Staff editorial: The internet, is it a privilege or human right?

There’s no denying that in this day and age, technology has taken over a considerable portion of our lives. Aside from cellphones, the most prominent technology to have hit our generation is the Internet. Now information, news and even people are literally a Google search away.

Back in 2011, the United Nations (UN) released a statement that said the UN has recognized that Internet access is a human right.

We here at the Sundial believe that Internet access is as of now a privilege, since we have to pay to have access to the net. Given the precedence of the Internet, we believe that the internet should become a human right. Even so, there are some precautions to understand if we were to hand universal control of the Internet to a single power.

The Internet is a resource

To us Matadors, and even more so for those of us at the Sundial, the Internet has become an indispensable tool necessary to do almost all of our daily tasks. Whenever the Internet at school goes down, we freak out.

From just perusing the Internet to using Google Documents to put together an essay for class, the Internet has surgically embedded itself into our daily lives. Many who live in this era can no longer imagine what life would be like without the Internet.

Think about it. In developed nations, nearly everything is found or done online now. The Internet has become the new classifieds, as friends use social media to broadcast a job opening, or when job-seekers use Craigslist, Monster or the company site itself to search and apply for a job. These job searches more than likely lead us to an online application, a print-out of an application or the instructions to email a resume.

But the Internet is more than just a gigantic classified ad. For college students, it’s become a necessity.

Media convergence of the classrooms is taking place, as evidenced by the various my CSUN tablet classes, Moodle and online classes. There’s no denying that the Internet and technology is taking our learning environment beyond the traditional classroom.

Now, tests, quizzes and sometimes even finals are being facilitated through Moodle. Electronic submissions of essays are commonplace, and emailing professors for help or to schedule office hours is often taken for granted.

Not only is that, but reminders and notifications constantly sent to students through the use of the Internet. Applying for FAFSA now takes place online, as well as registering for our classes.

Navigational apps on our smartphones have become common, as people will now say that they will just “navi it.” Now, reaching places we’ve never been to before is easier than ever with the Internet and our phones.

These things that have become second-nature will fall if the Internet goes down.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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