Entertainment and Communication Essay

As an avenue of entertainment and communication, and as a research and source tool, the net profit has had a huge impact on the modern societies of unquestion competent nations. At the same time, there is concern that the disadvantages and negative influences may outweigh the benefits to the society. This endeavor argues that, in the get going decade, the advantages of the meshing far outweigh the disadvantages. This consider is addressed with the support of true authoritative sources which provide the frame figure out for qualification much(prenominal) a claim. This essay first explores the effect of the meshing on the social structures of family life history, and sacred and spiritual practice. Subsequently, this essay examines the repercussions of the lucre on content pagan identity and multiculturalism.Firstly, in the finally ten years, modern family life has been enhanced by developments in technology, and the cyberspace is no exception. The advent of the lucr e affords pargonnts the opportunity to use the World Wide Web to work from pedestal, removing the penury to place pre-school age children in day fearfulness centres in the c be of strangers and so reinforcing the family unit (Jenkins 2010). However, the benefits of the profit not only collapse implications for present(prenominal) family members of the extend family can overcome the barriers of time or distance to catch ones breath close through such channels as email or social networking sites, for example Facebook.Despite this, Fenech (2007) asserts that the meshing has eroded some aspects of family life. Where earlier generations may get to forsaken dinner conversation in order to look on television together, the practical dimensions of a laptop screen now proscribe this act of togetherness (p342). Nevertheless, any avenue that gener totallyy allows more opportunity for make between members of an immediate or extended family has to be seen as advantageous. Moreover, th e internet allows a sense of inclusion that goes beyond the family sphere.Secondly, due to the increasing availableness of the internet in the last ten years, participating in a religion no longer inevitably depends on a soulfulnesss ability to attend a place of worship. The virtual crimp may offer a person more opportunities of interaction with both the spiritual leader and opposite devotees by providing facilities such as blogs, reproof rooms and video links. Moreover, this creates a sense of belonging to a sacred or spiritual community where one may have not existed before, as more and more people commute, work longer hours and, indeed, are required to work on public holidays, which often coincide with religious festivals (Wong 2009).Though Goldstein (2008) ascertains that the flagrant consumerism promoted through such mass media outlets as the internet is responsible for a turn away from religious practices and a speedy decline in religious service attendance, her research focuses solely on, Christianity, Judaism and Islam and is not inclusive of growing sects such as Jews For Jesus and alternative religions such as The Bahai Faith. Groups such as these use the internet to plug into their followers globally (Wong 2009).What is more, the internet is uniting people on a more personal and intimate level.Thirdly, the internet offers the opportunity to maintain cultural ties with ones domain even when living abroad for work purposes. Expatriates can view electronic versions of modernisticspapers, stream and download news, current aff advertises programmes and local dramas from their country of origin, so keeping in contact with the culture. It could be argued, as Azhad (2008) does, that this process could be facilitated just as easily by print media and DVD recordings being sent through the mail, as would have been the norm a decade ago. Nonetheless, it is the live experience of being able to access news from kinfolk as it happens that reinforces a na tionals ties to the home culture, and simulates a feeling of being there (Olsten 2008 p.6).This connectedness to home alleviates feelings an expatriate might have of dislocation or alienation from their countrymen, as real time exposure to the home vernacular creates common quote points, making communication a much smo separate process (Wong 2009). Equally, other facilities afforded by the internet, such as Skype, enable someone away from home to still have a presence in the home country as they participate in the celebration of cultural festivals and national holidays, consequently reinforcing their commitmentto nationalism in the eyes of their compatriots and tightening the ties that bind. Alternatively, just as the internet serves to strengthen national identity, it can also provide a point of reference for those who live in a multicultural context.Finally, in a globalised world, the last ten years have seen the internet increase a multicultural society by creating a venue to air diverse cultural opinions and to construct diverse cultural identities. Mainstream newspapers, radio and current affairs programmes are representative of a perceived norm and do not reflect the complexity of a multicultural society. In turn, ethnocentric or non-mainstream media reach a takely targeted audience and serve to hike ghettoize the other (Zadrow 2010 p.11). The internet thus provides the opportunity for any verbalize to be heard alongside and equally with all other voices in the country, community, or indeed, the world.In this way the internet equips the global citizen with a liquid they can use to exist and interact both globally and locally, preferably than being confined to a fixed and marginalised identity. Notwithstanding the fact that the internet is English based and broadly advocates a western lifestyle, this does not necessarily mean it must lead to a homogenized world. Citing the research of Kennard, Zadrow (2010) maintains that the internet acts as an i nteractive archive from which an individual can draw all the elements to both create and, more importantly, preserve cultural identity.In conclusion, this essay explored the effect of the internet on peoples lives in the last decade and found that the advantages of the internet far overshadow the disadvantages. It found the internet has had positive effects on family life, allowing the hands on parenting of pre-school children by those parents who are able to use the internet to work from home. In addition, it has reinforced the extended family by harnessing email and social networking sites as a means to retard in direct contact. Furthermore, blogs, chat rooms and video links have offered an alternative to attendance at religious services, which have suffered such quick decline in recent times.Another positive effect of the internet is its ability to re-assert national identity, particularly for those living abroad, as they retain impertinent access to the home culture by being a ble to download or stream current affairs or local drama. Finally, the internet enhances multiculturalism by offering an alternative to mainstream media representations of the norm to those who identify as the other. Arguments which support the negative impact of the internet on peoples lives in the 21st century focus on very narrow aspects and fail to acknowledge the broad range of benefits the internet has borne on modern society.ReferencesAzhad, S 2008, Is digital dumbing us down?, Journal of Australian Initiative, vol. 20, no.1, pp.5-7, viewed 30 October 2011, via JSTOR.Fenech, P 2007, Western culture its psyche and the internet, Hobson Press, New York.Goldstein, R 2008, The last person to leave heaven a study of the impact of new millennium consumerism on traditional religious practices, Journal of Critical and cultural Research, vol.2, no.3, pp. 9-18, viewed 30 October 2011. http//www.prb.australasia.com/content/documents/JCCR%23.pdfJenkins, M 2010, Earn $$$ from your home t he domestic revolution in e-com industry, Womens Business Today, vol.8, no.2, pp.120-127, viewed 28 September, via Sage.Olsten, H 2008, Broadsheets online best news for expats, The Weekend Australian, viewed 2 September 2011, via Newsbank.Wong, Z 2009, Why kneeling when you can click paper presented to the 7th International Conference on Digital Religion, Southern Cross University. Lismore, NSW, 28 to 31 July.Zadrow, K 2010, The closely in the mirror theories of subjectivity in the digital age, Elliott McGill Ltd, viewed 28 July 2011, via Ovid eBooks.