The significance of the Internet, otherwise known as the World Wide Web, has been recognised, not only because it has made communication easy, but also because it has opened up many fields, allowed us to become familiar with other cultures, assisted our studies, given us easy access to information and helped organise businesses.
According to data from DataReportal, it is estimated that 4.66 billion people use the Internet around the world. However, despite the numerous benefits of the Internet, there are also many drawbacks, such as the inability to offer total confidentiality, wrong usage or overuse. Children are also at risk of exposure to pornographic or violent content and to objectionable ideas. All these can have an effect on the actual social life of people. There are many who claim they cannot live without the Internet.
It is true to say that at present, with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Internet has become even more important. However, we must be careful not to become addicted for long periods of time, as this would have a negative impact on real life.
I decided to ask two people my age how they use the Internet and whether they consider it useful or not.
The first said that he often uses it to communicate with his family, who are living in another country, to play games or simply to browse. I also asked him whether the Internet is essential to his life and he replied “Yes, of course. For me, the Internet is the only way I have of communicating with my family and of spending most of my day.”
The second one said that he uses the Internet primarily for his education, for communicating with friends and family, and for simple browsing. When I asked him if he considered it essential, he too said yes, at least for the time being. He said that because of the coronavirus pandemic, we wouldn’t have access to education without the Internet.
The Internet, therefore, is a good and useful tool for humanity, and we can benefit from it, provided we use it correctly and for reasonable periods of time. Parents, in particular, should supervise their children’s use of the Internet, in order to keep them safe.
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