Internet as a Form of Communication and Its Misconception

One of the most talked, known and controversial issues today is the Internet. Internet is a large network made up of a number of smaller networks. Almost every computer in an educational facility and in home and small office use is connected to some type of a network. People spent a lot of time on the Internet, which may make them seem isolated. However, the Internet does not foster isolation, because it may be used for many different things like communication, education, problem solving and etc.

The concept for the Internet was to make a link in to a new world, a world that has many different opportunities within its self. To gives the people options to go to China, Italy, and Egypt without spending a lot of money on the trip. To open new experiences and ideas that are just a click of a button away. The idea of going on to the internet for almost every thing may make the person seem isolated. Isolated from people, form culture, from education, from communication to other people, but in reality they are not isolated. The internet gives variety. It might not give physical opportunity to visit Japan or Russia, but it gives almost the same emotional and cultural experiences. A person does not have to read a newspaper on the train or go to an art gallery to be cultured and not seem isolated; a person just has to do what feels right at a certain time.

The Internet also gives a misconception about communication. Internet is a different world that has the idea of communication in a different perspective. To communicate people don”t have to see one another, or hear one another they just have to be able to understand one another. The Internet provides just that. This may seem like isolation because no physical contact is present, and some or all of the things that are said might not be true. This is a misconception. People that are talking face to face with one another might be lying or might not be; the same is said for the Internet conversations. “People whose physical handicaps make it difficult to form new friendships find that virtual communities treat them as they always wanted to be treated” (Rheingold 206). Equality and understanding is the key, and the virtual community provides that and much more.

Advice is also one of the keys for equality and understanding. As we all know advice in today”s world is not free, and most of the time you need to make an appointment to get that expansive help. The internet provides advice that is free and at the same time on the spot. In Urbana, Illinois, the Federal Department of Education has set up a network for parents, teachers, community workers, and etc. that have questions concerning children, financial assistance, educational assistance, and etc (Thomas).

The Internet is not only for fun and games, but it is also for problem solving of all types. This is not the only site of this sort; Howard Reingold logged onto the Well, when he needed an answer in a matter of seconds. What amazed him when he logged on “wasn”t just the speed with which we obtained precisely the information we needed…it was also the immense inner sense of security that comes with discovering that real people…are available, around the clock, if you need them” (Rheingold 202).

The idea of Internet advice may seem like isolation, but it is not. It helps people with real problems to get real advice. The ones giving advice once were getting some type of advice. The idea behind these help links are for real people to talk to real people not necessarily professionals, but with people who had real life experiences, and who see it on a more personal level. This gives emotional support to those who need it and trust that just comes along.

Although the internet brings communication to different communities as well as different individuals, it also plays as an educational source. Many educational facilities are starting to conduct courses on the Internet. They are also using “Web pages to post class materials and other resources” (Mendels) for student on the Internet for faster and easier access by the students. Some educators are also requesting and requiring for their students to have an e-mail address. An e-mail address gives less paper work for the professor, and an easier access of the professor for questions and faster responses. Since the demand of computer knowledge has increased, this is a perfect way to start learning. The Internet also provides a wide variety of encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, etc, for educational reasons, and the more people will use the Internet the more they will learn. Education does not have to be the old fashion way, it has to provide and teach different experiences that may not otherwise be available.

The Internet is a world that is available to each and every person, but how that person uses it, is how the opinion of isolation forms. If each and every person would use the Interne for education, than there would be too many educated people. We are all very lucky that we have so much opportunity in our access, but a lot of us don”t know how to use it, and for what. That”s where education plays a big role, it does two things at once gives general and computer knowledge. The more we learn the more we know, and isolation is not one of the thing that the Internet provides.