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In the following sentence I am confused about the exact function of being + used

We see the internet being used in many places.

My analysis is as follows: Subject = We , Verb = see, Object = the internet, and in many places = prep' phrase being used as an adverb.

Is being used part of the object. Is it a passive construction. I'M CONFUSED

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This is a participle clause and its function is adverbial, in that it gives more information about the main clause "We see the internet".

Consider

I saw Sally riding her bike.

From this we can deduce two facts. 1) I saw Sally and 2) Sally was riding her bike. Moreover Sally was riding her bike at the time we saw her

Similarly from "We see the internet being used in many places" we can deduce

  1. We see the internet (this is not literal sight, but means "we know about") and 2) The internet is being used in many places. Moreover the use of the internet in many places is something that we observe.

The participle is passive (being used)

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We see the internet being used in many places.

We can say that this is a more concise form of:

We see that the internet is being used in many places.

We - Active subject

See - Active verb

Internet - Object

Is being used - Passive verb

In many places - Complement

Passive voice is always object + verb to be + past participle

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    Except the words is and that don't appear in the first sentence, which is surely the semantic equivalent of the second sentence. Might "being used" be the present passive participle modifying internet? Consider "The internet being used in many places is dangerous." This has the same structure as "The internet of 2019 is dangerous." (I also think "in many places" is an adjunct and not a complement because the phrase isn't necessary to complete the thought.)
    – user105719
    Commented Dec 13, 2019 at 6:50
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It also permits the interpretation “We see the use of the internet in many places.” On that reading of your sentence, the internet is the complement of being used. This interpretation wouldn’t be appropriate in the context where the next sentence was “It’s become more widespread than newspapers,” but it would if the next sentence were “It’s an engrossing pastime.” To see the difference, contrast these examples’ antecedents of the word it; in the former, it’s the internet, but in the latter, it’s the using of the internet.

Likewise, @JamesK’s sentence could be interpreted to mean “I saw Sally’s performance at bike riding.” This interpretation would be appropriate in the context of responding to a comment like, “Sally seems to be having some problems with her balance lately, had you noticed?” where a reply might be, “You know, I saw Sally riding her bike, and now that you ask, yes, there was an air of uncertainty about it.” Note that the antecedent of it is riding her bike.

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