The Future of the Internet: Freedom of Access
As a Junior in college, I have been exposed to many topics over the span of my life, some more interesting and beneficial than others. Over the past few months, while taking a Library Science course, I was exposed to a debate that I had never known much about prior. This debate is the future of the Internet, and how it should be controlled and accessed.
Although, the Internet is still developing and is seen as a more recent invention, nearly everyone who has access to it uses it every day for an infinite amount of chores and tasks. It can be used at work, for communication, or even for entertainment. We do not think twice about it and simply see it as something we can use whenever we want, for nearly anything we want.
Now imagine a world without Internet. Imagine not having access to all the things you have used the Internet for as long as you can remember. What if you were deprived of it or someone controlled what you can and cannot do on the Internet. That would take away so much of what makes the Internet great. We see it as a place where we are free to give our ideas and free to find the information we want. It opens up our imagination and allows us to follow through by researching our ideas and even discussing them with others.
As of now, there is an ongoing debate of whether the Internet should be regulated in order to keep certain content away from people to see. It is clear that if this happens, there will be multiple issues. First, one will be deprived of all this information that is open to them. Much of it will be regulated and closed off to certain crowds. Many articles, papers, and books are being privatized by large industries in order to sell them for high prices to large organizations such as universities that can afford them. Anyone who does not attend these universities will be cut off from this information. Another issue with Internet regulation is that people will not feel the freedom to communicate openly and exchange their ideas with others. If certain people can be cut off from information just because regulators do not agree with what they are saying on the Internet, people will be more apprehensive to post their ideas on the Internet for all to see, ponder, and debate.
Over the past few months, I have learned to see the Internet from a new perspective. It is such an incredible form of media, unlike we have ever seen before. It allows people to access information and express their ideas with others all over the world. If the Internet is regulated, it will be crippling it from its potential and holding people back from theirs.
