With instant and anonymous access to any person on the globe, humans have reinvented their concepts of morals and opinions.

The term “hive mind” has for years been confined to sci-fi novels and documentaries about small insects, but this new collective technology has truly melded the minds of the American public.

The world we live in now has been altered undeniably by the internet.

The internet has given us access to any information we want at any time. It presents fictional stories which are then reposted and interpreted as truth.

Opinions all over the internet bombard us, changing our views with their sheer volume and incessant nature. This collective conscience changes the dynamics of each of our lives.

Privacy is a thing of the past, as many people willingly reveal personal information, location and pictures of their food ad nauseam. The “global brain” now analyzes every tweet, every writing and even your own personal values. Access to the personal writings of individuals everywhere, all at once, has transformed the Western world into a swarm of unoriginal insects who all see the same images over and over again.

We all know who Miley Cyrus is regardless of interest. All of us are exposed to the same web memes and blogs which influence our views of the world. For example, I doubt keg stands, where people drink from beer kegs at parties while doing a handstand, were as insanely popular before pictures of them swarmed the internet from camera phones.

The internet has brought popularity to previously niche fads such as tattoos that were originally meant as marks of separation from the social norm.

Now, Starbucks employees covered from head to toe in ink will hand me coffee and I can’t help but think that tattoos were originally meant to mark people who did not belong in normal society, like soldiers or convicts.

Before the web, regional and parental influence largely determined who we were. Now, kids are exposed to views from all over the plugged-in world, and we’ve become mostly homogenous to it. I’m not saying we all live the same life, but to be exposed to all the same messages and global propaganda has to influence originality.

Music is a wonderful example as so much of it is available anytime. Artists experience so much exposure that their music has almost taken a back seat to promotion.

I work at a night club with live music and the popularity of apps like Instagram deeply affects the audience and, subsequently, the artist. I’ve seen sold out shows where rap artists such as Mac Miller will tank on freestyle performances, give up entirely on the performance and then bring out their cameras to Instagram the audience.

Remember “Panic! At the Disco”? They became famous without ever playing a live show at a club.

I’m not a big fashion person, but that area must be severely affected by the connectivity of the internet.

Pictures circulate the entire nation in a matter of days and before you know it everyone is wearing stripes or Chuck Taylors.

The web killed the punk-rock look by making it so accessible; now a man in a leather jacket with piercings isn’t spectacular at all. Everything can be ordered over the internet and because of it we can all end up looking the same.

Collective consciousness altered our cultures. It has destroyed the boundaries by unifying them in such a superficial way. The internet crushed our individuality and our privacy, and now we must march together as ants do, identical in thought.

This article has been fixed to deal with formatting issues. 9:34 P.M. 10//11/13