Ms Goh's GP blog

Do you agree that the Internet has created more barriers than it has broken down?

At this particular epoch of time, we live a life that is more facilitated by the Internet than ever before. Not only has it broken down communication barriers between people, it has also improved the society economically. People are able to have smoother business transactions, be able to communicate with people all over the world and go about performing other daily chores without taking a single step out of their homes. However, why is it that people of recent times have less social interaction with others than generations before? Has the Internet created more barriers or broken them? I am inclined to believe in the latter.

The Internet is an efficient tool in helping individuals and businesses to overcome geographical, cultural and logistical barriers. Not only does it reduce time and distance required in accomplishing a task that would have been at least twice in magnitude if done the conventional way, it also simplifies complex business processes and creates faster and more effective communication. Gradually, as these barriers fade away, more individuals and small companies are able to participate in the global economy, regardless of their location or time. For example, Kenny’s Bookshop, a small book and gift shop in Ireland was the pioneering bookshop in Europe to advertise and sell their products on the internet. It now takes care of hundreds and thousands of orders worldwide and reaps millions of dollars in revenue. Hence, it is now possible for a small company to overcome huge advertisement cost barriers that would once be available only to the larger companies, thus proving why it is logical to say that the Internet has indeed broken down more barriers than creating them.

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are examples of the rapidly growing array of web services and tools which exploit new media’s power to bring people together. The internet has been effective in breaking down barriers between people as networking sites allow one the opportunity to know and get closer to another person. The cyber world broadens the social network of people which in turn stimulates further communication between people. The Pew Internet and American Life Project conducted a study with American Internet users and found that the networking sites of the Internet actually helps users maintain relationships with people in their networking circle or beyond instead of breaking them as some mistakenly believed. Users are also more proactive in finding opportunities to socialize through these networking sites instead of staying home all day long, which was the wrong assumption made by many in the past. People in different parts of the world are now able to communicate better with the invention of the Internet today. For example, an employer can connect with his employees through the use of video conferencing; a family member studying or working overseas will still be able to communicate with his family members through the use of web-camera; people are able to learn about different cultures across the planet through video and music sharing websites like YouTube and Imeem. This will indefinitely help promote better inter-familial and racial ties. Hence, it is undeniable that the Internet breaks down barriers instead of creating them.

However, it is not to say that the Internet does not have its flaws. As improvements in technology have sped up exponentially in recent times, the majority of frequent internet users are mainly those from the newer generations. This has caused a gradual increase in the gap between the computer illiterate and literate. Furthermore, the computer literate, that is, the newer generation, are using abbreviations that many of the older generations do not understand, thus making communications through e-mailing or any other forms with the Internet as its medium difficult. This would ultimately result in the exacerbation of the generation gap. However, this situation can be easily remedied. Take for example, Singapore. The Singapore government has put in millions of dollars to re-educate the increasing older generation through the setting up of institutions like the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) which equips the greying population in Singapore with sufficient Information Technology (IT) skills which may assist them in communicating and coordinating with the younger generations and hence improving work efficiency. This shows how the Internet if used with the correct skills can negate its minor flaws.

Another shortfall of the Internet is that it is a readily available platform whereby people, regardless of age, religion, sex are able to legally share their ideas and thoughts to the global internet audience. This may not be a good thing. Consider what consequence may be resulted if extremist groups like the Al-Qaeda or Jemaah Islamiya (JI) are allowed to freely use the net to influence gullible teenagers to join in their cause. This should call for a more wary eye among the net surfers to recognize such websites and be able to call on their moral values to differentiate what is morally right or wrong.

Experts suggest that within 10 years, half the world’s population – 3.5 billion people by then – will have access to the Internet. A connected world on such a scale will no doubt create even more extensive network between people from different nations and cultures. This new global connectivity would result in the acceleration of economic and social development. At the same time, it may also cause the worsening of the flaws of the Internet. However, I believe that the shortcomings of the Internet will be negated by its superiority in complementing communications and will continue to break down barriers to create a level playing field for companies, countries and individuals around the world. I thus conclude that the internet breaks down barriers than creating them.

Bing Hong, Continue with the great work! You discussed the topic with sensitivity. You managed to bring out the complexities of the issue. :)

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