The Internet Is What You Make It.

After reading the articles and watching the videos assigned for this week, I have come to the conclusion that you cannot answer the question “What is the internet?” with a definite answer.

However, if I had to answer this question, I would say that the internet is what you, and society as a whole makes it. We cannot control the overwhelming influence that the internet has. There is so much on the internet that one cannot objectively say “The internet makes you smarter” or “The internet makes you dumber”, because the way the internet effects people depends on how they are using it and what they are making of it.

With open source software and programs like Wikipedia, people can use the internet to make themselves and others smarter. Sharing valuable information through media has been happening long before the internet, but now this information is made much more accessible. The more people that are exposed to this information are made smarter, and in turn they can share this knowledge with others.

This process could also have the opposite effect. If someone shares either false knowledge or information that doesn’t progress society, people can take interest in this and make themselves “dumber”.

In the video A Vision of Students Today, the students in the classroom suggest that their exposure to technology and the internet is making their lives less valuable. Just because someone spends time on the internet doesn’t mean that the way they spend their time is pointless.

Unlike what is suggested in this video, we as a society cannot ignore the way technology has changed our lives. This video focuses on the negative. Time taken away from education, time spent on social media, and time spent communicating with others shouldn’t be the way that we define the internet, but rather side effects of the internet.

We can’t limit the use of the internet and the influence it has on our lives, but we can change the way we use it as a tool to better society as a whole.