We normally think of culture and daily living habits as changing over periods of many generations; however, the introduction of the internet has arguably caused significant change in a period of less then two decades. Internet use has now exploded to over 100 million users; its attractions include information, email, multimedia content, tele-commuting, news, online communities, ecommerce, entertainment, and more. According to Bill Gates, the internet is "the center of attention for businesses, governments, and individuals around the world. It has spawned entirely new industries, transformed existing ones, and become a global cultural phenomenon." Since its widespread adoption, the internet has dramatically changed our daily lives and affected cultures worldwide, but the question remains as to why this has happened. Some might argue that the internet has had a significant effect primarily because it employs new technologies and therefore creates new jobs; however, this underestimates its impact. The internet has had an impact on daily living patterns because it has changed individuals. It has impacted culture, "the patterns of behaviour and thinking that people living in social groups learn, create, and share," because it has changed group thinking and group behaviour. To reveal why the internet has affected the culture of groups, both large and small, this essay provides examples of how the internet has made it possible for groups to think and behave differently.
The Internet has influenced the daily lives of individuals by affecting individual thinking, individual behaviour, and how human needs are satisfied. Daily living has changed because individual thinking, such as our judgements and values, have changed. According to Wallace, when we are online we judge people differently by using different attributes. Also, as internet use has increased, people's values have changed. For example, some people's value of privacy has changed so that they feel it is...