The Internet's Role in My Life and Yours

The Internet's Role in My Life and Yours
The internet has become the most powerful tool in technology in the twenty-first century; the world is more connected than ever through the wireless, easy, efficient, and idea spreading device. I see it in my own community everyday. I walk through my campus and watch students pulling out their tiny phones, typing away with their fingers, and communicating to their friends, family, and even the world. Social media platforms make it easier than ever to be alerted about breaking news, or fed new ideas from people that you've never met before. Today, "almost one-third of the world's 6.8 billion people use the internet regularly" (History.com Staff). The internet's multidimensionality has drawn marketers, society, and even the government to networks designed by themselves and for themselves (Castells 1). It becomes more advanced as time passes on, and will shape the future for everyone's lives for the rest of time.
For these reasons, the internet will be imperative for my future endeavours. In a world where poverty affects more than half of the people living in it and terrorist attacks strike without warning, communications between countries are more important than ever. I'm pursuing an International Relations degree because people's backgrounds, choices, and lives affect international relations whether people realize it or not. Interactions between countries give a deep cultural understanding that creates the foundation for educating others on different beliefs and values. In the field that I'm pursuing, the internet will be essential in keeping good communication between countries.
As seen in the past, poor communication between countries led to horrible wars and misunderstandings; take World War II for an example. The internet was more than thirty years away from being invented, and the war was partially caused by bad relations between England, Germany, and France at the time (World War II 1). Thus, better and more effective ways of sending messages between the states, such as the internet, could have prevented one of the most destructive wars the world has ever seen.
However, the internet is changing everyday. It is a device that has helped the world in so many ways, but can be destructive to international relations as well. It can be seen today with twitter for example. President Trump shocked the world with his "nuclear-button-measuring contest" tweet against state actor Kim Jong Un (Trump's 8 Worst Tweets of 2018 (so Far) 1). The tweet may be laughable at first, but the fact of the matter is that is was an indirect threat to North Korea that put U.S. national security at risk. While the internet has made international communication better, it comes with some consequences and puts into perspective the responsibility that one must have with it if they have a powerful platform.
All in all, the internet is more relevant in society today than ever before. It's impact can be seen in all different types of fields. The field of international relations relies on effective communication between countries to ensure a better and safer world for the future generations to come. I hope that the Internet of Things will be a tool I can use in my future career that will steer countries away from war and conflict, and lead to a world that will be cooperative and peaceful.

Castells, Manuel. "The Impact of the Internet on Society: A Global Perspective." MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 15 Sept. 2015, www.technologyreview.com/s/530566/the-impact-of-the-internet-on-society-a-global-perspective/.

History.com Staff. "The Invention of the Internet." History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/inventions/invention-of-the-internet.

"Trump's 8 Worst Tweets of 2018 (so Far)." Study Breaks, 9 Jan. 2018, studybreaks.com/news-politics/trump-tweets-worst-2018/.

"World War II." HistoryNet, www.historynet.com/world-war-ii.