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The internet: Getting started

 

Lameter, C. (1996). The internet: Getting started. S. Hamilton, MA: Center for Youth Studies.

 

OVERVIEW

 

The Internet offers nearly any imaginable product or service to anyone using it. Computers hooked up to the Internet have tremendous computational power to store vast amounts of information. Within fractions of seconds, information travels worldwide. The most common ways to transmit and receive information are through the World Wide Web (www) and electronic mail (e-mail).

 

Most utilize the World Wide Web to share and obtain information on the Internet. The Internet is growing and evolving so that it will soon function like a supermarket. Users will be able to order and purchase items or manage one’s financial affairs directly from the home computer.

 

In the future it is expected that the Internet will offer video in a quality better than regular television. Additionally, the video will be interactive. This means that users can respond to the screen environment and possibly interact with the persons and objects shown on their monitor. Some advocates of the Internet expect that the Internet will lead to a gradual disappearance of regular television broadcasts. Instead, users will be able to view any information desired anytime.

 

Everyone with computers, phones, and modems will have easy access to the Internet through one’s phone company. In fact, a big battle among the phone companies has recently launched. (To its long distance customers, AT&T is offering free Internet access for one year beginning March 14, 1996.)

 

The terms for using the Internet often confuse new and potential users. Here are some basic terms to help explain the jargon:

The Internet. The whole of all connected computers worldwide that have some form of electronic communication between them. Other names for the Internet include: Information superhighway, Cyberspace, the "Web," and the "Net." World Wide Web (also known as www or "Web"). This is an Internet service that allows access to multiple resources with only one needed piece of software. Documents on the "Web" are linked through hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are similar to cross references in normal books. When you click on them with a computer mouse, the document referred to is displayed. Electronic mail (e-mail). These are similar to regular postal letters (called "snail mail" by Internetters), but the letters are typed into a computer and transmitted through a network of computers where they are eventually (within seconds) sent to the addressee. There are many ways to receive e-mail. E-mail address. A name that allows you to send a message directly to any person connected to the Internet. E-mail is addressed in a standard form: person@place. For example, the e-mail address of the United States President is president@whitehouse.gov.

ADVANTAGES

 

The benefits of using the Internet are many:

  • Access to a wide variety of useful and helpful cultural, factual, scientific, and religious information.
  • Games, entertainment, and information about current sports events.
  • Electronic interaction with people in distant cultures and with those who think and communicate differently.
  • Interaction with issue and topic experts who are otherwise not accessible.
  • Ability to be educated at one’s determined speed and in one’s own interests. For this reason most schools will or do already offer Internet access.
  • Familiarity with computer technology through an easy and appealing access.

DANGERS

 

While Internet advantages are clear, hazards abound. These dangers exist for all users of the Internet, but young people are especially vulnerable:

Living in "cyberspace". Loss of contact with people and society. (It is not safe or healthy to interact with others only through the computer.) Uncontrolled access to harmful material (including extremist political propaganda; terrorist instructions; violence promotion; or pornographic and occult temptations). Although attempts are made, it is not yet possible to fully control one’s Internet access. Even if a site on the Internet is censored or blocked, the information can usually be obtained another way. E-mail allows access to all of the above-mentioned problematic material. For example, the contents of the World Wide Web can be transferred through e-mail. Association with criminals. Dangerous people may communicate and may cajole teenagers to experiment in potentially harmful behavior. Children have even been lured away from their homes by "a new friend" on the Internet. Wrong identities. The Internet makes it simple to fake an identity, since only the words one types are seen. One may easily pose as another person and manipulate other’s emotions and expectations. Uncontrolled behavior. The loose, uncommitted form of interaction (no physical contact, unknown location of the others) is enticing for deceiving others. Many teenagers enjoy such fraud. It is important that caring adults know what a young person is doing while on the Internet.

ADVICE

 

These ideas may help concerned adults protect young people from the dangers of the Internet, thus maximizing the youth’s opportunity to reap the benefits of the "information superhighway":

  • If a teenager uses the Internet, regularly talk with the young person about his or her uses, the people he or she contacts, and his or her general experiences with the Internet. It is expected that all schools will eventually provide Internet access. It will be important to verify that the school responsibly monitors its students’ use of the Internet.
  • Make an agreement with a teenager (before allowing access) that he or she cannot keep secrets with anyone on the Internet. If someone tells the young person something that his parents are not supposed to know, then that fact must be shared immediately. Obtain the offending person’s e-mail address. Replace his name with "sysadmin," and write to the resulting e-mail address about the incident. If possible, document what the person told the youth. This will contact the administrator of the computer system that the offender used. Usually, the System Administrator will be able to initiate appropriate procedures to monitor that individual. If the response is unsatisfactory, or if the case is severe, contact the police.
  • Unsupervised access can lead to a disaster. Do not assume that the Internet will keep a teenager safely occupied.
  • If a teenager’s time on the computer seems uncontrollable, set a limit on daily usage and arrange opportunities for face-to-face social peer interaction.
  • Keep yourself up-to-date on the current basics and future development of the Internet.

RESOURCES

 

Resources are scarce right now due to the constant growth and evolution of the Internet. The book below is already outdated, but it may provide helpful historical information:

 

Emerson, A. & Forbes, C. (1989). The invasion of the computer culture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

 

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

 

  1. How can information be handled responsibly when it is so easily obtained?
  2. Who bears the responsibility for monitoring the happenings of the Internet?
  3. How much information do you need? The Internet inundates users with data, trivia, facts, gossip, products, services, and opinions. Is this a reliable source of information? What are other good sources of information?
  4. How can you contribute healthy and useful information on the Internet? What do you know that might be beneficial for others? Do you have access to set up your own personal web page (this capability exists for most users)? Would you be interested in establishing your own site on the Internet? Why or why not?
  5. How do face-to-face relationships differ from electronic contacts? Is one better than the other? Safer? Are both types worthwhile? Explain.
  6. What would you do if you knew that someone was spending too much time on the Internet or was becoming involved in dangerous activity with a stranger on the computer?

 

 

IMPLICATIONS

 

  • The Internet is likely to dominate future business and entertainment endeavors.
  • Continual knowledge about the Internet is vital for protecting young people, most of whom are very curious about and very easily learn to work on computers.
  • The Internet is changing social behavior. In the future, relationships may become less committed and more sporadic. Individual independence may reach another peak.
  • The Internet is essential for advertising and exchanging ideas. In a technological world, it is mushrooming in use and necessity.

Christoph Lameter cCYS

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The internet: Getting started

 

Lameter, C. (1996). The internet: Getting started. S. Hamilton, MA: Center for Youth Studies.

 

OVERVIEW

 

The Internet offers nearly any imaginable product or service to anyone using it. Computers hooked up to the Internet have tremendous computational power to store vast amounts of information. Within fractions of seconds, information travels worldwide. The most common ways to transmit and receive information are through the World Wide Web (www) and electronic mail (e-mail).

 

Most utilize the World Wide Web to share and obtain information on the Internet. The Internet is growing and evolving so that it will soon function like a supermarket. Users will be able to order and purchase items or manage one’s financial affairs directly from the home computer.

 

In the future it is expected that the Internet will offer video in a quality better than regular television. Additionally, the video will be interactive. This means that users can respond to the screen environment and possibly interact with the persons and objects shown on their monitor. Some advocates of the Internet expect that the Internet will lead to a gradual disappearance of regular television broadcasts. Instead, users will be able to view any information desired anytime.

 

Everyone with computers, phones, and modems will have easy access to the Internet through one’s phone company. In fact, a big battle among the phone companies has recently launched. (To its long distance customers, AT&T is offering free Internet access for one year beginning March 14, 1996.)

 

The terms for using the Internet often confuse new and potential users. Here are some basic terms to help explain the jargon:

The Internet. The whole of all connected computers worldwide that have some form of electronic communication between them. Other names for the Internet include: Information superhighway, Cyberspace, the "Web," and the "Net." World Wide Web (also known as www or "Web"). This is an Internet service that allows access to multiple resources with only one needed piece of software. Documents on the "Web" are linked through hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are similar to cross references in normal books. When you click on them with a computer mouse, the document referred to is displayed. Electronic mail (e-mail). These are similar to regular postal letters (called "snail mail" by Internetters), but the letters are typed into a computer and transmitted through a network of computers where they are eventually (within seconds) sent to the addressee. There are many ways to receive e-mail. E-mail address. A name that allows you to send a message directly to any person connected to the Internet. E-mail is addressed in a standard form: person@place. For example, the e-mail address of the United States President is president@whitehouse.gov.

ADVANTAGES

 

The benefits of using the Internet are many:

  • Access to a wide variety of useful and helpful cultural, factual, scientific, and religious information.
  • Games, entertainment, and information about current sports events.
  • Electronic interaction with people in distant cultures and with those who think and communicate differently.
  • Interaction with issue and topic experts who are otherwise not accessible.
  • Ability to be educated at one’s determined speed and in one’s own interests. For this reason most schools will or do already offer Internet access.
  • Familiarity with computer technology through an easy and appealing access.

DANGERS

 

While Internet advantages are clear, hazards abound. These dangers exist for all users of the Internet, but young people are especially vulnerable:

Living in "cyberspace". Loss of contact with people and society. (It is not safe or healthy to interact with others only through the computer.) Uncontrolled access to harmful material (including extremist political propaganda; terrorist instructions; violence promotion; or pornographic and occult temptations). Although attempts are made, it is not yet possible to fully control one’s Internet access. Even if a site on the Internet is censored or blocked, the information can usually be obtained another way. E-mail allows access to all of the above-mentioned problematic material. For example, the contents of the World Wide Web can be transferred through e-mail. Association with criminals. Dangerous people may communicate and may cajole teenagers to experiment in potentially harmful behavior. Children have even been lured away from their homes by "a new friend" on the Internet. Wrong identities. The Internet makes it simple to fake an identity, since only the words one types are seen. One may easily pose as another person and manipulate other’s emotions and expectations. Uncontrolled behavior. The loose, uncommitted form of interaction (no physical contact, unknown location of the others) is enticing for deceiving others. Many teenagers enjoy such fraud. It is important that caring adults know what a young person is doing while on the Internet.

ADVICE

 

These ideas may help concerned adults protect young people from the dangers of the Internet, thus maximizing the youth’s opportunity to reap the benefits of the "information superhighway":

  • If a teenager uses the Internet, regularly talk with the young person about his or her uses, the people he or she contacts, and his or her general experiences with the Internet. It is expected that all schools will eventually provide Internet access. It will be important to verify that the school responsibly monitors its students’ use of the Internet.
  • Make an agreement with a teenager (before allowing access) that he or she cannot keep secrets with anyone on the Internet. If someone tells the young person something that his parents are not supposed to know, then that fact must be shared immediately. Obtain the offending person’s e-mail address. Replace his name with "sysadmin," and write to the resulting e-mail address about the incident. If possible, document what the person told the youth. This will contact the administrator of the computer system that the offender used. Usually, the System Administrator will be able to initiate appropriate procedures to monitor that individual. If the response is unsatisfactory, or if the case is severe, contact the police.
  • Unsupervised access can lead to a disaster. Do not assume that the Internet will keep a teenager safely occupied.
  • If a teenager’s time on the computer seems uncontrollable, set a limit on daily usage and arrange opportunities for face-to-face social peer interaction.
  • Keep yourself up-to-date on the current basics and future development of the Internet.

RESOURCES

 

Resources are scarce right now due to the constant growth and evolution of the Internet. The book below is already outdated, but it may provide helpful historical information:

 

Emerson, A. & Forbes, C. (1989). The invasion of the computer culture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

 

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

 

  1. How can information be handled responsibly when it is so easily obtained?
  2. Who bears the responsibility for monitoring the happenings of the Internet?
  3. How much information do you need? The Internet inundates users with data, trivia, facts, gossip, products, services, and opinions. Is this a reliable source of information? What are other good sources of information?
  4. How can you contribute healthy and useful information on the Internet? What do you know that might be beneficial for others? Do you have access to set up your own personal web page (this capability exists for most users)? Would you be interested in establishing your own site on the Internet? Why or why not?
  5. How do face-to-face relationships differ from electronic contacts? Is one better than the other? Safer? Are both types worthwhile? Explain.
  6. What would you do if you knew that someone was spending too much time on the Internet or was becoming involved in dangerous activity with a stranger on the computer?

 

 

IMPLICATIONS

 

  • The Internet is likely to dominate future business and entertainment endeavors.
  • Continual knowledge about the Internet is vital for protecting young people, most of whom are very curious about and very easily learn to work on computers.
  • The Internet is changing social behavior. In the future, relationships may become less committed and more sporadic. Individual independence may reach another peak.
  • The Internet is essential for advertising and exchanging ideas. In a technological world, it is mushrooming in use and necessity.

Christoph Lameter cCYS

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