Communication And Email

Since flying in airplanes has become less expensive and more commonplace, television has brought culture from across the world into our living rooms, and cell phone usage has made overseas calls more affordable, people from all over the world have been able to visit, tour, and communicate more easily. But no other development has made commerce, education, falling in love, and swindling others more personal than the Internet. This paper will debate the premise of whether or not the world is becoming a “global village”.

The word “global” indicates a huge place, while the term “village” usually carries the connotation of a close-knit group or clan that is brought together by values or a common culture. This would bring to mind a place in which people develop lifelong relationships. Has the Internet been effective in joining people who work toward common goals? This really would depend on what the goal is. E-mail is one of the easiest and least expensive methods of communication that is available in the present day. Because of the ease and low cost, it is also accessible to almost anyone with a computer. Computer swindles are now prevalent, with few safeguards present for those that are easy prey. One such scheme involves the request for a sizable sum of money by someone who claims to be in trouble. The trouble can only be resolved by an investment from the e-mail recipient. The sender of the e-mail promises to repay the kindness of the recipient by giving back a much larger sum of money.

These e-mails appear to have originated in Western Africa, usually Ghana or Nigeria. These scams have created a negative perception of how Africa and Africans are viewed as Internet users.