The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had. ~Eric Schmidt
The internet: the final frontier. An ever-expanding morass of information, images, videos, chatrooms, advertising, games, e-mail........ It is impossible to define the boundaries of the internet, or for one person to summarize the contents in a lifetime. No one person or group controls the internet, it is a catalyst for rebellion, enlightenment, and economic change. With a topic so hard to get a fix on, it is very difficult to ascertain the merits of the internet. However an easy quest is one not worth sallying forth on, so: here I go.
The Good
In days of yore, if one decided to deliver a letter, it could take days, months, or years to reach its destination and make a return trip. An e-mail however is write, click, and go. Unless the computer used is unusually slow, the sending should not take more than a couple seconds. This allows for a more streamlined communications system, and makes it easier to keep in touch long distance. The internet also allows for easier research. Instead of of searching through hundreds of books to find several that almost deal with the topic you’re researching, you can google any topic and get millions of results instantaneously. Online databases give credible sources for any research done. This plethora of information allows for a more informed type of citizen. The internet is also assists in the formation of a more democratic society, allowing candidates for elections to reach out to potential voters. It also helps reformers organize and defend their rights, as seen in the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Israeli border areas. The internet is a bonus for the people who would otherwise go unheard. All of these benefits of the internet improve the overall quality of the service.
The Bad
If I had a dollar for everytime I have seen someone on the internet butchering their grammar or spelling I’d probably have enough to go off to any college I chose. Or send all those people a grammar teacher. The ‘IMese’ language that has sprung up as a result of instant messaging and chatrooms is making a mockery of the English language, and presumably of others as well. It is hard enough to learn a foreign language without having people saying “Lol” instead of “I find that highly amusing.” The internet is also reducing the intelligence and effort levels of youth, letting information be displayed at a click instead of after hours of research, and it also leads to a culture of multitasking, which has been proved to be an ineffective strategy. The internet finally leads to an impatient society. THe instantaneous services available make people want everything instantaneously, leading to bad tempered demanding of where is the damn delivery man with the pizza, I ordered it half an hour ago he should be here by now. All these factors are bad, but these are not the true horrors of the internet.
The Ugly
The internet is a place of danger for those who are not careful. Every year there are stories of the deaths caused by careless use of the internet. One case that comes to mind happened several years ago. A mother and her daughter went on Facebook and contacted a girl from the daughter’s school. They pretended to be a boy of about the other girl’s age, and started to worm their way into the girl’s trust. The girl soon started to like the ‘boy’ in a more than platonic way. One day when she sat down at the computer, there were hurtful and insulting messages on Facebook. The next day the girl was dead. She had committed suicide over what the mother and daughter had said to her. Recently, another high profile case occurred. A student at Rutgers University jumped from the George Washington Bridge to commit suicide. His roommate had taken a video of him copulating with another man in the dorm. The roommate then posted this video on Youtube for the whole world to see. These abuses show that the internet makes it much easier to be callous and cruel than it is face to face, where you can see the other people’s reactions. A person can also conceal their true identity on the web, leading to cases of bullying, robbery, murder, and rape. The internet allows humans to deceive others of their kind into following them into traps.
The internet: is it good, bad, or ugly. The benefits must be weighed with the risks, both societal and personal. In the end it is the decision of each individual to use or not use this dangerous and misunderstood creation of humankind.
The internet: the final frontier. An ever-expanding morass of information, images, videos, chatrooms, advertising, games, e-mail........ It is impossible to define the boundaries of the internet, or for one person to summarize the contents in a lifetime. No one person or group controls the internet, it is a catalyst for rebellion, enlightenment, and economic change. With a topic so hard to get a fix on, it is very difficult to ascertain the merits of the internet. However an easy quest is one not worth sallying forth on, so: here I go.
The Good
In days of yore, if one decided to deliver a letter, it could take days, months, or years to reach its destination and make a return trip. An e-mail however is write, click, and go. Unless the computer used is unusually slow, the sending should not take more than a couple seconds. This allows for a more streamlined communications system, and makes it easier to keep in touch long distance. The internet also allows for easier research. Instead of of searching through hundreds of books to find several that almost deal with the topic you’re researching, you can google any topic and get millions of results instantaneously. Online databases give credible sources for any research done. This plethora of information allows for a more informed type of citizen. The internet is also assists in the formation of a more democratic society, allowing candidates for elections to reach out to potential voters. It also helps reformers organize and defend their rights, as seen in the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Israeli border areas. The internet is a bonus for the people who would otherwise go unheard. All of these benefits of the internet improve the overall quality of the service.
The Bad
If I had a dollar for everytime I have seen someone on the internet butchering their grammar or spelling I’d probably have enough to go off to any college I chose. Or send all those people a grammar teacher. The ‘IMese’ language that has sprung up as a result of instant messaging and chatrooms is making a mockery of the English language, and presumably of others as well. It is hard enough to learn a foreign language without having people saying “Lol” instead of “I find that highly amusing.” The internet is also reducing the intelligence and effort levels of youth, letting information be displayed at a click instead of after hours of research, and it also leads to a culture of multitasking, which has been proved to be an ineffective strategy. The internet finally leads to an impatient society. THe instantaneous services available make people want everything instantaneously, leading to bad tempered demanding of where is the damn delivery man with the pizza, I ordered it half an hour ago he should be here by now. All these factors are bad, but these are not the true horrors of the internet.
The Ugly
The internet is a place of danger for those who are not careful. Every year there are stories of the deaths caused by careless use of the internet. One case that comes to mind happened several years ago. A mother and her daughter went on Facebook and contacted a girl from the daughter’s school. They pretended to be a boy of about the other girl’s age, and started to worm their way into the girl’s trust. The girl soon started to like the ‘boy’ in a more than platonic way. One day when she sat down at the computer, there were hurtful and insulting messages on Facebook. The next day the girl was dead. She had committed suicide over what the mother and daughter had said to her. Recently, another high profile case occurred. A student at Rutgers University jumped from the George Washington Bridge to commit suicide. His roommate had taken a video of him copulating with another man in the dorm. The roommate then posted this video on Youtube for the whole world to see. These abuses show that the internet makes it much easier to be callous and cruel than it is face to face, where you can see the other people’s reactions. A person can also conceal their true identity on the web, leading to cases of bullying, robbery, murder, and rape. The internet allows humans to deceive others of their kind into following them into traps.
The internet: is it good, bad, or ugly. The benefits must be weighed with the risks, both societal and personal. In the end it is the decision of each individual to use or not use this dangerous and misunderstood creation of humankind.
Now that IS the good, the bad, and the ugly.... LOL, of course.... :-)
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