The 21st century has begun. What changes do you
think this new century will bring? Use examples and details in your answer.
The difference between the 21st
century and before is a presence of an equality of information. In the 20th
century, books were the primary material that conveyed information through one
another. Therefore, only elites, who have an ability to read and access to those
books, could be enlightened and lead others. Knowing nothing, however, the commoners
were ousted from power; thereby lost a right to speak. Then, Invention of World
Wide Web (www) which was invented in the last year of the 20th century
became a signal that information is no longer a privilege of elites and every
people can get information he wants to know.
The commoners wanted to speak their opinion with the information they acquired thanks to the Internet, not only to people
around them but also to the public. Blogs and Social Networking Services were
created in order to fulfill the needs and they have become a square of diverse
ideas and debates. Therefore, in the first decade of the 21st
century, the Internet became a place where people can express various ideas
freely and discuss them. Armed with sufficient information and an arena to
speak out, the commoners will play a far more significant role than just
expressing their ideas by being a part of politics. This, however, would change the world
in a harmful way against a common belief that it must be beneficial when people
take parts in making polices. At first, a campaign to obtain signatures of
approving or disapproving issues will be a main way to be participated in politics. However,
as time goes by, the commoners won't be satisfied with indirect ways; hence they will crave for more direct actions. They will
form various factions with people who have the same interest or opinions online;
thus causing factions. Blackmailing will appear so as to win the factions. The
Internet would be a miniature that involves all problems in the status quo. In near future, the Internet would be an arena more brutal
and nasty than the Coliseum.
Some people who participate in online politics have a
fundamental arrogant belief that they know enough and the world would change in
a better way if it moves according to their knowledge. However, that judgment
is what makes the internet into a far more detrimental place. Looking the
history, you would find that the most successful leaders were humble and modest
people, not arrogant large-headed people stuttering around yelling “I’m the
best”. Ahn Chul-Soo, a former presidential candidate, gained popularity because of his humbleness and is now changing Korea based on that quality. Looking at the 'some' people, on the other hand, they suggest mostly ridiculous ideas based on their wrong belief and superficial
knowledge. Opinions of those people pouring out into the Internet without
filtering can manipulate people’s mind and even a government policy. Some might
argue that most of the opinions are not accepted by the public so it
cannot be that detrimental. However, it is no different than a nuclear bomb.
Even if we defend our country from ninety nine nuclear bombs but when one
nuclear bomb slips out, still the country will be destroyed completely. Some
wrong ideas in a government policy can directly affect our daily lives badly in an instant.
The 21st century, people can access to a astronomical amount of knowledge, exclusive to elites before, whenever they want very easily. This
difference will beget a tremendous change in a near future but not in a good
way. The world would be much more dirty and chaotic as people would thoughtlessly try to
be a part of politics. Now it may seem optimistic that the commoners can
express their opinions freely which was prohibited before. However, the
Internet would be just a miniature of a society with even more dangers lurking
around. There is a reason why elites led the world for thousands of years and the world has been harmonious.