The Internet

History

Negative Effects

An example of an adverse effect stemming from globalization caused by the internet is its impact on students. While the internet provides countless amounts of helpful resources, many articles display concerns over the impact of social media technologies like Facebook and how it is impacting college students' work, with some research claiming that, while the upperclassmen tended to use the internet to aid their schoolwork, the underclassmen tended to spend their time on the internet browsing social media and similar programs. The study also showed that those who spent more time on social media often had lower GPAs. Another study from 2013 reported on the addictive effects of the internet and how it could produce unfavorable changes in mood, behavior, social ability, and sleeping patterns, among other behavioral issues¹.

Positive Effects

The advent of the internet, paired with the growing popularity of the personal computer in the early 2000s, led to a rapid growth of resources and tools on the internet. Even during this time, people and companies were trying to find ways to utilize the capabilities of instant messaging effectively. During the 2000 - '01 school year, the University of Buffalo library system experimented with a system for students to communicate with librarians over an online messaging software. In surveys about the experimental messaging system, many students stated they could save time by asking the librarians questions online. Some said that, had there not been the messaging system, there would have been no reasonable way for them to have contacted the librarian since they were out of state or, in one case, a single mother with no opportunity or availability to go to the library in-person².

Another significant benefit of the internet for students is accessing massive information databases. Additionally, anybody -- not just students -- can access large amounts of information, educational or not, that only exist on the internet. This ability to learn information outside of having to access and read physically said information has been revolutionary. It is one of the main reasons that the internet grew into what it is today.

For a more personal example, had I not had access to the internet and the databases with information about the internet, radio, and telegraph, I would have had far more difficulty in doing this project.