Social networks and the internet shrink our understanding of the Essay

Social networks and the internet shrink our understanding of the world. Argue your position on this statement - Essay Example One of the first people who recognized the value of the global connection was Marshall McLuhan, however, he is considered to be the successor of Nicolas Tesla. The last described the world in which we live today precisely- our devices that are portable and with the help of which we not only hear people but can see them any time on any distance (McLuhan 2011).McLuhan predicted that the world will transform into a Global Village in the beginning of the 20th century. The author was speaking about radio but now the term is logically applicable to World Wide Web as it helped to forget about physical distance, time obstacles, and social prejudices. Media has become a nervous system of the planet which has integrated the world really fast. With a click of a mouse a person can find a community of people with similar interests and tastes and join it. Moreover, any event can be broadcast online to the real public. That is why it is possible to talk about world community that reminds Global Vil lage where everyone knows each other. Eventually, such changes can lead to creation of new phenomenon in sociology and culture as the density of the contacts also increases (McLuhan, 1987). World Wide Web has substantially increased the speed of news spread globally: any event in one part of the world becomes known to the Internet users in a second. However, this global involvement into world problems has also increased the responsibility. According to McLuhan, the enhanced "electric speed in bringing all social and political functions together in a sudden implosion has heightened human awareness of responsibility to an intense degree"Â  (McLuhan, 1964). Another discovery of McLuhan was the fact the type of media influences the information and becomes a message itself. So Internet can be regarded as a message as it changes completely the way people understand and perceive things, and the main issue of this message is its speed (McLuhan, 1962). So