Every innovation influences human’s lifestyle differently: one brings only slight changes while another turns out to be a breakthrough that brings the changes even to the world history. The Internet is a clear example of such a change that divided human’s history into two parts: life before and after its appearance. However, the question is which aspects of human life the Internet influenced in the most drastic way. The basic purpose of the essays lies in comparing and contrasting two so-called “epochs”: life before invention of the Internet and after it. Special attention will be devoted to such aspects as lifestyle, communication, and commerce.
The first aspect that deserves careful consideration is connected with changes in human’s way of life
This aspect is by far the most significant in the abovementioned list. If to analyze the lifestyle people had before the appearance of the Internet, it is obvious that 50 years ago everything was much more difficult than it is now. The Internet has provided people with a unique possibility to simplify the way of life, to do everything much easier, quicker and better. To find some necessary information, one had to go to the library; watching a new film was the privilege of the upper class; and finding a workplace was not an easy task to do. On the contrary, nowadays there is hardly anybody who does not use the Internet. Students rarely go to the libraries as they can find enormous quantity of resources at short notice on the Internet. Moreover, the whole process of studying has changed: students now can turn in their tasks and assignments in electronic form online; they can even opt for distance learning. A person does not need to leave his or her home to watch a new film; it is absolutely accessible on the Internet. Finally, finding a job and even launching a business is possible and much easier via the Internet.
The next aspect that also changed human’s life is the way of communication
At the times when people did not consider faster and more effective ways of communication than sending a letter or getting a message through by the help of pigeon, nobody could even imagine that communication can be on-line. Previously, only two types of communication, namely face-to-face and correspondence were used. The Internet has brought the humanity numerous innovations that considerably simplify the whole process of communication: people now can send and receive e-mails within minutes, chat via instant messages, talk and see each other on Skype, have blogs, etc. For this reason, it is not odd that letters have become unfashionable and less effective way of communication. On the other hand, previously people had to arrange a meeting in advance in order to see each other. Real face-to face talk brings a real feeling of communication and emotions, gestures and eye contact cannot be replaced by computer screen. Internet made people lazier - it is not necessary to arrange everything in advance; sending a message on Twitter or Facebook is considered to be enough.
The last but still extremely important change that characterizes life before and after the Internet is commerce. In this case, the changes were made in everything starting from advertising and finishing with new business types and ways of doing business, such as e-commerce. For example, earlier people got to know about new products or services from advertisements in the magazines or posters on the streets. Nowadays, such types of advertisement are just additional tools as the most effective is advertising through online mass media and the Internet. In addition, before the Internet people could buy the things they needed only at shops. Nowadays, one can buy almost everything being at home and seating in the front of the computer. However, accessibility is not the only priority; online shops offer lower prices and numerous discounts that make this type of shopping more popular and comfortable.
Life before the dawn of the Internet and after it can be compared to two different epochs
It has changed every single aspect of human’s life starting from the things people do, the way they study, entertain, communicate with each other, and finally, earn money. In other words, before the appearance of the Internet people had completely different lifestyles, communicated only face-to-face or by means of writing letters, and used completely different types of commerce. The thing is that the Internet became a kind of revolution of the 20th century, which made the life easier and allowed things to be done faster. However, despite the Internet makes life and communication easier, people should not overuse it in order not to oversimplify their lives and make them lazier as well.