Examining the Potential Dangers of Internet Use

I love the Internet. It is a wonderful tool that literally places the entire world at your fingertips. It can provide hours of great entertainment and enjoyment, while also offering an almost limitless source of information. You can use it for nearly any purpose imaginable: playing games, listening to music, watching movies, doing research, doing homework, shopping, or any one of a million other activities. The world wide web has greatly accelerated the pace our lives, making it easy to perform many tasks that would have otherwise been tedious and time-consuming. Indeed, the Internet offers us the ability to do a great many things that we never would have dreamed possible before its existence.

I love receiving e-mail, and I could spend hours chatting with my friends by instant message. I also appreciate the fact that the Internet gives me the opportunity to meet many people that I may have never met without it. I now have cyber-friends in nearly every U.S. state, as well as other parts of the world. In fact, the Internet has become such a fixture in today's world that I often wonder how we ever got along without this marvelous bit of technology. I know that I, for one, would be lost without it.

However, I would still recommend that one approach Internet use with some caution. I say this because, in spite of all the great advantages that it offers, the Internet is a tool that should always be used responsibly. It is unfortunate but true that any new piece of technology which has the ability to make our lives easier and better also comes with the built-in potential to be misused and abused; the Internet is no exception to that. Life in cyberspace definitely has its down side.

For instance, the anonymity that the Internet allows all of us can be an extremely dangerous thing. It gives pedophiles a perfect way to easily interact with children for the purpose of preying upon them. It also allows other types of predators to easily scam people. Use of the Internet has brought with it a sharp rise in certain types of crime, such as identity theft and credit card fraud. Although, authorities have gained some ground in the prevention of these dangers since the Internet first came into widespread use, there is still much to be done. However, their job is made much more difficult by the fact that the perpetrators of these crimes are so well hidden; they are only nameless, faceless entities lurking behind a computer screen somewhere!

Another concern held by many people, myself included, is the fact that privacy is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The wealth of information that is available online makes it possible to find out almost anything that you may want to know about anyone. Records of birth and death, banking records, credit reports, medical records, school transcripts, police records, and any number of other personal documents can be found in seconds online. Even when every effort is made to keep these records secure, the best encryption techniques are often no match for a truly good hacker.

In addition to these very real dangers, there has been another unpleasant side effect of Internet use for me personally. Although it is not nearly as serious as the threats stated above, it is one of my biggest pet peeves, and again, is caused by the anonymous nature of cyberspace. I am referring to the complete and utter lack of courtesy that has been shown by some of my fellow Internet users. There are some out there who will say the most horrible, rude, insulting things...things that they would never dare to say to anyone's face. They do so completely without fear of consequences, and with no regard for the effect that their words may have on others. This has caused me to stop visiting chat rooms or most message boards altogether, because I feel that I have better things to do with my time than to waste it arguing with disrespectful idiots!

Even with all of its negative aspects, though, I still believe that the benefits offered by the Internet far outweigh its drawbacks; it is still of great value. As long as we are educated about its possible dangers and take every precaution available to us for preventing them, I believe that the Internet will continue to provide pleasant experiences and serve our needs for a long time to come!