The Internet has revolutionized the way people communicate with each other and provided much free access to information. Is this beneficial for society and why? What would be the disadvantages?

It will affect the world seismically, rocking us in the same way the discovery of the scientific method, the invention of printing, and the arrival of the Information Age did.

- Bill Gates, Founder Microsoft Corp.

Within the short span of a decade, a military computer network has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon that has captured the imagination of an era. The Internet Revolution has arrived. But where is it taking us ? An answer is sought by analyzing the impact of the Net on the individual, the community, and the global society.

As a gargantuan, semi-organized, searchable repository of information the Internet makes an incredibly powerful tool for the individual. However, what benefits the individual does not always benefit society. The internet is merely a carrier of knowledge. In the Stone Age, where `power = ability to knock out everyone else', it would have been worthless. But in the Age of Information, it has empowered the individual. Unfortunately, where one netizen peruses baby care techniques online, another might learn the secrets of naphtha bombs and blow up buildings. Benefit or bane - it clearly depends on each and every individual that is part of society.

If `Man is a curious animal', the internet is probably `An endless supply of fodder.' This immense pool holds dangers of its own for young and inexperienced minds. Pornography, bigotry, fundamentalism and piracy are rampant on the Net. Furthermore, the pursuit of information quickly becomes an end in itself, a solitary prison devoid of vivacity and experience. The result? An arguably lowered standard of living for the individual and thereby society.

By introducing novel models of anonymous communication, the Web has given the individual freedom from social inhibitions, freedom from himself (aka social expectation) and simultaneously added a whole new dimension to interaction - imagination! And VR (virtual reality) seeks to make these interactions indistinguishable from reality! Why be plain old Lucy Gray when one could be the Enchantress@Wits.End ? And therein lies the danger. As people develop and nurture their online identities they do so at the expense of their real lives. As of today, it is difficult to imagine that an online relationship could be as fulfilling as the `real thing'; and it is disturbing to imagine a society based primarily on such relationships. But such is the promise of the Internet, and the `bane or boon' lies in the eyes of the beholder.

A fundamental unit of social interaction and expression is the community, which represents any group of people with a shared sense of identity. The ease and rapidity of internet based communication will help reinforce this shared identity in otherwise scattered communities. An example is the BBS Leoki project at Hawaii, that helped rescue a nearly extinct language. Local and global power structures will undergo a liberating metamorphosis, as people learn to organize and express themselves over the Net.

Academia and Business are two global communities that have made radical progress under the auspices of the internet. The slow `knowledge' dialogue that began with Gutenberg's invention of the printing press has today moved beyond the confines of not merely language and geography but also cost and time. Global collaborations, such as the one that lead to the success of the human genome project, are becoming commonplace. Researchers are learning more and more faster and faster. Good for society? Certainly, provided that we homo sapiens manage to keep up!

The dream of a global society "free from the limitation of geographic proximity as the sole basis of friendship, collaboration, play, and neighbourhood" began with the dawn of the global village phenomenon. Internet technologies have the potential to realize this hope. Indeed certain facets of this worldwide neo culture are already discernible: free expression, democracy, technical competence and consumerism. But whereas netizens might well achieve a state of global ecumene, the internet itself is unfortunately not an equal opportunity resource. `Irrelevant' nations and peoples, the poor, the majority of women and most of the old will be alienated and thus silenced in the virtual world. The threat of a powerful techno-elite towering above a vast secondary society is very real and potentially disastrous.

In conclusion, the reader should note that this discussion is far from exhaustive. However, it highlights some of the key areas where the internet will prove highly beneficial, and others that are a potential faux pas. The risks are high, but so are the stakes. Through a global effort to address obvious pitfalls, humanity may retain its mastery over technology. And choose its own path into the future.

- Amit Garg.