The Internet Does More Harm Than Good

Student Name Course Instructor Date The Internet Does More Harm Than Good The internet is a brain child of the vast technological developments and advancements that have taken place over the years with studies indicating that it took full effect from the early 1990s and its usage has exploded in the early twenty first century. The internet is a global network of computers that has revolutionalised the communication and sharing of data in seconds. However, utilization of the internet has caused negative effects which make it more harmful. Internet addiction and mismanagement of information sources are just two examples of its negative effects. The essay will examine the argument that the internet is more harmful to the society than its good by analyzing some of its negative effects in the modern world. The internet has enabled free flow of information to the point that nothing is really private anymore and at the click of a button, people are able to obtain information that others consider private. Through social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter individuals have been sharing private information in form of pictures and text messages with details like their phone numbers, social security numbers and date of birth. Such information in the wrong hands can be very detrimental and reports attribute the rising cases of identity theft to the uncontrolled sharing of private information over the internet and social media platforms. There have also been incidences of public figures and celebrities being manipulated by malicious people who found their private details online. Innocuous applications such as Facebook have been identified to be collecting a wealth of data that ranges from an individual’s gender, their physical address, one’s religion and political affiliation, relationship status, an individual’s physical appearance, information of ones friends and family members and details on an individual’s hobbies and interests. Other online entities through the use of “cookies” have enabled the tracking of one’s movement over the internet and note aspects such as the sites ones frequents and what items one purchases online. Maras in is his article states “privacy is completely and utterly dead and we killed it” (Maras 102). He notes that most if not all the online platforms that people subscribe to have the “terms and conditions” that no one ever reads and that by continuing with the subscriptions individuals actually sign away their privacy at that point. The rising cases of cyber bullying are another negative impact of the internet. Cyber bullying otherwise known as cyber harassment refers to bullying over the internet using electronic means. It is characterized by posting of rumors, threats and private information on social media platforms and in plain sight of the rest of the world with the intention to harm and shame the victims. Cyber bullying entails harassing someone by continuously sending emails and text messages even after they had cut off communication with the sender and subjecting an individual to online ridicule by posting false information that would defame or get the public to dislike the individual. Celebrities and public figures like politicians are often the victims of cyber bullying as the ...