The World Wide Web, more commonly referred to as the Internet, has all but taken over the lives of so many people. Available on the Internet is every imaginable resource, piece of information, and way of communicating with almost anyone in the world, and it can all be found in one place, which can be reached by the comfort of one’s own home. Because of the instant availability of everything found on the Internet, it becomes hard, for many, to separate the difference between what people experience and learn online, versus what they may come into contact with or who they might meet face-to-face in the world around them. Though there are many negatives that are often associated with the ...view middle of the document...
300). When navigating through the vast number of websites or search engines, users are more than likely to find the information that they were searching for, in addition to a large extent of additional information. The extremely sophisticated makeup of websites and various search engines have the ability to learn what interests a user most, for instance what key words they search most or the websites they learn most. Through websites learning these pieces of information, they are able to help a user discover new websites that could be of interest to them. This technology is a large and integral part of how the Internet is rapidly becoming a more reliable resource than “traditional mass media such as newspaper and radio [which] may reach a large public audience, [but] may not reach the target group of individuals most affected by the information†(Durrance, Fisher, Unruh, 2003, pg. 301). The Internet has an astonishingly large and complex number of resources that can be used to not only help a user find information that they are actively searching for, but also to experience and learn new kinds of facts and news in the process of this search.
Additionally, people with disabilities are able to access the Internet to aid them in their lives and keep in touch with the world around them. The increasing spread of the use of the Internet enables people to locate almost any information that they try to find, and the users who are particularly set out to find answers and information are those who do have a disability. Whether the disability be a physical or mental handicap, the Internet offers an abundance of information and online interaction that many of these users would otherwise have a difficult time accessing, which can lead to improvements in health outcomes both physically and mentally (Dobransky & Hargittai, 2006, pg. 314). Internet users’ health outcomes are the effect of these health improvements, and include “reeducated length and frequency of hospital stays… this range of benefits is seen to come about because people with disabilities are able to obtain more and better information†(Dobransky & Hargittai, 2006, pg. 315) Not only are many of these Internet users with disabilities going online to find information and treatments, many also use the Internet as a social resource to reach out to the world around them. According to Mars, who conducted a study on the electronic resources for those with disabilities in Native American reservations, the most common use of the Internet was to reach out to family and friends, and seek advice about their disability or to simply reconnect (2010, p. 34). The results of this study also showed that “the population of Native Americans with disabilities supports a greater use of websites, electronic newsletters, and e-mail lists†therefore showing that those with disabilities are actively seeking out ways to still remain in contact and constant communication not only with their family...
