Technologically Connected: Shaping our Global Relationships Introduction At midnight Mountain Time, an instant message pops up from a recent online acquaintance from a Universal Time zone. A speech bubble holds a shy text, I have a “May minute of your time?” The two recently found a budding friendship through a virtual online community. Though the conversation lasted until sunrise for each of them, the laughter, insightful exchanges and mutual interest in their diverse cultures resonated a new energy through the next day. Translation apps helped through language barriers to get to heart and soul similarities. A unique and life-long bond is formed. Technology provided a thoroughfare to forge a friendship that in an earlier era would be impossible. This is a beautiful side of our worldwide interactions via the Internet. If only it were that easy for us to generate that kind of mutual acceptance on a larger scale. The possibilities are there and so are the desires of many, but it is not without complexities. This paper is an examination of some of those complications showing up in our fast growing, technically capable communication. Review of the Literature History of Public Internet Access History has potential for forecasting future. The progression and growth of the Internet can be traced back to the late sixties, but hit highpoints at certain in history. The first web browser was released in 1993, for use by the general public (Chapman, 2009). The statistics of worldwide Internet users have grown from less than one percent in 1995 to over forty percent in twenty years. According to Internet Live Stats, China uses the greatest amount of the total worldwide Internet at nearly twenty-two percent, while the United States is in second at only
Technologically Connected: Shaping our Global Relationships Introduction At midnight Mountain Time, an instant message pops up from a recent online acquaintance from a Universal Time zone. A speech bubble holds a shy text, “May I have a minute of your time?” The two recently found a budding friendship through a virtual online community. Though the conversation lasted until sunrise for each of them, the laughter, insightful exchanges and mutual interest in their diverse cultures resonated a new energy through the next day. Translation apps helped through language barriers to get to heart and soul similarities. A unique and life-long bond is formed. Technology provided a thoroughfare to forge a friendship that in an earlier era would be impossible. This is a beautiful side of our worldwide interactions via the Internet. If only it were that easy for us to generate that kind of mutual acceptance on a larger scale. The possibilities are there and so are the desires of many, but it is not without complexities. This paper is an examination of some of those complications showing up in our fast growing, technically capable communication. Review of the Literature History of Public Internet Access History has potential for forecasting future. The progression and growth of the Internet can be traced back to the late sixties, but hit highpoints at certain in history. The first web browser was released in 1993, for use by the general public (Chapman, 2009). The statistics of worldwide Internet users have grown from less than one percent in 1995 to over forty percent in twenty years. According to Internet Live Stats, China uses the greatest amount of the total worldwide Internet at nearly twenty-two percent, while the United States is in second at only
research_paper_global_issues.docx