The Internet as Necessary Tool for the Revolution of the World

Introduction

The Internet is a critical tool in this world because the web runs almost all the sectors in the world. It involves interconnection of computers that includes the reception and sending of data. Data reception is called downloading whereas sending information is known as uploading. The internet has made the world a global village due to the ability to interact with people who are in different geographical locations through computers. Many people run businesses when they are abroad through the internet. The internet also carries out money transfer. Some people work full time and part time from the comfort of their homes through the web. The internet has also created some cultures that did not exist due to the blending of cultures all over the world. The internet has propagated the western culture to other parts of the world including Africa and Asia. It is threatening to bury the original culture of the areas. The internet has also propagated bad behaviors among the people. It has spread pornography and prostituting in many parts of the world including among the young children (Tucker and Massad, 2005).

This paper seeks to assess the how the growth of the internet has affected the cultures across the globe and how it has led to the westernization and homogeneity of the world cultures. Most of the cultures are corrupted hence losing their integrity. The culture ranges from the dressing styles, the structure of the songs people sing, the food that people eat, the housing structures and designs and the economic activities. For instance, in Africa, people have resorted to the western models of the housing; the music copied the rap style and rhythm and blues. The change of culture has both positive and adverse effects (Dickinson, 2012).

Internet and culture

The internet is a powerful tool when it comes to mobilizing people hence unite people very efficiently especially through the social media platforms. The interaction of individuals coming from different places causes blending of the culture. Some people copy cultures if they think it is superior to theirs hence eroding their culture or blending their culture with the foreign culture hence leading to a brand new culture that never existed. In the human history, people's culture has always been affected by advancement in technology. The technophile advocates have always said that the internet improves the creativity and enlightens people. It is true that the web has caused transformed many spheres of human life such as education, how people interact and play and the way people work (Dickinson, 2012).

The websites affirm, harden or deepen the sentiments possessed by their visitors. The interaction with the internet may cause the young Muslims to go to the unexpected radical directions after they have developed attitudes towards radicalization. Analysts have described the relationship between radicalization as being both a dynamic and an interactive one. Through social media, sentiments that existed before gain clarity, meaning, and expression. Through the internet, new rituals, ideas, symbols, and identities are explored hence copied by people leading to the dramatic change of the culture into an exotic one or a new blend that has never existed. Therefore, the internet has influenced the rise of the Western jihadist culture to other countries leading to rising in terrorism.

People's culture has now been intertwined with the internet. Most of the individuals in the countries are members of the social media platforms. The African culture that involved a boy chasing a girl when she had been sent to buy commodities from a shop has been replaced by online dating which is a common phenomenon. People are even engaging in sexual activities with people they met on social media. The gay culture is a taboo in Africa, but in these days it is slowly getting into the system and may be legalized in future. These are some of the western cultures that have eroded the integrity of the African culture. The traditional weddings are now being replaced by church weddings and civil marriages. This is a deviation from the African culture.

In the west, online dating has offered several solutions to the social setting helping people who find it hard to get dating and marriage partners to find it easy to have them. Search for the solutions has recently stimulated online engagements among the people. Education as a culture was very informal among the African formal education has now gained popularity with more Africans graduating with certificates, diplomas, degrees and doctorates and engaging in research. This culture was improved by the emergence of the internet and social programs.

The western way of running the business is used in all the parts of the world. The practice of companies having websites and carrying out e-commerce was not found in Africa but was adopted from the western countries. The dollar culture is famous in the world which is one of the effects of technology. Technology has made some people be virtual slaves due to addiction to the various social platforms (Tanatova, 2016). The lives of young people have been influenced by the internet. Their childhood is mediated through social media where they copy what other young people do. The internet is accessed through mobile devices and desktops. The social media industry is growing to the point that there are mobile messengers to ease the communication among the people. Online peer pressure is blamed for causing various problems among the youth who use the Internet for communication. Peer pressure has led to the development of micro-cultures of drug usage, irresponsible sexual activities and many other evils that are not pleasing tin the society (Tanatova, 2016).

Texting and online communication have led to the evolution of language. Development of slang that comes from the blending of language and coming up with an entirely different language. Some of the phrases in the slang might be insulting when referring to the original languages. The slang might affect the children in schools since they will deviate from the original language. The new style brings new culture and symbols that define the youth and significantly impact their identities. It is also responsible for shaping the identity and status of the people. The events that take place online determine the life of the citizens offline.

Bedroom culture also came from the west. It involves the convergence of the whole family in front of the television for the purpose of entertainment and learning. Children enjoy a significant role when it comes to the construction of a media environment in the home. Some children have access to mobile devices, computers, and televisions in their rooms meaning that they have the ability to be online all the time. Youngsters are becoming amusing to the point of avoiding parental guidance since it blocks some websites they like but are inappropriate for them. The parents are always busy looking for money forgetting about the affairs of their children. This is what causes further deviation from the culture and norms. The future generation is under siege due to the extensive interaction through the social media and the emergence of some cultures that spread through the social media platforms (Thomas, 2016). The young people have recently forged the world that is distinct from the world their parents live. They pursue self-socialization by personalizing their media in an attempt to ensure that it directly relates to their interests as young people. They work this out by isolating themselves from another adult especially coming from the family they belong (Tucker and Massad, 2005).

The originally coded language that originated from the street communities in the United States of America has found its way to the rest of the world which is embarrassing to the people who want to keep the integrity of their language and discipline. The society is growing to be homogenous due to the excess interaction. The interracial marriage witnessed in many countries that are growing at a higher rate is a product of the extensive interaction (Thomas, 2016).

In Africa divorce wasn't as popular as it is now. There came technology then internet, and people knew that you could divorce your spouse you no longer love and go scot free. The Africans then followed suit, and now people are divorcing at a very high rate in the whole world. Single motherhood, which is a practice that originated from the west, is now very popular in Africa whereby the people become single mothers by choice. Children are now growing without their fathers. The practices have become so fast due to the absence of pressure that is meant to make people respect other people's opinions especially individuals who see the world from a different angle from how others view the world. Some people think that the social life and the online life are not related. The truth is that it is not so because someone cannot watch a video that is meant to radicalize him or she then forgets about it when they go offline. People will tend to practice what they watched on the media (Tucker and Massad, 2005).

Internet and politics

The society has witnessed outbreaks of resistance and social protests. The interactions through social media are blamed for the Arab uprising and Occupy protests, as well as the resistance against the government of the day in Hongkong, Ukraine, Egypt, Tunisia, by the people. The social media has been blamed for the uprising and the revolutionary movements in these countries. The culture of radicalization that was not present in the world has been propagated to other countries leading to many people in the country joining the Jihadists movement. The internet is said to be the dominant force behind the rising radicalization of the Muslim youths leading to the rise of terrorism. The power of social media to quickly radicalize people is called sudden radicalization. Through the internet, some Muslims have gone through the process of self-radicalization making them be hardcore criminals. The youths are already radicalized hence are looking for a platform to share their ideas and beliefs and probably recruit some more people into the network.

The internet has made the American society to become considerably less civil, ruder and very paranoid than it was in the recent past. The cultural degeneration came up as a result of access to internet platforms where contrary ideas and ideologies are propagated. The internet removes the barriers that prevented rudeness among the young people causing a culture of disrespect that is not good for the society. They can say anything online without fear of being punched or being arrested since many countries do not have adequate policies to control online interactions. Some of the things that people say online do not even get out of their mouths when offline. This type of western lifestyle has corrupted other parts of the world with youths speaking profanities making their parents a worried lot (Thomas, 2016).

Conclusion

The Internet is necessary for the revolution of the world. More information is now available for the people online. The internet has made banking easy, education efficient; it has done communications easy, cheap and effective for the benefit of the citizens. Many advantages can be attributed to the internet hence should be embraced by a generation that is technologically savvy. However, some care has to be taken especially when dealing with the youth and the children who do not know how to filter what gets in their brains. Such internet users should be protected for a better future and safeguarding of their mor...