Online services have been constantly developing since 1979, giving us the option to shop, contact friends/family, keep updated on daily news, and download films and music, all online.
Communication: With the evolution of online services we can now communicate a lot easier, with the use of instant messaging, social networking sites and video messaging services such as Skype. Chatrooms have been replaced with things such as Facebook messenger and BBM, showing just how quickly the world of communication is developing and changing. One of the best things about online communication is the flexibility of it. As long as you have an internet connection, you can access it 24/7 and send messages to almost anyone. This means that you can talk to someone on the other side of the world without paying for a long-distance phone call. It also means that your conversations can be documented, unlike verbal conversation; you can go back and revisit a conversation. An obvious limitation of online messaging is how impersonal it is. There is a big risk of being misunderstood, due to the absence of facial expressions and tone of voice. Personally, I use online communication all day, every day. From Facebook messenger to Whatsapp, it is easier than ever to keep in touch with people.
Real Time information: We can now also get access to information such as news, weather, traffic reports and train timetables. This provides us with the option to plan our day from the internet, ranging from choosing what to wear according to the weather, to deciding what train to get to work. Another development in Real time information is the option to receive updates on a live news feed about train delays and cancellations. However, there is no guarantee that the information you are receiving is correct, which could cause problems, especially when it involves travel. Personally I think Real Time Information is more of an advantage than a disadvantage, and I regularly use it to find out about train times. A recent development has seen South Eastern Trains use Twitter to constantly update customers on where the train they are waiting on is, and notify them when there are any sudden delays or cancellations.
Commerce: The world of online shopping and banking is ever growing, allowing us to shop for everyday things from the comfort of our own home. You can purchase clothes, shoes, furniture, even groceries online, without even leaving the house. A huge advantage of online shopping and banking is the ease of it. It is over and done within a matter of minutes, and if you have an account with the company, it’s even faster as you don’t even have to type any personal details in. However, a common limitation of online shopping is the fact that you cannot ‘try before you buy’. There is also a shipping or postage and packing fee, meaning that in some cases, you are paying more for the delivery than the actual item. Personally, I do not shop online too often, as I have had too many experiences where I’ve waited for the item to get delivered, only for it to not be anything like I expected, and I then have to send it back. For this reason, I normally avoid online shopping.
Government: By using the internet, you can now do tax returns, vote and apply for universities. This makes all these things a lot easier and quicker, making it less of a hassle. However, if you have a problem with an application for example, it is very hard to resolve as you are not speaking to an actual person who can talk you through it, instead you are taken through pages and pages of FAQ’s as an attempt to fix the problem. Personally, I haven’t really used the internet for these reasons up until recently, when I needed to apply for UCAS. I found that quite easy, with very few problems.
Education: The internet is also very useful for education, for example school VLE’s. This allows students to access their timetables, e-mail their teachers and receive and submit work. Teachers also use the internet to demonstrate certain things through the use of websites such as YouTube. This can be very useful as students can also access thousands of resources for revision. However, a limitation of this is that you can never be sure if it is 100% reliable, especially with websites such a Wikipedia, as anyone can alter the information. Personally I use the internet for research and revision very regularly, as there is so much information for any given topic or subject.
Business: Many businesses also use the internet for things such as conference calls on Skype. This can be very useful, particularly for larger companies as they may need to contact clients from other countries, and Skype allows you to do this for free, reducing the need for expensive, long-distance phone calls. It has also been made even easier to do this with the introduction of 3G and 4G internet, meaning you can do all this on a range of devices, such as a smart phone or tablet. However, not everyone has access to 4G networks, due to the expense of it, or where they live. Personally I do not use things like Skype that often, as I prefer to text or use Social Networking sites, but I have used them occasionally for contacting relatives in a different country.
Entertainment: The world of entertainment is ever-growing, and the internet accompanies this, providing access to online gaming, radio players and streaming TV online through websites such as iPlayer. This makes it a lot easier to make sure you don’t miss your favourite TV programme or film, as you can go online and watch it whenever you want. However, if you do not have access to a fast broadband, then it can be very difficult to watch things online as you have to wait for it to buffer and this could take a while. Personally I do use things such as iPlayer quite often to catch up on TV that I have missed, but I have noticed that it can take a very long time to load, especially if other people in the house are using the internet at the same time for things such as online gaming.
Download Services: A huge amount of people now use the internet for downloading things such as software, upgrades, films and music; reducing the need for actual CD’s and DVD’s. Using the internet to download these things is a lot more convenient, and allows you to transfer the files onto your phone so you can listen or watch them on the go. Although, there a huge problem with illegal online downloads, meaning that people are downloading things for free through illegal websites, when they should be paying for the content. This creates a big dilemma, especially in the world of music, as the illegal downloads are not counted as an actual sale, meaning that the artist won’t know for sure how well their music is selling, and they are also losing a lot of money. Personally, I use the internet to download music a lot, as it is so convenient. For example, if I am listening to the radio and hear a song or album that I like, I can immediately log onto a site such as iTunes and download the song onto my phone in a matter of minutes.
