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Impact Of The Internet

The Impact of the Internet on Society
The Internet has been around since the late 1960’s, developed to address interoperability problems between stations and mainframe computers. It was not until the early 1980’s that Internet Service Providers started to emerge on the scene and really transformed the Internet and it’s current use of global communications.   During the 1980’s, the Internet was primarily available to research groups, college universities and the military. Then in 1989, the first dial up service provider offered the Internet to non-educational users. As the Internet grew through the 1990’s, more and more users realized the value for finding information.
According to the year 2000 census, fifty one percent of all U.S. households have one or more computers. Forty one percent have Internet access; Seventeen percent have connectivity outside the home, such as work or school. That translates into about 44 million people having a computer. Today, that number is calculated by Jupiter research to be around 77 million users. Furthermore, computer ownership is dependant upon one’s income, geographic location and race. Statistics indicate the lowest income rates have a lower percentage of computer ownership when compared to higher incomes. People living in the South as opposed to the Mid-West also own fewer computers. Blacks and Hispanics also have lower rates compared to other ethical groups in the U.S.

The attraction to Internet lies on the fact that it gives individuals the capability to control the production, storage, and dissemination of information. Another technology closely related to Internet is the E-mail. E-mail started about 1964 it pre-dates the Internet. Seventy two percent of all Internet activity is email. The average Internet user completes about 5.2 transactions using the Internet. The top five computer activities are listed with their percent usage. Email (90%), general information (77%), surfing (69%), reading (67%) and hobbies (63%)....