Jasmine Lem
February 11, 2020
Around the 1950s (1) when digital technology was introduced to the world, these inventions became revolutionary as they began to influence the way people live today. Such technologies allow people to have electronic access to information, which is the ability to get information of any type of medium from an electronic device. For instance, electronic access information includes instant messaging, the use of apps, websites, blogs, video sharing sites, and many more. Although this has changed the way many people live today, the positive and negative effects must be considered, as well as the way this influences the lives of others around the world.
When the first webpage was launched in 1990, records show that only 0.5% of the world's population was online. Then in 2000, about half of the population of the US was on the internet, however most of the world was still offline. Regions such as East Asia, the Pacific, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa were almost completely offline. 15 years later, data shows how many of these statistics have changed, with Iceland at the top of the rankings with 98% of its population online. In contrast, there are still several countries whose statistics have yet to change. The majority of these countries are in Africa, such as Somalia, the Central African Republic, Niger, and Madagascar, however North Korea is the country found at the very bottom of the list. Access to global internet is only granted to a very small group of people, due to North Korea's extremely oppressive government. Overall, the global trend of internet use greatly increased over the years, and continues to grow every day. (2)
The following list shows which countries have the most internet users; Notice how countries, such as China and India, have the most users, yet the percentage of the country's population on the internet is relatively low. (3)
According to the Global Digital Report 2019 (4), there has been a 9% global increase in social media usage; however, the amount of usage from country to country still differs. The three main reasons for why this is the case is because of a country's economy, average age, and culture. (5) For instance, there is plenty of data suggesting that a country's economy is primarily related to its social media usage, as the countries with the lowest usage are predominantly developing, in contrast to the ones with the most usage, that have strong economies. Additionally, sources such as the Pew Research Center, state that the majority of social media users are young adults (6). Therefore, if a country's average age is lower, it will tend to have more social media users. Besides the significance of a country's economy and average age, its culture can also contribute to its social media usage, as certain countries will value social media more if they have a more societal culture. Nevertheless, the growing popularity of social media has had several impacts on the way people all around the world live and make decisions. (7)
Although there is a large range of economic stability of internet and social media users in different countries, the use of these resources can help developing countries through spreading awareness, funding, and much more. (8)
People around the world use electronic information everyday, so it is no surprise that it comes with many benefits. The two main advantages are having a quick and large supply of information with convenience, and the ability to connect with others. (9) The internet contains an endless supply of information that people all around the world have access to, at the click of a button. Not only can one search for a specific answer, but they can gain such information in seconds. Moreover, this allows people to learn more about the world with ease. This is the reason that people have begun to use electronics to store their information, as it is easily accessible and can hold a lot of information. In addition, having electronic access to information allows people all around the world to connect with each other. This helps people by being able to maintain relationships with others, as well as being able to communicate with others in seconds. Furthermore, this promotes better communication for companies and friends and family. The benefits of electronic information are not limited to the points stated above, and also include entertainment, mapping, boosting the economy, education, and plenty more. (10)
On the other hand, electronic access to information also poses several disadvantages, such as being a distraction and violating people's privacy. (11) For example, the countless number of social media platforms, tempts people to be on their phones for extensive periods of time and distracts people from tasks of much greater importance. This is especially crucial for younger people, as this takes away from the proper work habits they should be developing for the future. Not only that, but digital technology makes it easy for people to easily access and store private information, making it difficult to keep personal data safe. There are so many sites on the internet, that it is hard to know which ones to trust, which is why users should always be aware and cautious. (12) Additionally, other negative factors of electronic access to information can include plagiarism, false information, social disconnect, and crime.
Click here for the answers