The pros and cons of the evolution of the internet.
The internet has to be one of the most used applications in today's modern world. In 2006 it was recorded that 33.3 % of people in the U.S.A from the ages of 18-34 have internet access at home and 31.8% at work (Cyberstats). Given the massive population of the United States (301,139,947), that's a lot of people surfing the web. So what are all these people doing online you might ask? Well pretty much anything, and everything they want.
Although the technology for the internet had been around for a while it didn't really gain a spot in mainstream society till the 1990's. Back then the World Wide Web was used solely for classroom applications, such as looking up information, or technical uses. It wasn't till the mid 90's when "internet" and "world wide web" where household phrases. Lots of students in colleges were looking for new ways of communication and the web seemed to fit their needs perfectly. They could send messages to their friends who lived on the other side of the country and have replies back from them within a few hours. This idea revolutionized how the internet was used. It was no longer just for the classroom, but a way for kids to keep in touch. Web technicians could now tell each other about software that had come out moments after it had done so, helping to spread the evolution of technology. It truly was a new age, an age of technology
Today roughly 1.244 billion people use the internet worldwide (worldstats). The benefits of the web are infinite. You can now do your banking online, pay your bills, get car insurance, play video game, order food, talk to people from across the planet and much, much more. It's easy to see why people think the internet is such a positive, user friendly device. But as with everything else, there are many arising problems and issues that lots of surfers don't take into consideration. I personally think that the web is a magnificent tool (if used properly), but let's take a look at the dark side of the web just for a moment.
As with comes with any communicative technology there's an instant need to branch out once you know you can. I mean who wouldn't like a pen pal from Japan??? But there are many dangers in this, not only for us as adult, but more so for children who don't know any better. How do you know who you're really talking to? Is it really just a friendly person who wants to meet new people like you, or is it someone who has another agenda and uses the internet as a medium to plot his evil? As we all know there are many messed up people in the world who would like nothing more than to trick their way into your good graces until they can get close enough to harm you. We've all seen Dateline's "to catch a predator" where undercover agents pose as minors and trick people into coming over their house. When these molesters, pedophiles, and just straight up weirdoes show up they're shocked to be greeted by Chris Hansen instead of the child they thought they were meeting up with. This illustrates one of the greatest dangers of the internet. It gives people like that away into children's lives, and if the kids aren't taught what to look for, or taught how to be more careful, they can be in a world of danger.
Another form of cyber crime is identity theft. This is when someone somehow gets your personal information and uses it to their advantage. Identity thieves use certain programs such as viruses or Trojan horses, and certain hacks to get into personal computers. These programs are built to save and send any sort of form that you might possibly fill out on the internet. Not only do they record the sites you've been to but also credit card numbers, social security information, even just names, ages and birthdays, can be a tool used against you when they get into the wrong persons hands else's hands. After obtaining this information the thieve will assume the identity of the person whose information they have and make expensive purchases, ruin someone's credit, or even just use the identity they stole while performing other illegal on-line activities (soliciting sex, look at child pornography sites, trying to hack into secure networks, etc. )
The last negative issue ill mention is a two sided one, communication. We know that the internet allows us to talk to whoever we want, whenever we want, but have you ever thought about what could happen if the wrong people are talking? Gangs now have a resource to communicate and plan hits or shootings online without giving away their true identity. Criminals can plan joint robberies online without even ever leaving their house. While the freedom of the internet is great, these are just some things we have to take into consideration every time we sign on.
So now were on to the good stuff. I personally love the internet because of the outstanding resource it is. I mean, not only can we use sites like Wikipedia to get information for reports and essays (such as this), but we can look up anything we want. Anything! We get step by step guides on how to the change oil in our cars and be mechanics for a day. We can look up guitar tabs and learn to play the guitar without ever taking a single lesson. We can look up Rachel Ray recipes and make some of the most scrumptious food in the world. The internet allows us to access knowledge on any subject we can think of(except government secrets of course)But even if we can't access the governments archives we can do a Google search on "AREA 51" and see what other people across the world have to say about it. This gives us an unlimited amount of freedom.
Another great thing about the World Wide Web is its ability to let us network. We can make new friends on MySpace or Face Book. We can fill out job applications, or post our resume in hopes of finding employment. It gives us opportunities we never imagined possible, all at the click of a button.
I can't express enough how magnificent our level of communications has increased due to the internet. Internet telephones such as Skype allow us not only to have international conversations, but also allow us to see who we're talking to with video applications (Skype). A father in Baghdad fighting for our safety can call his loved ones in the states and see the children and spouse he has back home. That to me makes the internet one of the most important tools in our day and age.
We can now see how the internet is not only a tool for crime used by the wrong-doers of the world, but also a multi-purpose tool that enhances our everyday lives. Without it we would have access to half the material, or people we now do. I think in this case the good greatly outweighs the bad, but then again that's a decision we'll all have to make for ourselves.
