Development of the Internet Complex Interplay of Large-Scale Institutional Forces

Question:-

discuss the ways in which the development of the Internet came about via a complex interplay of large-scale institutional forces and small-scale grassroots cultural practices.

Answer:-

The internet, which is now an integral part of every individual’s personal and professional lives has gone through many complex changes since the 1930s. the changes began in 1973 with the changes in design and the first network was ready for use by 1983. It used to be the facility restricted in the hands of few eminent social circles such as the military and academic scholars. The mainstream population started enjoying the benefits of internet from the early 1990s. Till today the developments in computer networks has only increased its scope of use with increased dependency on it. The mainstream use has been facilitated by the contributions of institutes, government, research teams on the broader level as well as the grassroot level contributors like students or people closer home such as individual hackers, hobbyists etc. the evolution has not been predictable, rather it has been a complex system of changes resulting in political, social, cultural and economic impacts. In addition to the advantages of ease of access and connectivity the evils of digital inequality have also become a concern. The range of such inequalities are too broad to be defined yet but it affects both individual and macro users depending upon various parameters. In this report, the complex evolution of the internet would be discussed along with the significant contributions made by institutional and grassroot contributions over the years that has led to many important changes (Naughton, 2016).

Improvement in communications is a significant part of the evolution of the internet. There are million media to express oneself such as blogs, emails, YouTube which were earlier absent. On one hand these tools allow freedom of expression but the political implications in many countries is the curbing of freedom. Another key feature of the evolution is the spread of information through digital platforms which have increased capital flow and goods and services flow resulting in ease of business which has improved the economy. It has given the opportunities to local businesses to become multinationals. Both positive and negative sides to this evolution is evident but besides the issues with neoliberalism, a major impact has been seen in the form of depletion of natural resources. Advancement in computer technology means advancement in industrialization and therefore the pressure on the environment. It has also impacted social and cultural practices in both positive and negative ways. Digital exclusion is also a major problem of the increasing development of the internet especially in case of the older generation. Digital engagement is largely related to the social, cultural and economic contexts (Robinson, et al., 2015).