A study on the impact of internet on our society

Developed by
By

Taiwo-Jalupon Iman

Introduction

Name:Field
Taiwo-Jalupon Iman
of Education Reg. No.:R073004500609
Field of Health Care
Field of Business
Conclusion

NIIT

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Contents
Chapter 1

The Economic Impact of the Internet on Our Economy

Introduction
Economic Impact on the Washington DC Region
Economic Impact on the USA
Economic Global Impact

Conclusion

Chapter 2
The Social Impact of the Internet on Our Society
Introduction
Field of Education
Field of Health Care
Field of Business

Conclusion

Bibliography

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Chapter 1

The Economic Impact of the Internet on Our Society

Introduction

The Internet is a vast collection of world-wide inter-connected networks configured with

the help of a group of about 100 TCP/IP protocols. It evolved from the US Department of
Defense "Advanced Research Projects Agency Network," ARPANET, of the late 60's and
early 70's. It has greatly transformed our society in ways unimaginable-let alone
foreseen-only a few decades ago. At the close of the 20th century the Internet global
connectivity has made us what Hauben and Hauben (1997) refer to as Netizens: Net
Citizens. In this new world geographical separation is replaced by cyber/virtual space and
we are all next door compatriots, or netizens. In this new world of Internet connectivity
people can share their experiences, ideas, suggestions, and problems, try to exert
influence, and get fast responses and reactions from friends and strangers alike, feedback
that is in many cases advantageous to the parties involved.

The Internet society has created its own new culture and Net terminology. Terms such as
World Wide Web (WWW), search engines, HTML, web pages, web servers and clients,
http, URL, TCP/IP, SMTP, POP, DNS, ISDN, newsgroups, domain names, UNIX, FTP,
WS_FTP, clickable images, bookmarks, telnet, BBS, CGI, ftp.fedworld.gov, mailing lists,
GIF, JPEG, dot files, LAN, network, Internet Firewall, and many more have become
household terms. We are now talking of e-trade, e-travel, e-mail, e-toys, e-commerce, e-
banking, on-line services, virtual this and that such as virtual museums, and so on, terms
that point to the degree, desire, and ability of our society to adapt to a changing world. A
good example of this is CAPP 385 itself! It points out the will of people to learn and keep
up with the new advances in cyber space, and altogether absorb the new Internet culture.

But perhaps the most important thing that can be said about the Net is that it welcomes
and encourages intellectual activity. People are welcome to express their views and the
things on their minds, share information, and brainstorm and interact with each other. In
short, the Net enables people to contribute to an ever increasing human intellectual
storage. The outcome is a continuous expansion of human knowledge and information
that is having a great impact, unfortunately not all positive, on our social, economical,
and political organizations and way of life. Some of this impact will be described in the
following pages.

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Economic Impact of the Internet on Our Economy

The age of information/communication technology is here, at the close of the 20th

century. It is epitomized by the Internet. The Internet provides many
information/communication services such as browsing of information, search engines,
electronic mail, file transfer, Newsgroups, remote access via telnet, and bulletin boards,
and the means to post and retrieve textual/sound/video/image information from Web
pages. The huge potential of these services has attracted the attention of the business
world, and today more and more business is transacted via the Internet. The impact of this
trend is explored on the local, national, and global level by specific examples and some
statistical facts.

Economic Impact on the Washington DC Region

The Washington DC region is home to a great number of Government agencies,

Government and private research institutions, and many high-tech companies (in
Northern Virginia alone there are over 2000 IT companies), that make a heavy use of the
Internet. The extent of Internet use, applications, and transactions executed by this
collection of different Government and private organizations is so large that it is quite
hard to think of how they were able to operate and carry out their daily business without
the Internet as was the case only a few years ago. This is of course trivially true of those
organizations that owe their very existence to the Internet. And the impact of the Internet
in all its facets on this varied group of outfits has in turn impacted directly the DC
economy. It is sufficient to consider two conspicuous cases as examples.

Consider first the case of America Online, Inc. (AOL):

Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is the world's

leader in branded interactive services and original content.
America Online, headquartered in Dulles, Virginia.

The following charts are from a 1998 AOL report. The report shows an impressive rate of
growth, membership close to 13 million strong, and total 1998 revenues in excess of $2.5
billion.

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Moreover, as recently as April 27, 1999, America Online, Inc. announced for its fiscal
third quarter ending March 31, 1999, a consolidated net income of $420 million, setting
new records for total revenues. The revenue sources included advertising and commerce
revenues, and AOL membership growth. For a company that employs thousands in the
Washington DC region, such impressive performance is nothing but a blessing to the
region's economy.

Next we turn to the U.S. Federal Government, the largest employer in the DC region. The
Federal Government employs many thousands of workers in numerous Government
agencies. All these agencies have Internet connections for communication, military,
scientific, public information, and many other purposes. To maintain its vast Internet
operations, a sizable part of the Government's work force-both internal and contract work
force-consists of software and communication engineers, programmers, networks
specialists, and other high-tech personnel. This highly paid large body of workers has a
huge buying power which contributes handsomely to the DC area economy.

For a typical example, we turn to a recent NASA mission called the Tropical Rainfall
Measuring Mission TRMM that was originally initiated and currently administered at
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

TRMM is the first mission dedicated to measuring tropical and subtropical rainfall
through microwave and visible infrared sensors, and includes the first spaceborne rain
radar. Tropical rainfall comprises more than two-thirds of global rainfall. It is the primary
distributor of heat through the circulation of the atmosphere. Understanding rainfall and
its variability is crucial to understanding and predicting global climate change. Our

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current knowledge of rainfall is poor, especially over the oceans. By use of a low-altitude
orbit of 217 miles (350 kilometers), TRMM's complement of state-of-the-art instruments
will provide more accurate measurements. These new measurements will increase our
knowledge of how rainfall releases heat energy to drive atmospheric circulation.

The punch-line is that the huge amount of TRMM data is loaded and maintained on the
Internet for the world scientific community at NASA/Goddard SFC, Greenbelt, MD, less
than 10 miles from Washington DC. This requires a highly paid skilled work force who
lives and spends in and around Washington DC and thus invigorates the DC area
economy. TRMM is only one of thousands of similar Government projects and initiatives
that prove to be a bonanza for the DC area economy.

Economic Impact on the USA

From U.S. Government reports and media giants such as the Wall Street Journal, The
New York Times, and CNN, Americans read and hear a constant stream of reports that in
recent years the U.S. economy has performed beyond most expectations. Playing an
important role in this are a shrinking budget deficit, low interest rates, a stable macro-
economic environment, expanding international trade with fewer barriers, and effective
private sector management. While the full economic impact of the Internet cannot yet be
precisely assessed, its impact has been significant as can be seen from the following facts
published in a U.S. Department of Commerce report titled "The Emerging Digital
Economy":

THE EMERGING
DIGITAL ECONOMY

Executive Summary

(from the US Government site on e-commerce)

http://www.ecommerce.gov
POSTED April 15, 1998

Accordingly, Internet commerce is growing fastest among businesses, and the number of
Americans using the Internet has grown from fewer than 5 million in 1993 to as many as
62 million by 1997. Moreover, the number of names registered in the domain name
system and the number of hosts connected to the Internet expanded greatly as can be seen
from Table E1. The table shows that the number registered domain names grew from
26,000 in July 1993 to 1.3 million in July 1997, and over the same period, the number of
hosts connected to the Internet expanded from under 1.8 million to over 19.5 million.

Table E1. Growth in Thousands of Internet Hosts and Domain Names (Source: Network
Wizards.)

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 Number of Hosts Number of Domains
July 93 1,776 26
July 94 3,212 46
July 95 6,642 120
July 96 12,881 488
July 97 19,540 1,301

From the report we learn that the appetite for top-level commercial (.com) domain names
was shared by large companies such as media giants, phone companies, Internet service
providers, television cable companies and, electric utilities, as well as by many smaller
companies that use the Internet to provide more efficient and effective customer service,
lower sales and marketing costs, and realize new sales horizons. At the same time
hundreds of new firms were created whose business is to help businesses use the Internet
effectively. These firms design Web pages with advertising banners, create Web-based
catalogs, build security tools, create and track direct marketing trends, and develop means
to speed up the flow of data and information across the network. Venture capitalists gave
just under $12 billion to hundreds of such information technology start-ups in 1996 and
1997. This latter group of information technology start-ups is a good example of the
direct impact of the Internet on the U.S. economy, for they would not have been created
without the Internet.

It seems however that the greatest impact of the Internet on the U.S. economy is
manifested in the way business is done and not so much the type of business. This is best
explained quite well in the following extended quotation from e-business page:

The Web is changing every aspect of our lives, but no area is undergoing as rapid and
significant a change as the way businesses operate. As businesses incorporate Internet
technology into their core business processes they start to achieve real business value.
Today, companies large and small are using the Web to communicate with their partners,
to connect with their back-end data-systems, and to transact commerce. This is e-
business -- where the strength and reliability of traditional information technology meet
the Internet.

This new Web + IT paradigm merges the standards, simplicity and connectivity of the
Internet with the core processes that are the foundation of business. The new killer apps
are interactive, transaction intensive, and let people do business in more meaningful
ways.

-- IBM e-business

Overall, the total business-to-business Internet commerce is projected to reach $300

billion in the U.S. by the year 2002, which is only 3% of total projected GDP in that year.
But this is an early stage of a new medium which is sure to expand dramatically given the
present rate of growth.

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Economic Global Impact

To assess the economic impact of the Internet globally, we shall concentrate on an

important sector of the world economy: Tourism-a multi-billion industry. Tourism covers
eco-tourism, adventure tourism, beaches, hotels, resorts, spas, national parks, restaurants,
golf, skiing, conference centers, safari, boating, and many more recreational activities, all
of which generate business on a large scale.

Las Vegas Welcomes The World:

National Tourism Week, May 2-8, 1999

Southern Nevada alone draws more than 30 million visitors from around the world who
generate $25 billion annually from gaming and other recreation industries. More than
166,000 people are directly employed in Southern Nevada's recreational industries. In
short, recreation means business from Assateague Island National Seashore in
Maryland,to Raglan Castle, South Wales, to the Bahai Shrine, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel,
to wildlife safari in Kenya, to Sanli Urfa in the great plain of High Mesopotamia, Turkey.

And when it comes to business from tourism, the Internet has had its impact globally.
From aggressive advertisement (links), travel packaging and tourism research, to ticket
purchasing and eco tourism, it can all be handled today via the Internet. In fact traditional
travel agencies are starting to feel the Internet impact and are gradually shifting towards
doing more and more business on the Net. The above set of clickable pictures/examples
illustrates this gradual shift very well. The transfer to business online has been
accelerated due to the fact that major airlines have reduced dramatically the commissions
paid to online travel services-to a level half that paid to conventional travel agencies. In
turn the online services were able to pass on the lower costs and savings to the consumer.

To enhance the impact of the Internet on the emerging global travel/tourism business, a
new organization Interactive Travel Services Association (ITSA), was created to promote
the growth of the online services industry, and to educate the public about the benefits of
purchasing travel packages online. The members include American Express, America
Online, Biztravel, Carlson Wagonlit, Internet Travel Network, Microsoft, Pagasus
Systems, Preview Travel, Trip.Com, and WorldRes. These companies support the
continuing growth of the online global travel/tourism industry.

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Global electronic commerce on the Internet is undergoing exponential growth.
Contributing to this growth is the travel industry. In the U.S. it sold over $800 million
worth of travel in 1997, and is expected to grow to
$5 billion by the year 2000.

Conclusion

The economic impact of the Internet on our society was demonstrated by specific
examples pertaining to the economies of the Washington DC region, the U.S., and the
world. The examples were supported by Government as well the private sector reports.
The emerging picture is that of a basic change in the way business is done locally,
nationally, and globally: More and more business is going online, and this trend is
growing rapidly. This regards traditional business, and all the more so regarding IT
companies such as America Online, Inc. whose growth is exponential. Given the present
rate of growth of e-commerce, the 21st century will no doubt witness even a greater
impact of the Internet on the world economy.

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Chapter 2

The Social Impact of the Internet on Our Society

Introduction

The Internet drives the hottest stocks on Wall Street, shapes technological innovation, and
fills the pages of the world's presses. What does this mean for society, government,
commerce, and other institutions? How will the way we live, work, learn, profit, govern,
and communicate change ?

The Internet creates new ways for citizens to communicate, congregate, and share
information of a social nature. It is obvious that the Internet has and will continue to
change the way we live. How it is changed, and how it will continue to change our lives,
is the reason for so many conferences on the topic. For example, the following is an
abstract of a conference that took place:

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND THE INTERNET

Harvard Design School

April 23-25, 1999

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM - CONFIDENTIAL

FOR COMMUNICATION PURPOSES ONLY

PROGRAM

This conference flows from the premise that information

technology
and more specifically, Internet technology are rapidly and
radically
transforming the character of life and work. The changes driven
by the
Internet will have an enormous impact on the conduct of every
aspect
of our society, business, government, education, and private
life.
The impact on the design and construction industry will be no
less
dramatic. It is imperative, therefore, that industry leaders
prepare
themselves to evaluate opportunities and challenges they will
face.

Field of Education

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As the whole world of the "Information Super Highway" is in constant transition, so is
the rule of the Internet on education, still being formatted, evaluated and in constant
transition.

We shall discuss one such school as one example, the C.E.S Jewish Day School in
Rockville Maryland. This is a private school K-12 with an objective to educate students
to be good and productive American citizens, on the one hand, and leaders of the Jewish
community on the other hand. About four years ago, teachers were very slowly
introduced to the world of computers. Most teachers were somewhat apprehensive, afraid
that with an incorrect click, the computer would "explode". How would the students learn
if the teachers felt so inadequate? This is an area of great interest, as in this age of
computer technology the roles are not always as traditional as in the past. It is not "here I
am the teacher let me teach you something new", but rather, lets try and do this
together.Let us search and and see what we can learn with the help of this new
technology. The horizons of students and teachers, have become so much greater. Let us
concentrate on one specific example. The Book of Exodus is studied in the fifth grade
classes in Hebrew. This year with the help of the Internet a new component was added,
"Ancient Egypt". With the help of the Internet and some books, the students in pairs
searched the Internet for information about, The Pyramids, Egyptian Gods, Work and
Games, Education, Life after Death, The Pharaohs and other such topics. Searching the
Internet was very interesting, as the graphics were wonderful to look at, the information
most exciting. They were able to locate sites with Egyptian music too. With the help of a
computer program called HyeperStudio the students were able to create a beautiful
interactive project about Ancient Egypt. A topic that could be very dry and bookish, took
on an exciting life of its own, with the help of the excitement that exists with the use of
the Internet. This is one small example that tells about the independence the Internet
affords students. Research can be done, in a way that is so much more exciting to most
students. The students also participated in e-mailing in Hebrew with Kibbutz children in
Israel. Students in other schools "talk" to authors over the Internet some residing in
countries other than the U.S. The possibilities are limitless. What about comparing rain
measurements by students in different countries? What about comparing projects and
different experiments? The Internet can make learning so much more exciting,
interesting, very engaging and very much alive. Computers have been a source of joy for
children for some years now, because of the games they like to play on them. So school
work, that resembles play, is much more appealing. With the vast opportunities the
Internet, affords great learning with much joy. This is the reason that computers are
taught from kindergarten. Some examples of "students project" can be seen on the
schools website.

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Field of Health Care

Transforming Medicine and Health Synergistic discoveries and instant scientific

collaborations between researchers working on areas as diverse as hereditary neurologic
diseases and the basic biology of microorganisms all happening thanks to the Internet.
Telemedicine allows medical specialists in Boston to diagnose and treat patients in
California. How will the Internet affect two aspects of "medicine, fundamental research
and medical care?"

One of the impacts of the Internet on our society in the field of medicine, is the research
capabilities it affords the general public, or the empowerment it affords patients and their
families. Once the patient or his family, were afforded just one second opinion. Those
that could (and still can afford it) can go to as many doctors that they deem necessary. On
the whole, the general public can see one "extra" specialist. Today, with the vast
knowledge presented on the "Internet" one can glean great sources of information. The
patient is much better informed to discuss his case with his doctor, understand
alternatives, side affects, the latest treatments available and the statistical probabilities of
success.

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"The National Institutes of Health" in Bethesda Maryland, afford a wonderful example of
sources of up to date medical information for everyone using the Internet. This most
prestigious government facility engages some of the best doctors and scientist in the
world, that work in pure and clinical research in the fields of medicine. Everyone is most
welcome to use their website to learn about any medical aspect that is of concern to them.
Not just traditional medicine is available on N.I.H's website. In recent years when
alternative solutions to medical problems were gaining much interest, N.I.H added that
area of expertise to their facility and of course on the Internet too.

The vast sea of medical information available to the public on the Internet, empowers
patients and their families as they can gain so much knowledge about the newest research
and treatments. One can also gain information about how certain medical problems are
treated in other parts of the world. The more traditional cures would come usually from
countries in Europe, and the less traditional ones would come from counties in the East
Asia.

Alternative Medicine Diabetes Natural Remedies From China It is estimated that there
are over 130 million people in Asia with Diabetes, many of them use these products to
control various symptoms of the disease. Now, we are pleased to introduce, for the first
time to the Western World, these alternative Diabetes Medicines from China. All of the
products have been developed and thoroughly tested in extensive Clinical Trials in Major
Hospitals in China and used by thousands of patients since.

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All the vast amount of research found on the Internet, from the private and government
sectors are also available in the fields of "Mental Health"

Especially in the fields of Mental Health the ability of the individual to conduct his own
research in the privacy of his is of great comfort. The Internet has many different
websites that deal with the many aspects of Mental Health. There are sites that are
interactive answering questions, newsgroups and mailing lists.

Field of Business

The way people conduct business has vastly changed with the wide use of the Internet.
Many businesses have websites that allow people to conduct business "on line". This is a
field that all experts say will grow and advance greatly in the years to come, not just in
the United States but in other countries around the world too. "Books and C.D's" are
bought mainly through Amazon, a virtual book and music store with no stores, just an
excellent website, and large warehouses.

According to Professor Walter Solomon who is a world renowned consultant (commerce)

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and a professor at Harvard University in the year 2000 Internet sales will be 6.5 billion
dollars, although only 34% of Internet users actually conduct business "on line, 76% of
web surfers say they will "e-trade" in the future. According to Solomon those that will not
sell airline tickets, home banking and tourism "on line" will be at a disadvantage. Other
items that sell well over the Internet are computers. Dell computers sell over the Internet
at a rate of $10.000.000 a day, with little expense. Tourism and leisure do well over the
Internet.

Many people use the inter-net to get information before making a purchase. This is a way
that the consumer learns much about his next purchase, before he actually goes out to
purchase. Half the fun people say, is planning one's vacation. One sits comfortably in his
home and surfs the web for interesting places to visit, what can be done in those places,
and then which company offers the best deals or prices. The potential tourist has the
world to surf through with the help of the "mouse".

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Different types of cruises are offered over the Internet, for different kind of interests,
ages, destinations and affordability.

Conclusion

From all the above we can see that the Internet is a whole new world emerging at the
conclusion of the 20th century. Everyday, the Internet expands by the social, political, and
economic activities of people all over the world, and its impact growth exponentially.
Some of this growth in impact has been described here. In this new world there is no
geographical separation and there are no borders, and all people are encouraged to
participate and contribute drawing on their experiences and resources. In cyberspace
actions and reactions are essentially instantaneous, and this is why the Internet is so
gratifying and attractive. This is why it has impacted our society in almost all areas of
human endeavor. In this report we touched on the positive aspects of the influence of the

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Internet on our society. As in any other field in life there are the negative aspects too. In
the field of education children can gain access to areas that are not suitable and
dangerous, (Littleton Colorado, April 1999).

The Littleton shooting,

Vice President Gore announces
an Internet safety plan
designed to protect children.

In the areas of business, security is of great concern and importance. The topic of "Fire
walls" is in great demand, constantly evolving expanding and changing. In the health care
area, the accuracy of what is available to read over the Internet is a topic of concern. The
whole new industry of purchasing drugs "on line" is another area where care and
prudence are imperative. All in all, the Internet is affecting so many peoples' lives, in a
most welcome, exciting and challenging ways.

Bibliography

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7. http://www.ibm.com/e-business/whatis.htm
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10. http://lasvegaswired.com/events/tourismweek/
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