in person. The internet is also a communication utility where you can leave messages for people when they are not close to you or when you want to have a short conversation with someone. The internet is a social utility where no one needs to know your real identity (remain anonymous).Advantages and Disadvantages of using the InternetAdvantagesI believe that there are more advantages than disadvantages of using the internet. Firstly, the internet provides people with a lot of information, it can also be useful when you are looking for a job in such a way that you can research more about the job you want to do and if that job suits your personality and what you have studied at school and university.
The internet can also be used for online shopping if you ever need something inaccessible and this can be done by the tips of your fingers, you just have to select what you want, fill in your details and the then click OK and you will get what you wanted in a few days without having to go anywhere. With internet, nowadays you can even pay your credit cards and transfer money this is much faster than having to travel to the bank and having to stand in long ques when you get there. Another advantage of internet is email.
Emails are way faster than having to go to the post office to send something (e.g. a letter) to someone that’s in another country as you.
DisadvantagesWe all know that where there is an advantage there is a disadvantage. The first disadvantage for using the internet is that if you spend too much time sitting in front of the computer you can easily get sick because the radiation emitted by the computer can be very harmful to your eyes. Sitting for a long time is also harmful to your spine. Another disadvantage is that internet can be addictive, it can be addictive to the point that some people can not live without it these people are people who have no friends and when the internet is down they tend to get furious.Another disadvantage is that with access to billions of people and computers, the internet makes it simple for computer hackers and despiteful users to hack accounts and steal personal information that could be used for identity theft. The Internet also connects all computers to each other and this makes it easier for hackers to scan millions of computers and quickly identify which computers are unprotected and easy to attack (computer hope. 2017).
What is Social media?Miller (2016: 4) defines social media as forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other contents. Examples of social media are:-FacebookInstagramTwitterWhatsAppSkypeFacebookFacebook is one of the most used social networks in the world. It was created by a Harvard computer science student, Mark Zuckerberg. On the fourth of February 2004, Mark set in motion a website called “TheFacebook”. He created this site so that students could get to know each other better. (Bellis, M.
2018)TheFacebook application was then restricted to only Harvard students. As time passed Mark Zuckerberg asked a few of his friends to help him broaden the website, each student had a different part to play. For example, Eduardo Saverin worked on the business end while Dustine Moskovitz was brought on as a programmer, Andrew McCollum served as the site’s graphic artist and Chris Hughes became the de facto spokesperson.
Together these students spread the site to additional universities and colleges. (Bellis, M. 2018)In 2005 the TheFacebook application was purchased by Napster founder and angel investor Sean Parker for $200,000, the sites name then changed from TheFacebook to just Facebook. In 2006 the application was then expended so that high school students could also be able to use it and also anyone that was at least 13 years old had had a working email address. In 2009 it was statistically proven that Facebook was the most used social network till today. (Bellis, M.
2018)
