Advantages and Disadvantages to Having the Internet

                There are many advantages and disadvantages by using the Internet on a day to day basis, especially concerning the younger population. Some advantages include unlimited sources of information, communication with any person anywhere in the world, and the ability to research at home rather than going to a school or a library. There are many different advantages, but these three are very important because of the endless possibilities that lay within them. There are also many disadvantages to using the Internet. Some of these include predators feeding on young people, false information, and people becoming somewhat “stupid” in a sense. These advantages and disadvantages are what help and hurt people within society every day.

                There are and unlimited amount of sources for and unlimited amount of information on the Internet. You can think of any topic, type it into Google and find countless websites that will talk about every different aspect or perspective of that specific topic. For example, I have recently been researching ways to make my hair grow faster because I really want to grow my hair out again, so all I did was type it into Google and hundreds of different websites popped up and some of the ways listed actually work. One of the ways listed was to use horse shampoo, which sounds really weird and kind of awkward to actually try, but my hair has grown two inches the first month I started trying it out. There are even apps that people can download on their phones that are stocked full of different information. The app “All Women’s Talk” has information that can help women on a day to day basis all the way from weight loss to keeping your house clean.

                In today’s society, you can just hop on Facebook and talk to any person that lives anywhere in the world. For example, I went on a trip to Switzerland and I stayed with a family there as a homestay and I talk to them all the time when I’m on Facebook. It is very convenient to keep in contact with people you know all over the world. You could have a friend going on a trip around the world and still keep in some form of contact whether it be through texting or some kind of social networking site.

                Back in the day when the Internet was still being created, you could only use the Internet in the library or at school. Now we have Wi-Fi so we can purchase a laptop, a desktop or just connect through our smartphones. This is a huge convenience for many people especially college students and even teachers. I have no idea what I would do if I couldn’t access the Internet from my house especially when I have online homework due every week. Even for my mom, she uses the computer at my house every day to put together work for her students because she is a middle school teacher.

                These were all very important advantages to having the Internet, but there are also some disadvantages. According to Forbes magazine, a lady dated a guy that she had met on Match.com for about a week, but she broke it off because of unsaid reasons. A few months later, the man she met online showed up to her house and started stabbing her repeatedly. She later found out that this man she met online had previously murdered his ex-girlfriend. This is very eye opening because you never know who will be on the Internet especially if you’re talking to someone you don’t know.

                Some informational sites can provide false information. One of them is Wikipedia. Most of the information on this website is correct, but the website gives people the option of changing information and some people like to abuse this by putting false information to throw people off. I remember in high school, teachers wouldn’t accept sources from this website because they didn’t want us learning false information. There was even a presentation for the whole school about websites with false information and this one was on it.

                Ever since smartphones and the Internet came out people have become more “stupid” yet not more stupid at the same time. This is a disadvantage to the Internet because instead of actually reading textbooks or encyclopedias to learn about different topics, people just go on Google. This isn’t necessarily bad, but people think they don’t need to remember it because they can just look it up using the Internet again. The days of learning and remembering information to make yourself seem more intelligent are gone because of this.

                These are all advantages and disadvantages to having the Internet. In today’s world, the Internet is used every day in order to talk to different people all around the world and even meet new people that you could possibly date, although this can be very dangerous. The Internet is very useful especially when you’re stuck at home and need to look something up. Today’s society has become dependent on this and one day we will possibly never have to look at another book again.

I am looking forward to taking this New Media and Society class because the information presented within the course seems very interesting and relevant to my life seeing as I am still very young. I love looking at statistics on how much society has shifted from not having electronics to not being able to live without them on any given day. I know for a fact I use my phone everyday to go on Facebook, play games, talk to my friends and family, and just make time pass, but when you think about it there are so many other things we could be doing with our time. That's why I am looking forward to this class because instead of being a statistic I want to actually do what I used to do as a kid. For example, when I was around the age five and older my parents would tell me to go play inside and I couldn't come back inside until lunch and after eating I had to go right back outside and play. There were no cell phones or Internet and I was very active. I think this class has the potential to help people with their day to day lives by making them realize how much technology has transformed our lives.