TEXT B

The Impact of the Internet on Society

The Internet has had a profound effect on society over the last two decades. Although it began as a government operation, over time this innovative technology eventually evolved into a public novelty. Looking at society today, one may find that the situation has certainly evolved. For many, the Internet has become an essential for daily living, no longer the fun novelty it was 10 years ago. Even a decade ago if you were to think about whether or not the Internet had significant impact on society, the answer would likely have been probably not. While the Net may have been considered a neat innovation, it was not like anyone "needed" it.

However, over time this perception has changed for many individuals in society. The Internet has become, for the most part, an absolute necessity, either by requirement or by desire. Going online has become as natural as doing other daily tasks people have traditionally done. People take it for granted that the Internet will be available, and dependency on being connected has become the norm. Both businesses and individuals alike depend upon the routine availability of the Internet. Due to the fact that many businesses, government agencies and other organizations have navigated to the online environment, generally people require consistent access, or 24/7 (24hours a day, 7 days a week) access, if you will.

In many ways the Internet has had a very positive effect on society. It has improved communication, simplified handling tasks and errands, offered huge convenience, enabled faster processing, and provided more options, all of which have freed more time to do other things.

Yet, interestingly enough the Internet has, in some ways, had negative effects. The quality of communication has declined; people are impatient because they have become accustomed to instant gratification, and using the Internet also takes up a lot of time. As websites such as Facebook and other socially based interactions increase in usage, many hours a day are consumed as people keep up with their various networks, taking away from other activities.

When looking at it from the latter perspective, one may wonder whether or not the Internet has truly benefited society. (4)Realistically, as with anything else, the Internet has its pros and cons. Tools such as e-mail and instant messaging have become the standard; social networks are quickly evolving into the next level of communication, and people enjoy their constant access. In this respect the benefits of the Internet are tremendous. This is not only evidenced by the many activities people engage in when they connect to the Internet, but also by the continuous progression and development of mobile devices such as smartphones.

Society has evolved to the point where people expect and rely on readily available information. People also expect to receive rapid responses when doing business and personal tasks. The Internet makes this possible. Many of the things that society takes for granted nowadays are all made possible by the development of the Internet

What kind of an impact has the Internet had on society? Wrapped up in the advantages and disadvantages one thing is for certain: the Internet has had a significant effect on society. To imagine the impact all one has to do is try to envision the consequences if the Internet was suddenly removed from society. Imagine a world where the Internet was unavailable. How would it affect you? Looking at it from this respect, for many it likely brings to light just how reliant and dependent society has become on the Internet and it would be extremely hard to turn back the clock.

参考翻译：

互联网对社会的影响

互联网对社会的影响近二十几年以来，互联网对对社会产生了深远的影响。尽管它开始是由政府运营的，随着时间的推移，这项革新的技术最终发展演变到公共领域。看看如今的社会,你会发现情况早就已经变化了。对于大多数人来说，互联网早已成为日常生活中非常必不可少的东西了,而不再是像它10 年前那样是个新奇玩意了。甚至是10年前，如果你那时候设想一下互联网是否会对社会产生重大的影响,答案可能都不见得是肯定的。然而网络可能已经被认为是个整洁的创新，并不是每个人都“需要”它。

但是,随着时间的推移，社会上大多数人的看法都发生了变化。在很大程度上,网络已经变成为一个绝对的必需品,要么是必要条件要么是心里渴望。去上网已经成为一件很自然的事情,就跟按照惯例做其他日常的事情一样。人们想当然的认为有网络可以上，而且依赖这种联系方式成为很正常的事情。企业和个人都依赖网络的常规可用性。由于实际上很多企业，政府机构,和其他组织都在网络环境里有导航,一般人们需要一贯地可以有网络可用，或者说是24小时7天不间断的可以上网，如果你想这样的话。

从很多方面来讲互联网对社会产生了很积极的作用。它改善了人们之间的沟通交流，将处理任务和差事.简化了,提供了很大的便捷，能够更快地处理各种程序和提供更多的选择,所有这些都释放了很多时间来做其他的事情。

然而，从某种程度上讲,快速发展的网络也有一些负面影响。交流质量下降了;人们变得不太有耐心了，因为人们变得习惯于快速地被满足,而且使用网络也是占用了很多时间。一些网站使用量大增,比如脸谱和其他社交网站。人们每天花很多时间忙于各种网络联系，占用了其他活动的时间。

从后一种观点来看，你可能会好奇想知道网络是不是真的对社会有益处。实事求是地讲，和其他事情一样,网络也是有它的利处和弊端。比如，像电子邮件和短消息这些工具,已经成为标准了;社交网络正在向交流沟通的下一阶段快速地发展，而且人们很享受他们能够长期的在线上网。在这方面，互联网的益处是极大的。人们利用互联网所从事的种种活动，以及移动设备比如智能手机的持续进步和发展都能证明了这一点。

社会已经发展到人们期望并且依赖触手可得信息的地步。人们也希望在工作和个人事务上都能快速的接受到回应。互联网让这成为可能。现如今，社会所认为是理所当然的很多事情都是由于互联网的发展才使之成为可能的。

互联网到底对社会产生了怎样的影响呢?总结一下它的优势和劣势,有一点是可以肯定的:互联网对社会已经产生了很重要的深远的影响。如果突然把互联网从社会中移除掉的话,想象一下这对所有人是怎样的后果呢。设想一下没有互联网的地方会是一个怎么样的世界。那会给你带来怎么样的影响呢?从这方面来看,对于大多数人来说，它可能昭示出了社会已经变得是多么的依赖互联网了,而且如果时光回转那会变得多么困难。