The term Internet refers to the global network of public computers running Internet Protocol

The term Internet refers to the global network of public computers running Internet Protocol.

In other words, the Internet, sometimes called simply “the Net,” is a worldwide system of computer networks that allows users to send and receive information from other computers. (definition source: www.aishealth.com/EHealthBusiness/EHealthTerms.html)

Today, the Internet is one of the most powerful tools throughout the world. I think using internet has more advantages then disadvantages. Let us first check the advantages.

Advantages of Internet

1) E-mail: Email is now an essential communication tools in business. With e-mail you can send and receive instant electronic messages, which works like writing letters. Your messages are delivered instantly to people anywhere in the world, unlike traditional mail that takes a lot of time. Email is free and fast when compared to telephone, fax and postal services. Just compare the costs of sending out physical mailing to 5,000 addresses, with the costs of an e-mailing to 50.000 e-mail addresses.

2) 24 hours a day - 7 days a week: Even if no staff is in your office, visitors will come to your website using Internet.

3) Information: Information is probably the biggest advantage internet is offering. There is a huge amount of information available on the internet for just about every subject, ranging from government law and services, trade fairs and conferences, market information, new ideas and technical support. You can almost find any type of data on almost any kind of subject that you are looking for by using search engines like google, yahoo, msn, etc.

4) Online Chat: You can access many ‘chat rooms’ on the web that can be used to meet new people, make new friends, as well as to stay in touch with old friends.

5) Services: Many services are provided on the internet like net banking, job searching, purchasing tickets, hotel reservations, guidance services on array of topics engulfing the every aspect of life.

6) Communities: Communities of all types have sprung up on the internet. Its a great way to meet up with people of similar interest and discuss common issues.

7) Ecommerce: Along with getting information on the Internet, you can also shop online. There are many online stores and sites that can be used to look for products as well as buy them using your credit card. You do not need to leave your house and can do all your shopping from the convenience of your home. It has got a real amazing and wide range of products from household needs, electronics to entertainment.

8) Software Downloads: You can freely download innumerable, softwares like utilities, games, music, videos, movies, etc from the Internet.

Disadvantages of Internet

Theft of Personal information: Electronic messages sent over the Internet can be easily snooped and tracked, revealing who is talking to whom and what they are talking about. If you use the Internet, your personal information such as your name, address, credit card, bank details and other information can be accessed by culprits. If you use a credit card or internet banking for online shopping, then your details can also be ‘stolen’.

Negative effects on family communication: Although there are conflicting research findings on this topic, an article published by Science Daily reported that time spent on the Internet was associated with later declines in within house family communication and a decrease in the number of friends and acquaintances with which they kept ties.

Internet addiction: There is some controversy over whether it is possible to actually be addicted to the Internet or not. Some researchers, claim that it is simply people trying to escape their problems in an online world and cannot be classified as an addiction.

Other psychologists, believe that Internet addiction is a true psychological disorder with definable symptoms. The symptoms are comparable to any addiction, withdrawal, loss of relationships or job and significant time consumption.

Modern life and business has become easier and the world markets have shrunk thanks to the immense contribution of the internet technology to communication and information sharing. However this internet technology was not created overnight. In its initial stages of creation it facilitated communication within certain specific network stations through a central mainframe method. Eventually internet operations wherein multiple networks could be connected together was made possible. From here on internet service providers that were privately owned allowed for expansion and use of this technology and it has had a tremendous impact all over the world. The Internet not only allows for ease in communication through email but also ensures easy availability of information, images, and products among other things. Every day the internet continues to provide a new facility, something new that is immensely convenient and that makes life easier for many people. However this internet like any other technology is also like a Pandora’s Box and contains some unwanted elements or disadvantages. Following are the advantages and disadvantages of the internet.
Advantages of the Internet
The internet has opened up new avenues for communication. Email facility has allowed people to communicate with minimum wastage of time. It is now possible to send a message to any part of the world through a simple email address and the message is delivered in a matter of seconds. This has allowed businesses to expand and communicate with their vendors and customers located all over the world in record time. Personal communication has also become easier thanks to email. Chat rooms, video conferencing are some of the latest additions in this technology and these have allowed people to chat in real time irrespective of the location of the parties involved. The intranet allows for people within an organization to easily communicate and share information. The greatest advantage of this phenomenal creation is that it is easy to understand and simple to use.
Information has been made available easily because of this wonderful technology. Search engines, websites dedicated to different subjects and large amount of articles and papers are available for perusal in a matter of few seconds. Forums on a number of sites allow people to discuss and share their thoughts and information with others located at different places all over the world. Whether this information is about the latest news happenings in the world or information about your favorite celebrity, everything is available at your fingertips. A huge cache of data is available on the internet on every single subject. With this storehouse of information people can not only increase their knowledge bank but can do so without wasting their time through traditional means such as visiting libraries and conducting exhaustive research. This is particularly relevant for students who can use this wealth of information for their school projects and also to learn new things about the subjects they are interested in. In fact this internet is a boon for many schools and universities that are now able to assign projects and work to the students and follow their progress which can be easily posted on the school/ university internal websites. Online education has grown at a very fast pace since internet allows the development and use of innovative tools for imparting education.
The internet has also revolutionized the entertainment industry. You no longer need to go to a cinema hall to watch your favorite movie. You now have companies offering their services wherein you can just download or order your favorite movie and watch it with a fast internet connection. Likewise you can download your favorite music or other important software in a matter of few minutes. There are a number of shareware programs that allow you to share and download your favorite music and videos. The internet also allows people from different cultures and backgrounds to connect with each other. Internet gaming is a huge business and allows enthusiastic gamers to compete against each other in games even when they are located far apart. Likewise dating has also allowed people to find their prospective soul mates.
Shopping has also got a complete makeover thanks to the contribution of the internet. You have many websites selling a variety of products of products online and one just needs to select or bid for the desired product and entire financial transactions can be conducted through the internet. E commerce has got a facelift because of the internet and entire global business deals can be conducted over the internet. Transfer of money is also no longer a time consuming job and with just a click of a button you can easily transfer funds to anyplace you wish. Some of these services of course come at a price.
A variety of other services are also available through the internet including booking of tickets whether they are for traveling, hotel reservations or for your favorite movies. Medical support and guidance is also available through the internet and there are many websites catering to this and a horde of other services.
Disadvantages of the Internet
While the internet has made life easier for people in many ways it is also reflecting an uglier side to its existence through a number of problems that it has thrown up for its users. With a large amount of information freely available on the internet theft and misuse of this information is a likely possibility. Time and again you see cases of people using someone else’s information and research and passing it off as their own.
Another problem or disadvantage of the internet is that it has allowed a great deal of anonymity to a large number of people who may access the different websites, forums and chat rooms available. This has allowed perverted individuals to at times take advantage of innocent people and abuse their trust.
Since business dealings and financial transactions have become easier because of the internet another problem that has arisen is that people can now misuse your private information including financial details such as the credit card number. There have been cases of financial frauds and other problems that people have experienced following misuse of such sensitive information. Some unscrupulous individuals have been successful in creating viruses and links that once clicked can automatically transmit your personal email addresses and other details to certain parties and even your bank account details in some extreme cases. The case where funds are withdrawn or where sensitive data are obtained is called phishing.
One of the biggest problems that the internet has created is that of spamming. Spamming refers to the activity wherein unwanted emails and other links are sent in bulk to people. These emails may pertain to advertising or random bulk emails and these may contain viruses that may corrupt the system and even if they don’t cause any harm these can be plain annoying.
The internet has also given birth to viruses that can wreck havoc in the system and cause a lot of damage. Many websites are notorious for sending adware, viruses and also other malicious software that can slow the computer and in some cases even harm it considerably.
The internet is particularly attractive for a child since it has so much to offer in terms of entertainment. However pornography is a serious threat in today’s world and this can cause a lot of problems in terms of emotional and mental well being of the child. There are practically millions of pornographic sites and without supervision a child can easily fall into the trap of accessing such sites. Even though a number of informative sites are available there is also a darker side to the internet with the availability of a large number of other problematic sites that can cause serious effects on a child during these impressionable ages.
Even though the internet has in many ways brought the world closer together it has in many other ways caused a lot of damage to relationships and growth of individuals. This is because the internet can have a huge addictive pull and people are at times known to surf the internet for up to 15 or 16 hours a day. Chat rooms and forums or other ways of interactivity cannot really replace real life socializing and if that takes place internet can be quite detrimental. Ten years ago, the Internet was practically unheard of by most people. Today, the Internet is one of the most powerful tools throughout the world. The Internet is a collection of various services and resources. According to Russ Brock, a director and consultant at the Center for Innovation and Inquiry, the InternetЎЇs main components are E-mail and the World Wide Web (Cohen n.p.). Ў°ThereЎЇs a lot more to the Internet than E-mail, search engines, celerity web sites, up-to-the-second sports scores, and chat rooms full of risquЁ¦ discussions. The Net also ranks as one of todayЎЇs best business tools - if itЎЇs used adroitlyЎ± (Eckhouse 184). Almost all households contain the Internet; however, before people connect to the Internet, they need to be aware of its disadvantages and advantages.

Many fear the Internet because of its disadvantages. They claim to not use the Internet because they are afraid of the possible consequences or are simply not interested. People who have yet connected to the Internet claim they are not missing anything (Thomas, Ў°Not EveryoneЎЇsЎ± D3). TodayЎЇs technological society must realize, it is up to them to protect themselves on the Internet (Aspinwall n.p.). Ў°Half of U.S. adults, or 94 million Americans, arenЎЇt onlineЎ± (Thomas, Ў°Not EveryoneЎЇsЎ± D3).

Children using the Internet has become a big concern. Most parents do not realize the dangers involved when their children log onto the Internet (Ў°Children and the InternetЎ± n.p.). When children are online, they can easily be lured into something dangerous. When children talk to others online, they do not realize they could actually be talking to a harmful person (Clayton n.p.). As a result, there have been many cases where children have been convinced to meet people they have talked with online. In fact, Ў°stories seem to come out every week: a child or teenager lured into something foolish, dangerous, or even deadly on lineЎ± (Weise D4). Cathy Cleaver of the Family Research Council claims that it is against the law for a molester to even attempt to find children online (qtd. in Weise D4). In addition, children may also receive pornography online by mistake; therefore, causing concern among parents everywhere. Whether surfing the Web, reading newsgroups, or using email, children can be exposed to extremely inappropriate material. Pornographic sites tend to make sure they are the first sites to be listed in any search area; thus, children come across such sites easily. A man from Pearl, Mississippi was arrested in 1996 for downloading pornographic images of children from the Internet. He was charged with 290 counts of child pornography (Pettus F1). Some critics say that parents are responsible for their own children on the Internet because there are available services to protect children. To keep children safe, parents and teachers must be aware of the dangers. They must actively guide and guard their children online. Parents should talk to their children about what is online and what might happen online, claims Howard Rheingold, writer of [next page]