The World Wide Web and the Current Status of the Economy - Is There a Link?
Introduction I am not an economist, but I do have a question regarding the recession in the United States of America and many other countries of the world: Is the World Wide Web (or the 'Web') responsible for the current state of the economy? Let me explain why I am asking this question.
Since its beginnings in the early 1990s, the number of people who use the Web on a daily basis has grown enormously.
The Web, with its capabilities of processing data and transactions automatically, and without human intervention, is also being increasingly used by corporations, banks, universities, and other entities.
Shift to the Web Based Operations Many major corporations and other entities started shifting their operations to the Web a few years ago.
Such a shift probably resulted in the loss of many types of jobs that previously required human involvement.
Before the large scale utilization of the Web, human beings processed many transactions that are now being handled automatically by dynamic web pages.
Many people nowadays routinely pay their bills online instead of mailing their checks as people used to, before the days of the Web.
In those days when people mailed checks to pay bills, human beings had to open the envelopes and make sure that the payment was recorded and the checks cashed.
Online payments are handled automatically.
While human intervention may still be needed to monitor online transactions, the number of human beings needed to keep track of such activities is much smaller.
Tasks that needed say, 100 people can probably be handled by a much smaller numbers of people as a result of Web-based automation of such transactions.
The difference in the number from the 100 previously employed people to the lesser number of working people required after automatic bill paying became popular will be equal to the number of people who lost their jobs and became unemployed.
The Web and Its Impact on Middlemen and Middlewomen The Web has also reduced the need for people who traditionally served the role of intermediaries or "middlemen.
" For example, a salesperson used to be the one who sold things to people.
But the Web has changed that situation.
Those who have something to sell can just advertise their products online and those who wish to purchase goods or services can do just by visiting various websites of vendors of such goods and services.
There is no more need to call many salespersons from several companies to compare features, services, and costs of various products.
There are several Web-based software products and services that compare prices offered by various vendors.
There is also no large scale need for salespersons to visit offices to try and sell their products.
Potential customers, who are becoming more Web savvy with each passing day, can be directed to Web-based catalogs, product information, as well as online stores where orders can be placed.
With growing numbers of websites catering to the needs of individuals, corporations, universities, governments agencies and other entities, the need for people who were historically employed in intermediary roles or as middlemen and middlewomen, the ranks of such workers is bound to shrink further and further.
Other Employment Losses Attributable to the Web During the last few years, several newspaper companies have closed their doors and many newspapers are no longer being printed and distributed every day in the mornings and in some cases also in the evenings.
More and more newspapers are going online.
Such a migration no doubt makes production and distribution of news more economical, but it also results in the need for lesser numbers of people to be employed, thus adding to the problem of unemployment.
When news is produced and delivered online directly to the consumer, a number of intermediary jobs become obsolete.
The truck drivers who distribute the newspapers to different parts of large cities are no longer needed.
Neither are the youngsters who for many years in this country have learned the value of honest work by getting up early in the morning to deliver newspapers door-to-door in their neighborhoods.
Also impacted are the employees of companies that manufacture paper.
As each newspaper company shuts its doors, the need for paper decreases and paper manufacturers will eventually go out of business and several more jobs will be lost.
These are just a few examples of lost jobs.
I am sure that many more jobs have already been or will soon be lost as a result of newspaper closures since many other companies survive by selling their goods and services corporations that publish newspapers.
Similar ripple effects can be identified in other sectors of the economy as well.
A major automobile manufacturing company, which is still barely surviving even after receiving billions of dollars from the United States government, recently announced that it plans to start selling its cars and trucks directly to its consumers.
It plans to do so using the Web.
The company plans to initially implement its idea in one part of the United States and will most likely expand the concept to the entire country if it proves to be successful.
Imagine what this transition to the Web will do the network of dealerships across this country, many of which are already hurting financially and closing their doors.
What about the salesmen and saleswomen that are hired by these dealerships and members of their families? Conclusion The Web is a wonderful invention and it has certainly made in many ways life easier and better for people.
But people also use the Web many other ways that are considered socially unacceptable and perhaps even illegal.
Examples of undesirable behaviors include stalking others, posting pornographic images, cyber bullying, stealing identities and disregarding the intellectual property rights of others, to name a few.
There is certainly a link between loss of jobs and the migration of activities and transactions to the Web that were previous conducted by employed human beings without the use of the Web.
How much did the loss of jobs because of the large scale transition to the Web contribute to the state of recession in the United States and other advanced and advancing countries of the world? I am not an economist and do not know the answer to the question, but as a human being with average intelligence, I do see a link between the Web and the recession.
I urge economists in the United States and other countries to study the link between the Web and recession and answer my question based on evidence.
Since its beginnings in the early 1990s, the number of people who use the Web on a daily basis has grown enormously.
The Web, with its capabilities of processing data and transactions automatically, and without human intervention, is also being increasingly used by corporations, banks, universities, and other entities.
Shift to the Web Based Operations Many major corporations and other entities started shifting their operations to the Web a few years ago.
Such a shift probably resulted in the loss of many types of jobs that previously required human involvement.
Before the large scale utilization of the Web, human beings processed many transactions that are now being handled automatically by dynamic web pages.
Many people nowadays routinely pay their bills online instead of mailing their checks as people used to, before the days of the Web.
In those days when people mailed checks to pay bills, human beings had to open the envelopes and make sure that the payment was recorded and the checks cashed.
Online payments are handled automatically.
While human intervention may still be needed to monitor online transactions, the number of human beings needed to keep track of such activities is much smaller.
Tasks that needed say, 100 people can probably be handled by a much smaller numbers of people as a result of Web-based automation of such transactions.
The difference in the number from the 100 previously employed people to the lesser number of working people required after automatic bill paying became popular will be equal to the number of people who lost their jobs and became unemployed.
The Web and Its Impact on Middlemen and Middlewomen The Web has also reduced the need for people who traditionally served the role of intermediaries or "middlemen.
" For example, a salesperson used to be the one who sold things to people.
But the Web has changed that situation.
Those who have something to sell can just advertise their products online and those who wish to purchase goods or services can do just by visiting various websites of vendors of such goods and services.
There is no more need to call many salespersons from several companies to compare features, services, and costs of various products.
There are several Web-based software products and services that compare prices offered by various vendors.
There is also no large scale need for salespersons to visit offices to try and sell their products.
Potential customers, who are becoming more Web savvy with each passing day, can be directed to Web-based catalogs, product information, as well as online stores where orders can be placed.
With growing numbers of websites catering to the needs of individuals, corporations, universities, governments agencies and other entities, the need for people who were historically employed in intermediary roles or as middlemen and middlewomen, the ranks of such workers is bound to shrink further and further.
Other Employment Losses Attributable to the Web During the last few years, several newspaper companies have closed their doors and many newspapers are no longer being printed and distributed every day in the mornings and in some cases also in the evenings.
More and more newspapers are going online.
Such a migration no doubt makes production and distribution of news more economical, but it also results in the need for lesser numbers of people to be employed, thus adding to the problem of unemployment.
When news is produced and delivered online directly to the consumer, a number of intermediary jobs become obsolete.
The truck drivers who distribute the newspapers to different parts of large cities are no longer needed.
Neither are the youngsters who for many years in this country have learned the value of honest work by getting up early in the morning to deliver newspapers door-to-door in their neighborhoods.
Also impacted are the employees of companies that manufacture paper.
As each newspaper company shuts its doors, the need for paper decreases and paper manufacturers will eventually go out of business and several more jobs will be lost.
These are just a few examples of lost jobs.
I am sure that many more jobs have already been or will soon be lost as a result of newspaper closures since many other companies survive by selling their goods and services corporations that publish newspapers.
Similar ripple effects can be identified in other sectors of the economy as well.
A major automobile manufacturing company, which is still barely surviving even after receiving billions of dollars from the United States government, recently announced that it plans to start selling its cars and trucks directly to its consumers.
It plans to do so using the Web.
The company plans to initially implement its idea in one part of the United States and will most likely expand the concept to the entire country if it proves to be successful.
Imagine what this transition to the Web will do the network of dealerships across this country, many of which are already hurting financially and closing their doors.
What about the salesmen and saleswomen that are hired by these dealerships and members of their families? Conclusion The Web is a wonderful invention and it has certainly made in many ways life easier and better for people.
But people also use the Web many other ways that are considered socially unacceptable and perhaps even illegal.
Examples of undesirable behaviors include stalking others, posting pornographic images, cyber bullying, stealing identities and disregarding the intellectual property rights of others, to name a few.
There is certainly a link between loss of jobs and the migration of activities and transactions to the Web that were previous conducted by employed human beings without the use of the Web.
How much did the loss of jobs because of the large scale transition to the Web contribute to the state of recession in the United States and other advanced and advancing countries of the world? I am not an economist and do not know the answer to the question, but as a human being with average intelligence, I do see a link between the Web and the recession.
I urge economists in the United States and other countries to study the link between the Web and recession and answer my question based on evidence.
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