The Ever Expanding Online Universe
As technology becomes available to more people, there will come a time when almost everyone will be connected to the Internet, where most of us can interact online and shape the future like we’re doing now. Today, the web accommodates more than 900 million users. As time passes, this number will surely increase until there will come an era where everyone will be connected online. With our obsession with the Internet and everything on it, this is not such a doubtful scenario.
This is proven with data from Open-Site.org saying there are more devices connected to the web than people on Earth. The organization further declared that the number of people logging on the Internet will be greater than the combined population of North America, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East. People share so much content that in Facebook alone, 30 billion pieces of content were shared in one month.
The Internet is like an online universe that expands day by day. A lot of people are investing on it, and businesses are flocking to it. This makes the web a very volatile and dynamic place where people meet, exchange ideas and discuss issues. Commerce has gone online, including news, the television shows, movies, books, music, and more. You need fresh coconut milk or an obscure motor part? You will surely find it on the Internet; if you cannot find the object itself, you’ll stumble on leads to acquire it, sooner or later.
The Internet is a place where social media has become the NEW media. Here, news is faster to spread, such as when a strong earthquake devastated Haiti and Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. soldiers. There are even instances when people use the Internet to call for help. Instead of calling the emergency hotline, people would seek help in social networks. Fell into a manhole? Just tweet to your friends and help will surely arrive. The more positive aspect is that rescue teams immediately know the places needing the most urgent assistance. For example in times of heavy typhoons, local governments are alerted of rising flood in many communities.
People are more proactive in using the web these days. They launch awareness campaigns and online petitions for certain causes like stopping the construction of a dam on the Amazon River, drilling in the Arctic, and more. Prospects against Internet censorship garnered more than 10 million signatures and 3 million emails were sent to members of Congress. Revolution was staged in Egypt with the help of the Internet. Around 90,000 Egyptians on Facebook convened and joined demonstrations to oust Hosni Mubarak. This proved that people have the power to change things as long as they work together.
Change is indeed possible with the Internet. This will surely follow more interesting developments as time goes by. Who knows what the world will be ten years from now? The Internet will surely be a bigger place by then.
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