The Internet: irreversibly changing our lives and lifestyles

There is no denying it: the Internet has irreversibly changed our lives and lifestyle. It is also changing the business landscape in ways we had not foreseen just a little over 10 years ago.

Take for example the simple act of hailing a taxicab. The old business model was for you to flag down a cab and let your fate and destination be controlled by a driver who may or may not be a person of integrity. With the introduction of Uber and its later successor, Grab, the act of hailing a cab has now transformed into one of greater control by the commuter:

1. You do not have to argue about fares.

2. You have clear records of who the driver is and his vehicle credentials.

3. You have minimum vehicle standards that are pre- determined and enforced by the service provider; thus the vehicles tend to be better maintained, are cleaner and moreov e r, you get to rate the driver according to his service quality standards which will later on reflect on his longevity with the service.

Today, we have different levels of information access that has made the old libraries virtually redundant, save for deep research on ancient texts and volumes, making life easier for students and researchers on a level that had baby boomers spend days in musty and dusty libraries. To top it off, the information is likely to be fresh and, generally, the sources are trusted, authoritative. You can Google yourself or another person and take a look at how you are viewed in cyberspace.

One of the largest employers today, the call center and telemarketing industries use the Internet to a very large degree to access potential customers.

When you need something, be it take out food, groceries or other items, one need not go anymore to stores, or malls or groceries. A few clicks on the cellphone or computer and you can have virtually everything delivered right to your doorstep.

The Postal Services of many countries have been rendered virtually obsolete as vast quantities of data and communications can be flashed in seconds through e-mail and other computer/ Internet- based service providers. Information traditionally provided by the vast media networks are now facing serious challenges because news and information can be secured in seconds through Facebook and e-mail. As a result, many traditional broadsheets are now closing down and traditional entertainment channels are now being challenged by NetFlix and other similar providers.

The influence of cyberspace is not all roses and lollipops in our lives.

We now face dangers unique to the cyberspace age.

For one, the young of today are more and more dependent upon iPads, tablets and the like for entertainment and communication. This has had deleterious effects on the youth because face- to- face communication where not only information but values are inculcated is being reduced to a minimum. It is paradoxical that as communication lines have exploded, less and