Is the Internet A Useful or Evil Tool?

As you can see, there are a lot of nasty things on the Internet. This is because no company or government owns the Internet. Because of this, there are no rules of the Internet. If there was some form of government body the Internet will be a safer place to "Surf."

There also are a lot of crimes on the Internet. People who are called HACKERS do this. They electronically break or hack into your computer, without you knowing or without your permission. Then they will steal or destroy your information. Either way it works out for your loss and their benefit. For example; if you buy something by ordering it off the Internet, you have to pay with your a credit card. The hackers watch you entering the bank details or have it sent to them. Then they use this data to buy things off the Internet and you pay for it. Many people have set a very unpleasant shock when they receive their bank statement.

A recent study reveals that 75% of the Internet material is pornographic. This shows how evil the Internet has become over the past number of years. Even worse is how easy it is for a child to get access to this information. Also the innocent sounding addresses for these web sites are making the problem worse. For example the address www.fun.com/ could lead a child to a site that they shouldn't be entering.

On the other hand the Internet is very functional. For example when I am doing my coursework, all I have to do is type in the keyword, for example Sabbath and then appears is the answer or articles about the Sabbath. It's great for learning. You can get tips for learning and still if you are really stuck you can e-mail a teacher from anywhere in the world and they may be able to help.

Surely nobody could argue that the Internet is not good for finding family relations all over the word. For example in response to a query I searched for "Mc Callion" and found the family crest in seconds and a story of the family history I then used this to create mass booklets with the family crest on the cover. Then I used this, and printed out on a large page the Family Crest! Also I found a second cousin of mine who lives in Canada. He is interested in all the same things as I am and we keep in touch via E-Mail. If I hadn't had access to the Internet and used it in a positive way we would know each other.

However the main advantage is online shopping. The Internet has a vast selection of shops that have great discount. Because you are not restricted on how far you can travel the world is at your fingertips, and because an Internet shop doesn't need premises or staff. So the shop can sell the products at a cheaper price. You also have a large selection of products from all around the world. For example I could order DVD Movies from America, before they come available in the UK. And also the price would work out to be cheaper too. I consider this aspect of the Internet to be a great advantage to everyone.

A survey has show, that children with the Internet are watching 4.5 hours less TV every week. Lustead they are on the Internet and reading what is on the monitor, and so is increasing their reading skills and at the same time they are learning to use the computer.

Another study has shown that 33.7% of people aged between 16-18 find it easier to talk to people over the Internet than face-to-face talking. They can discuss problems in confidence that either party knows the other family. It is an easy way of making new friends by finding each other in a chat room then getting to know each other better. There have been a lot or marriages over the past 3 years resulting from people meeting on the Internet. These programmes can also translate languages so you could make friends with a German speaking person, or a French speaking person. You can even talk to people of different religions than you easier than you could talk face-to-face with them.

Furthermore the Internet would be great for house bound people. They could go onto the Internet and talk to other via e-mail or instance messages. They could explore the outside world. They could go to a web site and watch a web cam that shows what is happening at a school or town with sound. This could make the person feel happier as they know what the outside world is like, and keep them from feeling cut-off from society.

The main feature of the Internet is that it is easy to use. To get onto the Internet all you have to do is double click on the icon and it rings the Internet provider and you are connected. Then you type the address of the web site into the white address bar and that's it. This is much easier than looking at lots of books and sheets. All the information is at a touch of a button.

Another great point is that you can download great pieces of software for really low prices or even for free. It's an excellent way of keeping your computer up-to-date. The downloadable software can show you how to make a cup of tea or how to build a computer for less than half the cost, of going to the nearest computer store and buying one.

Although this software doesn't sound like cash in the pocket, there are lots of companies that will pay you cash by using their service. For example there is a company called Cash Fiesta, which pays for using the Internet. All we have to do is to have a bar along the top of our screen that plays advertisements, and we receive a percentage of the money that the advertisers paid the company Cash Fiesta for showing it. It's a great and simply way of making cash. I have received money from them; it really is getting something for nothing!

The Internet improves the facilities, which our computers offer. It gives the computer a connection to every other computer in the world, and even to some in space! People would describe it as, "A connection to the outside world." Without the Internet there would be no other way of updating your computer to make it faster and better. Without it the only method of sending a letter would be by post or fax, unlike e-mail, which is instant, a person could get in letter in less than three seconds.

In conclusion I would like to say that I believe that the Internet is great, and I am an avid user of it. It gives us the chance to explore the places we never been before, we could have a visit to China then a visit to America; the possibilities are endless. You could have a relationship with someone who doesn't even speak your language and have more friends. You could earn money by having fun; it's much better than hard work. A teacher can even teach you over the Internet! Although the Internet has its bad points; it is very useful in other ways. If only there was a government to look after the Internet it would be a safer place to learn. I believe it is a most exciting invention and I cannot imagine my life without it.

Thomas Mc Hugh,

2I,

English Coursework

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