The Consequences of The Internet 1
The Consequences of The Internet 1
There are many different definitions of the Internet. Summarizing the various aspects
of this technical phenomenon, the Internet is first and foremost a collection of electronic
networks created and used by the global community of different people for the purpose of
exchanging social information. Today, even the creators of the electronic web and active
Internet users often poorly represent its boundaries, content, and degree of order. In recent
years, the introduction of Internet technologies and services is proceeding fast. Consequently,
the Internet and its development affect the lives of people around the world. Some believe
that the Internet will be a blessing for the 21st century, while others argue that it only
threatens the well-being of humanity. Thus, despite the fact that the Internet has been
beneficial for many, its negative consequences outweigh its benefits because it threatens the
security of users, deliver a cultural intrusion, and allows the publication of absolutely any
The Internet is fraught with new problems and risks associated with information
security and data protection. The increase in information arranges, the number of transactions
and the global connection of mobile devices lead to the appearance of completely new
sources of threats. The overflow of technological devices has long been turned into the target
of hacker attacks. They obtain any device they are interested in, learn how it is protected, and
then easily invent a way of hacking (Filkins et al., 2016). If they hack it, then the protection
system cannot be updated quickly enough. As a result, there are serious problems of the
Internet security level, which means that people's houses, cars, and business become
vulnerable to the threats of a new technological era (Filkins et al., 2016). Today’s generation
is witnessing new revolution, which consists in the fast spread of the Internet (Filkins et al.,
2016). Apparently, this has a positive effect on all areas of human life but people should
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understand that at the same time, the number of threats aimed at devices connected to the
network will constantly grow. Therefore, it is vital to pay attention to the new issues of
Internet security. The only correct approach that will eliminate the possibility of taking
advantage of vulnerabilities for embedded devices, is the use of secure operating systems.
In addition, it should be noted that the human factor remains the most important threat
to Internet security. A fairly large amount of information sent through the world's web
attracts the attention of hackers (Fotinger and Ziegler, n.d.). Unauthorized access to the
Therefore, the introduction of operating systems with integrated security tools allows creating
an environment where "holes" are detected and an attacker cannot use them (Fotinger and
Ziegler, n.d.). Moreover, cybersphere is becoming a field of political and economic conflicts.
directed action (Fotinger and Ziegler, n.d.). More often, global corporations, business
structures, individual bank accounts become the target of hackers (Fotinger and Ziegler, n.d.).
Consequently, despite the fact that the Internet changes and improves ordinary life, it is
important to predict where threats are expected and how serious the challenges are. In order
to stay safe, companies and regular users need to think about possible security strategies on
the Internet.
Besides, the Internet has a significant cultural invasion while advocating Western
the popularization and spreading of ideas in the mass consciousness (Fuchs, 2014). It is
always aimed at shaping public opinion and performs the functions of virtual communication
and modeling of social existence competing with reality. Virtual propaganda of Western
cultural life on the Internet becomes a powerful manipulative tool of influence in promoting
human interests and preferences (Fuchs, 2014). Such properties of the web as interactivity
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and intentness contribute to reducing the time between the message and the expected result,
and different methods of influencing the network community help to find the right web group
and effectively interact with it (Fuchs, 2014). Besides, virtual propaganda is the most striking
manipulative phenomenon of artificial virtual reality, which reflects the essence of the
processes that take place in the changing of modern society and is closely connected with
out a global popularization and dissemination of ideas in the mass consciousness (Fuchs,
2014). Many researchers believe that it is easier to carry out propaganda activities with
people whose behavior in the virtual space of the Internet is typical and stereotyped (Fuchs,
2014). Hence, virtual propaganda is projected and constructed in the form of social
stereotypes - standards of behavior, virtual myths, and political illusions. Like virtual myths,
the Internet community is always aimed at shaping public opinion and actively performs the
civilization, in its essence, has become a spectator where artificial virtual reality directly
depends on political power. At the same time, the main designers of propaganda in the
information age are political leaders and the media, logically defining these realities and
Moreover, anyone can put any information and say it is based on a study, thereby,
misleading users, which indicates that there is a huge amount of information on the Internet
that cannot be trusted. Especially false information is affected by adolescents, who believe
almost everything published on the Internet (Ihlen, Bartlett and May, 2011). As children enter
a rich information space, they should be taught to analyze information and notice
manipulative messages. Because of their age, they do not know how to do this and are ready
to accept fake news for reliable. This is confirmed by a study by Stanford University on the
level of confidence of adolescents to content on the Internet space (Ingram, 2016). The
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results are shocking: usually, young people do not pay attention to the source of information,
do not distinguish between advertising and paid posts, as well as manipulation of information
(Ingram, 2016). The vast majority of high school students easily identify traditional
advertising, for example, banner ads but they do not recognize the disguised advertising
created in the form of a story or reportage from the event (Ingram, 2016). Also, senior
students showed excessive credulity. It turned out that most of the information presented in
the form of news was perceived uncritically and trusted by them (Ingram, 2016). Photos of
mutated flowers that allegedly grew after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima were fake and
taken from a photo shoot. However, many participants in the study did not have doubts about
the veracity of the information (Ingram, 2016). They did not even inquire about its source.
Less than 20% of respondents thought about confirming the photo, and almost 40% said that
this news is absolutely reliable because it includes a photographic proof of the radiation level
near Fukushima (Ingram, 2016). In addition, it was revealed that college students do not
notice the manipulation of tweets designed in the style of authoritative news with the addition
of statistics (Ingram, 2016). Students should inquire from where these statistics come from,
what studies were conducted and why a particular organization might be interested in
covering exactly this information. This was done by less than a third of the respondents,
while the rest began to discuss the news itself and did not verify its truthfulness (Ingram,
2016). Furthermore, the majority of students evaluated the information without clicking on
the message and not even trying to follow the link to the primary source (Ingram, 2016).
Thus, fake information on the Internet has a very negative effect on the consciousness of the
younger generation, which once again proves that the Internet can become a threat and not a
Nevertheless, there are also advantages of using the Internet. The Internet is a great
place for entertainment and communication with people around the world (Samovar et al.,
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2016). The Internet is the best mean of communication because every day, new innovations
make it even more comfortable. Today, people can start real-time communication with a
person who is in another country and even continent (Samovar et al., 2016). For more
detailed private and collaborative communication, they can use various video tools and chat.
Due to such services, geographically disjointed nations are able to share their opinions on
global problems that have a big impact on each individual (Samovar et al., 2016). The
Internet has provided people a chance to investigate different cultures, traditions and
In addition, one of the main reasons why people actively use Internet is the
entertainment tools, which are available online. Indeed, the Internet is so popular primarily
because of its entertainment industry, which provides an access to different websites such as
Gaming, Youtube, 360 videos and VR, Music, etc. Also, due to the Internet people can find
the newest information about famous personalities and watch different interesting websites
(Stuczynski, 2014). Also, there are countless games that people can download (Stuczynski,
2014). In fact, online games have gained phenomenal success, and are enjoying an ever-
any topic. Search engines make information available and it has become a common practice
to seek help from the Internet in solving different problems and finding answers (Naughton,
2010). On the Internet, people can also find news about the latest advances in medicine,
technology and other fields of science (Naughton, 2010). Therefore, the advantages of the
enough that makes Internet users believe that it is a blessing of the 21st century.
commerce that is the possibility of Internet shopping. Due to the numerous services, people
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can perform financial transactions on the Internet (Khurana, 2017). They can book airline
tickets, transfer funds, and order different products without leaving a home or office. Some
websites offer fast reservation systems and route planning according to the desires of their
customers (Khurana, 2017). Also, different types of business use E-commerce daily, which
includes money transfer via the Internet. Virtual transactions have become the standard for
almost all types of businesses (Khurana, 2017). Online commerce, with its huge scope of the
various goods and services, enables the customer to deliver the order on the threshold of
one’s house (Khurana, 2017). Such websites as “eBay”, “Amazon” and others allow
customers to offer, purchase, sell, and conduct online auctions. Therefore, due to the Internet,
a person can order any service or product without leaving home and remain satisfied with its
quality.
powerful distributor of fake news. Unfortunately, the information space is so unprotected that
absolutely every user can become a victim of hacker attacks. This type of crime is extremely
common in modern world and requires taking certain measures. Thus, before a user publishes
any information on the Internet he/she needs to be sure of the reliability of the site and
provide information security. In addition, one should not yield to propaganda and believe that
it is the Western way of life is the best one. Every nation has its own culture and it is
necessary to consciously respect its traditions. Therefore, noticing the slightest suspicion of
propaganda, it is necessary to avoid such sites. As for fake news, it is necessary to check the
information several times to make sure it is correct. Very often, users refer to non-existent
facts and mislead others. As a result, in order to avoid the influence of fake news, one needs
to search for information only in primary sources and on reliable sites. All these precautions
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will help to avoid threats that are widespread in the network and enjoy the benefits that the
References
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Ducom, J., Topol, E. and Steinhubl, S. (2016). Privacy and security in the era of
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uni.ac.at/de/department/gpa/informatik/DanubeUniversityHackersStudy.pdf
Fuchs, C. (2014). Social media and the public sphere. Journal for a Global Sustainable
c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/552/668.
Ihlen, Y., Bartlett, J. and May, S. (2011). The handbook of communication and corporate
Ingram, M. (2016). It's Not Just Adults Who Can't Tell the Difference Between Fake News
Khurana, A. (2017). Why E-commerce is Taking the Retail World by Storm. [online] The
Naughton, J. (2010). The internet: Is it changing the way we think? [online] the Guardian.
Samovar, L., Porter, R., McDaniel, E. and Roy, C. (2016). Communication between cultures.