The Internet and the Google Age: Prospects and Perils

"The Internet and the Google Age" commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Internet in March 2014 and celebrates the achievements and benefits while also pointing out the limitations and perils of the Internet. It identifies the broad characteristics of the Internet age, and includes several studies that outline the educational benefits of the Internet and social media platforms like Facebook which connect families in the diaspora. "The Internet and the Google Age" also looks at the place of faith and religion on the Internet. It describes how life in our digital world is both exciting and challenging. An excellent introduction to Internet Studies, the book predicts that life will become more and more digitalized and how the current demarcation between private and public spheres, home and office, human and non humans (robots) will become less and less apparent as the Internet becomes more interwoven into our lives. The following chapters are included: (1) The Internet and the Google Age: Introduction (Jonathan D. James); (2) Patterns of Internet usage in the Philippines (Iremae D. Labucay); (3) The gendered search to connect: Females and social media in rural, Northern Ireland (Anne Rice); (4) Online religious advertising: The case of Australian Christian youth festivals (Paul Emerson Teusner); (5) The computer revolution and evangelical mission research and strategy: An historical overview (Michael Jaffarian); (6) Searching for French civilization: Reflections on situating information literacy skills in an undergraduate curriculum (Carmel O'Reilly); (7) Purposeful searching: Training students in Internet literacy for Italian studies (Etáin Watson); (8) Symbolic instruments and the Internet mediation of knowledge and expertise (Nicola F. Johnson); and (9) The Internet: Friend, foe or target? (Jonathan D. James). A name index is included.