A Quantum Leap in Communication

New technological improvements are something that we have faced for centuries. Whether the advance was the printing press, the radio, the telephone, or the TV, all of these things affected us globally. In the past all of these new improvements tend to change social and political policies. We are currently in a new era of technology, one that we have many names for: the internet, the web, cyberspace, information superhighway, and many more. All of these computer technologies affect the way many of us live, especially the use of the internet. (Spender, Dale. Social Policy for Cyberspace. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. McGraw-Hill, 1998. 266-269.) This Essay will compare the advantages and disadvantages of today’s communication and communication before the introduction of mobile phones and the internet.

Thanks to the development of science and technology, the distance between countries seems to be narrowed. We can communicate or cooperate with people everywhere. That's why people say the world is becoming smaller. This tendency brings us more good chances for making relationships and business yet. It also causes some drawbacks like losing traditions or unsteady economic condition.

In the past, it was impossible for a man living in Vietnam to keep contact with his relatives in America. But nowadays, with computers and telephones, we can not only talk with others but also see their lively images through any distance. Besides, we can also make friends with people from different places on this earth if we are interested in. (Legrain, Phillip. Cultural globalization is not Americanization (2003).)

In the process of globalization, the cultures have interfered with one another. Although some countries can collect more good customs, some are losing their tradition. Tradition is one important part of a nation, which are conceptions, habits and noble values maintained for

thousands of years. So when they lose traditions, they lose themselves and become other peoples.

(Legrain, Phillip. Cultural globalization is not Americanization (2003).)

I began to wonder about the vast number of companies whose day-to-day business is conducted online, and what would happen if for some reason the whole Internet suddenly ceased to work. The effects would be extremely far-reaching, for example; a substantial amount of daily business communication is conducted via email, the loss of which would severely disrupt and significantly slow down the companies who rely totally on this media to send and receive information where speed is of the essence. Other parties to be considered are the private individuals whose emails possibly compare or even exceed in numbers that of corporate traffic, and business websites; without these virtual showrooms to look at, a customer would have to revert back to the old way of doing things and visit a real one - very hard on the