By JESSICA WRIXON
The Web is one of the most relied on sources for anyone to retrieve any information regarding every topic that can be thought of. It has changed the way we think, learn, read, and believe.
Out of the many ways the Web has impacted the world, one factor is how it has lead the human race to believe anything. Any person can create any kind of story, whether it be completely farfetched or slightly off. One thing I’ve noticed with social media today is that many people share ridiculous stories on social media outlets like Facebook and twitter with bizarre URL’s.
Most of the time, these people who share these stories have never heard of the website before but share it anyway thinking it can bring up conversation or is just an absurd literary piece. Websites are never checked for credibility, thus leading to false stories and people who believe them.
Although the Web has its negative affects, there are many ways it has positively impacted us. One way the Web has changed our world is by making it easier to find information on anything. With major search engines like Google or Bing, it is very rare a person doesn’t find what they are looking for. These search engines connect people to millions of results in the matter of milliseconds. Not only can people find information quickly, but now they can access any sort of any information via smartphone in seconds and from anywhere in the world.
Another interesting way on how the Web has changed our world is by bringing people together. People from all around the world are connected to the Web, allowing sharing to occur between all different walks of life. Now, you can video chat with people on different continents, share videos and pictures through social media sites and email, as well as read blogs from people who live a completely different life than you. This has also made things easier for people who want to learn more about the cultures and religions from all around the world. They can now stay in touch with old friends and family members with just the click of a button and can share their life with the world.
Although the Web has changed the world in many ways, one way the Web can most certainly be notable is on September 11, 2001. Thirteen years ago, the Web wasn’t nearly as refined and advanced as it is today. Social media has boomed over the past few years and provides everyone with an easier ability to connect with anyone in the world. Back when the September 11 attacks happened, many people turned to their televisions and the radio to find out more information on what was going on in New York City and why. Even though the Web wasn’t as advanced as it is today, many people took advantage of this fairly new media outlet to dig up more information on one of the most horrifying, saddening attacks to happen in the United States of America.
However, this marked a day where people started to rely on this big electronic database that wasn’t as common as a television or the radio. In a 2013 Washington Post article, the attack created such a large amount of data that flooded the Web so badly that is became ‘virtually unusable.’
Getting all the same information just from different sources, people wanted to try something new that would hopefully have more content in regards to the vicious attack, but since the Web was so flooded, media outlets and sources wanted to make this work for the public. With crashing Web pages and unloaded URL’s, one major outlet, CNN, had the right idea to shrink data and content to strictly words, making getting to the page efficient, easy and fast.
Since the attack, major news outlets have learned how to handle double the gigabits when it comes to the flow of traffic on the Web after a very demanding story hits the news. Regardless of the attack being one of the most tragic things to happen to this nation, this happening has helped expand and revolutionize the media to handle the overload of users it experiences everyday. By using the Web for information, our country as a whole can learn from media sites with just the click of a button and retrieve their information with little to no effort.