es1102 essay1 final

8/3/2019 Es1102 Essay1 Final

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The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow, Bill

Gates claims (Search Quotes). Indeed, the Internet is bringing people from around the

world, regardless of their backgrounds, together. Geographical distance matters less now.

Interaction with another party can be made instant with the Internet. Almost all of the

information we need can be found on the Internet. And the Internet has completely

revolutionized shopping with the introduction of online banking. However, it has its harms.

Some have become victims of the Internet; they invest too much time on the Internet.

Others have mishandled the information available on the Internet. In this essay, I would

elaborate on the above-mentioned benefits on the Internet and its negative aspects.

Fabin (2002) has argued that the availability of Internet access means that distance

is no longer as important as before. When distance matters less, we are able to interact

more with people and travel to places which was once thought inaccessible. Not long

after the Internet emerged, online messaging services have become a tool for

communication. Since e-mail is not a good platform for short and fast communication,

these messaging services have gained popularity over the years. Internet Relay Chat

(IRC), Microsoft Network (MSN) Messenger and American Online Messenger (AIM) are

some of such services. They allow instant exchanges of messages through the Internet,

which has become substitutes for expensive overseas calls. The Internet has also made

social networking popular. Friendster and Hi5 were the more popular social networking

websites before Facebook was introduced in February 2004. Facebook connects more

than 640 million people from around the world together. Users of Facebook can post

status updates, pictures, information about themselves and even videos in their profiles,

which are broadcasted to their friends in Facebook.

Although these social media enabled endless possibilities of interaction, some of


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their users have become slaves of the Internet. They spend an unhealthy amount of time

on the Internet. This leads them to neglect the real world, which includes their friends,

family, work and social activities. The Internet has enhanced communication. However, it

may cause people to spend too much time on it.

Another benefit of the Internet is itself being like an online library. Information that

anyone needs may just be a few clicks away. With the availability of gargantuan amount of

information on the Internet, research is more convenient now than ever before. Type in

anything in "Google" search engine and we will be presented with a whole list of sources.

This enables people to be more well-informed and more aware of the world around us.

However, if the information is not handled well, it may backfire. One such example

would be the easy access to pornography. Without proper guidance, children can be easily

exposed to pornography through the Internet. These children might not be only exposed to

soft-core pornography, but also explicit deviant material. Due to the fact that pornography

expresses sex gratuitously, it would encourage irresponsible sexual behaviours among

these children. Promiscuity could increase health risks; in the United States about one in

four sexually active teenagers acquires a sexually transmitted disease (STD) every year,

resulting in three million cases of teenage STDs. When information is not controlled or put

into good use, it may end up being detrimental to the user.

In conclusion, based on the examples given above, we can see that the internet is a

double-edge sword. Whether we can effectively maximise the benefits of the Internet,

totally depends on how we handle this tool. We should practise moderation and keep our

usage in control.


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Reference

Davis, K.E. and Braucht, G.N, Exposure to Pornography, Character and Sexual Deviance,

Technical Reports of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography (1970), 7.

Fabin, B. S. (2002). Intellectual freedom and social responsibility: As we grow more

dependent on the Internet, we grow more vulnerable. World and I. March. 38.

http://www.searchquotes.com/quotation/The_Internet_is_becoming_the_town_square_for_

the_global_village_of_tomorrow./60871/

es1102 essay1 final

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