The Internet is the largest source of information in the world today. Since its conception in 1973, the Internet has grown at a whirlwind rate. So why is the Internet so popular? Though many adults use it as part of the workplace, the number of children and teenage users - who more often use the Internet for entertainment - has continued to be high. College students like myself spend countless hours on the internet researching and talking to friends. Most of this rise in usage can be attributed to the rise of the number of computers in homes. It could be the openness and freedom it gives a person; it might be the wealth of information available, and the ease of use. People may be lured to the connectivity it can provide to others the world over. With its web sites and chat rooms, the Internet is a means of communicating with people in places all over the face of the earth. But is this social technology a detriment to the social skills of society?.
Development of the Internet began about 30 years ago. In 1973, the U.S. Defense Research Projects Agency developed a program to research how to inter-link various types of networks. The objective was to develop protocols that would allow networked computers to communicate transparently across multiple, linked networks. They called it the Internetting project and the system of networks that resulted was known as the Internet. Since that time, various other research projects, such as those conducted by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, have shaped and tailored this technology to give us the Internet as the world knows it today (Cerf).
The Internet provides a way for the world to be connected, even if you are hundreds of miles away. With the web sites and chat rooms, the communication possibilities are limitless. But with all this power now available at one's fingertips, it is questionable whether "simple humans" are capable of interacting with such a powerful communication source without having negative effects.
