Computer Use

Introduction

Throughout the latter part of the 20th and first part of the 21st century, the Internet has developed into the “global village” McLuhan spoke of in the 1960s. The Internet has created a social and information culture similar to the traditional village, yet in a virtual environment. You communicate or chat daily with individuals who are online. You purchase goods through online auctions. You write letters that contain pictures and movies and send them to family and friends through the use of electronic mail. You check the headlines on the daily paper, perhaps the New York Times or the Scotsman, while living in rural Montana.

Through telecommuting, you can work in large urban areas and live in less crowded rural settings. The global village concept extends to education as well. You can take a course to further your education or career from any university in the world that offers distance learning, all from the comfort of you home (Roberts, 34). This new global village, through the Internet, enables you to be a participant in worldwide events, regardless of location.

Numerous observers have suggested that the predominance of masculine themes (e.g., fighting and war) are the likely explanation for the differential appeal of video game and computer technologies to boys and girls. One might also consider the behaviors required to win numerous interactive games. Often, playing video and computer games encourages players to repeat cycles of competitive, aggressive behaviors, generally considered undesirable for females. The interactive game “culture” is also a prominent part of boys' socialization experiences. Gaming is a collective leisure activity for boys, and boys' tendency to incorporate computing or gaming into friendship networks may influence use at home and at school. In sum, males continue to lead in the areas of gaming, programming, and computer ownership.

Discussion

The global village has changed how we interact with information. Traditional books are being supplemented by e-books, Web sites, and other electronic sources. McLuhan said reading a book is an individual personal experience. The e-book or Web site (or other electronic medium) becomes a group experience due to the nature of the medium. The information you read is being read by perhaps 100 or 1,000 other individuals at the same time who are physically dispersed around the globe, just as you are.

The global village has in part grown out of a need for socialization. Although it is more personal to interact with individuals face-to-face, career and family needs take a significant amount of time out of our daily lives. Social interaction is an important component of healthy individuals' lives. In today's world, it is normal that both parents have to work to support the family (Passig, 73). In one-parent homes, it is difficult to make ends meet with just one job. A parent will often have two or more jobs. Family obligations then take priority once the workday is done. The Internet acts to meet socialization needs. When parents are busy at work, children are home alone until the parents get off ...