Do Consumers Rely Too Heavily on the Internet?

Currently we live in a world which is connected by the internet. Since the introduction of the World Wide Web almost twenty years ago there has been a large shift in where consumers get their information from. News websites such as Stuff, 3News, Scoop and The New Zealand Herald are frequently updated with current affairs; not only local news but international, business, sports and entertainment news.

As the swine flu pandemic hit last month, worried New Zealanders were able to be kept informed about how to keep safe, where the infected people lived and most importantly citizens could monitor if the Rangitoto College students were in fact infected with swine flu, all at the click of a button of their computer.

Angelique Neutgens, 22, an entrepreneur’s coordinator says “the internet is the first point of call for anyone trying to find information on any topic”.

“It [the internet] has combined all of the world’s information into a library, which is just one click away. You can access any piece of information you want within seconds,” says Ms Neutgens.

The internet is now first nature to the majority of us. It allows consumers to perform a number of tasks at any time of the day and night. The internet never goes to sleep and is always there for when consumers may need or want to use it.

Ms Neutgens says “I live in London and at any time I can find information about Wellington’s weather, as well as the history, culture, photos, population and even what the weather is like there - down to the very day, just from going on to the internet in my lounge”.

The internet has grown throughout the years from being a small intranet upon which research was carried out, and now it has grown to a global system which most people rely on.

Alana Charlton, 25, a secondary school teacher says, “The internet houses so much information about the world. We now all rely on the internet for transportation information, finanical information, health advice and the list goes on really”. It is not just there for research and learning but now for people to survive socially day to day”.

The Podcasting News website recently released figures which showed that 35% of adults now use a social networking site such as Facebook or Myspace. This figure is up from a staggering 8% in 2005.

Nowadays more than ever, consumers rely heavily on the digital world to keep them informed about what is happening throughout the world and even in their own neighbourhood.

But what if the digital world fails us? What if we do not have access to our daily emails, records and news? The digital world is becoming a growing phenomenon but at the same time it is becoming a growing problem. As each citizen relies more and more on the digital world to be informed, are they lacking the ability to think for themselves? You decide.