Internet – boon or bane?

Why the Internet is a boon:

• The Internet made our lives easier. Now, we are watching movies online, ordering food online, paying bills online, buying things online, studying online and doing many other things, which weren’t possible before the invention of the internet. Many innovations based on the internet are improved our living standards.
• Because of the internet, the world has become a global village. People can connect easily to other people, even if they are living on the other side of the world. Communication has never been this easier.
• The Internet encourages freedom of speech. Earlier, only some people have the power to share their views with the public. But now, anyone can express their opinions through social media, websites or other similar mediums, which were made possible due to the invention of the internet. It is empowering everyone including those who are residing at the remotest places. It also gave voice to the people, who are hitherto socially disadvantaged.
• The Internet has created a lot of opportunities that weren’t there before. It created a lot of jobs. At present, the majority of the employment opportunities are based on the internet.
• Sharing information or any files can be done in a fraction of seconds.
• The scope of gossip on celebrities is reducing because now celebrities are able to interact with fans directly through social media.
• Due to the internet, students are able to take any course in the college of their choice through E-learning. Developing skills is much easier now due to the availability of free courses on the internet.
• When the world is fighting the pandemic, several countries had to impose lockdowns. In that time, people stayed connected through the internet and are knowing the updates online. Without the internet, the mental health of many would have been affected negatively.

Why the Internet is a bane:

• According to researchers, our concentration levels are decreasing with the overwhelming usage of the internet as we are concentrating on a lot of things at the same time.
• Our memory power is reducing. With the growing usage of the internet, we are not using our minds as much as we did when there was no internet. We used to store a lot of information in our minds and we used to do simple math without using our phones etc.
• The present generation has way too many distractions because of the internet.
• Lack of security, because hackers can easily theft data or can manipulate it. Cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges in the present times.
• Everyone can express their own views. But this resulted in fake news. Fake news caused chaos many times. We have even witnessed mob lynchings due to the circulation of fake news.
• Through Internet, viruses and malware spread easily and total data on the device can get corrupted.
• Many people waste their precious time on the internet.
• Gossips spread easily. The privacy of celebrities is diminishing.
• Internet addiction is now one of the modern world’s problems.
• Virtual communications have replaced the face to face communication. As a result, many people, especially youngsters are giving importance to the virtual world more than real life. Some youngsters are spoiling their lives trying to earn fame through the internet.

Conclusion:

Internet is definitely a boon. It brought the world closer and made our lives easier. We should utilize technology to make this world a better place to live in. However, every coin has two sides. It’s up to us to take good and to leave bad. Moreover, it is the responsibility of parents and teachers to guide children about the good and bad sides of the internet.