Traditional media like television is hierarchical, top-down, and randomness of content was minimized. Internet is then just the opposite and Internet has been one of the most rapidly adopted communication technologies. The Internet now brings together over 30 million people on-line worldwide, inviting an average of 150,685 new users per day, or 1.74 per second. By 2000, 250 million people will have access to the Internet (Killen & Associates, 1996) .
It is the fact that internet is the new era. From my perspectives, there are two major differences between the culture of the internet and the culture of mass media. The one is: the internet is more interactive that viewers have the right to select what to receive, but the old media like TV and radio is top-down that you have comparatively limited choices. The other is: the internet almost circles the globe, and virtual location in cyberspace depends more on information than physical geography, with its users connecting through thoughts and interests across any and all boundaries.
It is the fact that the Internet has become a revolutionary tool for communication among the computer savvy individuals of the modern world. In contrast to the traditional form of communicating face-to-face, a majority of Internet users utilize the feature of computer-mediated Communication (CMC) ways to talk to their various relations.
Today, computers users can listen and watch both live and recorded news and sports reports from sources as ABC, CBS, ESPN, and NBC. Also, there are over 2,400 radio stations around the world that are already sending there programming out by way of the Internet, allowing people to tune in with the click of a mouse. This new technology boosts their ranks of listeners and also allows them to sell more advertising. Next, unlike printed version, one positive effect that the Internet has had on journalism is the ability to get information out to audiences quicker.
However, sometimes the positive things could also be the negative things. Much of the information that is on the Internet is not as accurate as the information that can be obtained from a newspaper or a news broadcast. In the United States, it is virtually impossible for the government to regulate the Internet because of its enormous size. Besides, I think many people are still more comfortable with the traditional forms of mass media. People are more comfortable with sitting down and reading the newspaper or a magazine or turning on the television to see the news. Most people do not turn to the Internet when they want to learn about a recent news story.
As a secondary school teacher, I have found that students are eager to CMC. Not infrequently, my students enjoy chatting through facebook or WhatsApp, playing online games and joining online groups. It seems that participants disclose more than they do in face-to-face situations.
Actually, CMC has become a revolutionary, novel, and widely popular form of communication. As opposed to talking directly to someone, CMC allows individuals to communicate in enhanced, desired, and controlled environments. Individuals are capable of targeting not only whom they converse and socialize with, but also how they want to be perceived. On the other hand, face-to-face interaction can be perceived to be more “daunting” because there is no such wall of security in contrast to the computer mediated tool.
Not allowing students to use CMC tools is something impossible. The more practical way is to make use of it and that may help arouse students’ interests in learning. Furthermore, guiding students to conceive, analyze and judge information from the internet is a must. Most importantly, students must learn how to create their own works and communicate with others by expressing their own ideas.
