This paper is a collaborative essay consisting of research and policy recommendations on the impact of the Internet in society. The chapters were developed in STPP 4C03: "The Internet, Society, and Social Change", a fourth-year course Fall Term 1999 taught by Dr. Carl Cuneo for the Theme School on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at McMaster University. The essay explores the social, economic, and political implications of various aspects of the Internet, as well as possible policies for responding to these implications. Each chapter is an inquiry into a specific question, or cluster of questions, related to one of these aspects of the Internet.
Digital media have altered the nature of literacy. Why is the Internet, as a physical medium and as a social force, so influential in shaping literacy? With its multimedia context, non-linear structure and the ease of immediate communication, the Internet changes the relationships between the reader, the writer and the document, hence potentially affecting literacy in both positive and negative ways.
Telework, or working at home via a remote linkage through the Internet, is rapidly increasing in popularity. Is it a viable alternative to the traditional workplace? This trend's effects can be seen with respect to two spheres-the physical and the social-and is potentially especially beneficial to women, single parent families, disabled persons, essentially helping those who advantaged by working in the physical environment of their own homes. However, this trend may potentially have detrimental effects by removing the social climate of a physical workplace and in disadvantaging lower-class workers without access to telework equipment.
If the Internet is a hostile environment for women, why are women one of the fastest growing sectors of the population joining and participating in the Internet? Gender issues exist in all areas of computing. However, women have devised certain strategies in order to overcome many of the Internet's previous barriers. Women are not only gaining control on-line, but are succeeding in contributing ideas and perspectives currently lacking on-line.
How do video and computer games affect frequent players? Are video games excessively violent, and what are the possible effects of this violence? Can video games be used as educational tools to facilitate learning? A brief look into the effects of violence in video games on the gaming public shows that video game violence does not seem to have any lasting effects on society.
With many individuals espousing conflicting views on what should be considered obscene and what should not be permitted on the Internet, how will censorship of this medium be applied to satisfy everyone and protect the rights and freedoms of all Internet users? Presently, it is hard to control how minors are influenced when searching the web; either parents have little knowledge of the Internet, or they are not able to supervise their children every time they access the web.
If face-to-face communications among students and teachers in classrooms are desirable for quality teaching and learning, and if computers reduce such communications, why are schools rapidly introducing the Internet into the classroom, and why is distance education via the Internet growing each year? The introduction of the Internet into the classroom and as a medium for distance education is still a relatively new concept, but it can be concluded that the nature of face-to-face communication will change between student and educator, but will not diminish. Introducing the Internet into education through a curriculum that is a hybrid between technology and traditional education appears to be the best alternative to ensure face-to-face communication between student and educator is maintained.
As a result of the public's growing use of the Internet as a communicative medium, its effects on our social skills have become a pressing issue. Specifically, what effect will a high level of exposure to the Internet, and its various forms of Computer-Mediated Communication media (CMC), have on our social skills-the set of basic rules and instincts we each possess, which help us interact with one another in a civil, appropriate, and comfortable manner-in the off-line world? The fact that our research effectively supports numerous different contradictory answers suggests that further work needs to be done to establish concrete solutions.
The Internet is becoming increasingly important as a communication tool and information resource and appears likely to change the ways in which we communicate and interact with each other. Users and consumers should therefore be given the opportunity to provide input into the manufacturing process of both the hardware and software of these machines and computers. Prices should be lowered to make products more accessible.
In changing the way we communicate, the Internet will essentially change our functional definition of literacy, as "reading" will mean interacting with text, graphics, audio and video. This will result in new aspects of literacy, some of which include immediacy, non-linearity, community involvement, and reading/writing flux. The Internet will also change the way in which we directly interact with one another, affecting our social skills. The Internet's lack of visual cues may prove beneficial in this respect by reducing discrimination and facilitating creativity and co-operation. Conversely, anonymity and multitasking may hinder our ability to interact with each other by fostering inattentiveness and rude behaviour. To offset possible problems that the Internet may cause to our social skills, interaction between the members of traditional communities should be encouraged both on and offline. Finally, a medium of this power will also have a great deal of impact in the realm of gender relations. In the past, technology has been developed by males, and with their hobbies and interests in mind. Women on the Internet face systemic barriers such as social discouragement to gain computer skill, online harassment by men, and a paucity of female-friendly content online. However, these problems will not be remedied by giving women deferential treatment. Rather, the quality and frequency of positive early experiences in education and the home for females should be improved. Unique spaces should be created on the Internet that are both woman-friendly and woman-centric. In summary, there are two recommendations that cut across all of the topics in this section: first, instead of maximizing benefits, Internet policies regarding communication should focus on minimizing risks. Second, more research is needed to explore the Internet's effects as a communicative tool, specifically in relation to alienation, literacy, social skills, and women.
Evidence suggests that exposure to fantastic virtual realms can be either therapeutic or dangerous for users. Although there are positive aspects to virtual role-playing, the Internet's fantasy world also threatens to entice people to the extent that they get addicted, and this addiction should be considered more seriously. The violent content of computer and video games has also been found to instigate aggression among children, especially girls. However, no concrete relationships have been found between violent games and class or education level, and there is no evidence that shows that video game violence has long-term effects, so it does appear that radical changes to our policies regarding video games are pressing. The question remains as to who should be responsible for regulating video and computer games: should it be the government, the industry, or no one at all?
The increasing use of the Internet both in employment and education has begun to challenge the tradition structures of these systems. Wide acceptance of telework may result in safer work environments and reduce the demand for energy and fuel required for commuting. Working from home may provide increased opportunities for single parents as well as disabled individuals. Drawbacks of telework include a narrow job market, and isolation from friends and colleagues. Consequently, telework proves most beneficial as a complementary part of the work schedule. In the realm of education, teachers will need to be trained to facilitate learning via the Internet. Consequently, all instructors entering the discipline of teaching should be required to possess a basic knowledge of computers. As a learning tool, the Internet may help students learn how to work independently. Although one expects that this will prove problematic for students who cannot learn without face to face communication with a teacher, research has shown that there is "no significant difference" between distance and face-to-face education. One possible solution for the integration of the Internet into education would be hybrid learning-instruction employing both the Internet and face-to-face interaction. Despite the advantages of incorporating the Internet into the educational system, a number of difficulties related to its implementation continue to exist, and the issue therefore remains problematic.
Presently, it is difficult to monitor or control the Internet's content to meet social goals. Filtering and rating systems have proven to be rather ineffective. However, it may be the case that such wide-scale systems of content control are unnecessary-censorship is primarily an issue because minors may be affected, so it perhaps most reasonable that policy implementation take place at the household level. This solution becomes more attractive when one realizes that attempts to implement censorship are in conflict with attempts to increase privacy, and may threaten the rights of the users. Privacy issues are especially apparent when one views the medium as a high-relief example of the connection between capitalism and the lack of privacy. Every time we use the Internet, it is likely that our activities and identities are being monitored, recorded, and sold for profit-it is clear that there needs to be significant improvement in the way in which government and society deal with privacy. However, it seems that whether we would like to regulate the Internet to increase outside control over its content or to protect privacy, our efforts will be limited in the absence of a high level of international co-operation, as no single company or country will be able to restrict the flow of technological development.