essay about problems of the internet

• PUBLICATIONS
• GRAPHICS WAREHOUSE
• SCRUTINY TOOLBOX

How the internet can harm us, and what can we do about it?

The internet has received much negative news coverage in recent years.

Written by Gianluca Quaglio,

The internet has received much negative news coverage in recent years. Articles focus on major privacy scandals and security breaches, the proliferation of fake news, rampant harmful behaviours like cyber-bullying, cyber-theft, revenge porn, the exchange of child porn and internet predation, internet addiction, and the negative effects of the internet on social relations and social cohesion. Nevertheless, some 87 % of European households have internet access at home, and 65 % use mobile devices to access the internet. Europeans aged 16 to 24 years spend 168 minutes per day on mobile internet, dropping to 30 minutes for 55 to 64-year olds. Around 88 % of 15 to 24-year olds use social media, 80 % on a daily basis.

While the social and economic benefits of the internet cannot be denied, some of these developments can severely affect such European values as equality, respect for human rights and democracy. Technology companies are under increasing pressure to mitigate these harmful effects, and politicians and opinion leaders are advocating drastic measures.

The recently published STOA study on ‘Harmful internet use’ covers the damage associated with internet use on individuals’ health, wellbeing and functioning, and the impact on social structures and institutions. While the study does not attempt to cover all possible societal harm relating to the internet, Part I focuses on one specific cause of harm, internet addiction, and Part II covers a range of harmful effects on individuals and society that are associated with internet use. The report concludes with policy options for their prevention and mitigation.

Other studies have already extensively discussed some harmful effects, and these are already subject to a history of policy actions. These include harm to privacy, harm related to cybersecurity and cybercrime, and damage resulting from digital divides. In contrast, this study covers the less-studied but equally important harmful effects that concern individuals’ health, wellbeing and functioning, the quality of social structures and institutions, and equality and social inclusion.

Internet addiction and problematic internet use                             

Internet addiction and problematic internet use prevalence rates vary across studies and countries. The noteworthy discrepancy in prevalence estimates has a number of causes, including the different populations studied, as well as the various diagnostic tools and assessment criteria utilised. With this in mind, it appears that roughly 4 % of European adolescents demonstrate a pathological use of the internet that affects their life and health, while 13 % of adolescents engage in maladaptive behaviour when using the internet. Similar numbers are reported for adults.

Part I of the study focuses on generalised internet addiction, online gaming addiction, and online gambling addiction. Clinical presentations, patient profiling, comorbidities, instruments, interventions, and prognoses are different across these three potential addiction disorders. The study states that the individual, cultural and media-use context significantly contributes to the experience and severity of internet addiction.

The study proposes a set of preventive actions, and evidence to support future policies . It states that offering information, screening tools and campaigns to students in secondary schools and at universities regarding internet-use-related addiction problems can help, especially regarding gaming addiction in adolescent populations. This will require allocating research and resources for schools and their staff, and for families, as well as the establishment of working relationships with health professionals and services.

Harmful social and cultural effects associated with internet use

Part II of the study identifies a number of different harmful social and cultural effects associated with internet use. The evidence points to the occurrence of significant damage to both individuals and society. Some of these harmful effects are described briefly below:

Information overload: Having too much information to be able to adequately understand an issue or make effective decisions. Information overload is associated with loss of control, feelings of being overwhelmed, reduced intellectual performance, and diminished job satisfaction. Studies show that information overload affects up to 20-30% of people.

Damage to social relationships: Extensive internet use, of social media in particular, is correlated with loneliness and social isolation. Intimate relationships can be degraded by internet use, particularly due to viewing online pornography. Malicious online behaviour, particularly cyber-bullying, cyber-stalking and online predation, affects a significant percentage of internet users.

Impaired public/private boundaries: The way in which the internet and smartphones blur the distinction between private and public, and between different spheres of life, including work, home life and leisure, harms the boundaries between people’s public and private lives. Harmful effects that can result from such permeations include loss of quality of life, lack of privacy, decreased safety and security, and harm to social relations – when friends and family members feel they are left behind by new technology.

Harmful effects on cognitive development: Empirical evidence suggests that internet use can have both positive and negative impacts on cognitive development, depending on the person and the circumstances. There is evidence that children’s cognitive development can be damaged by prolonged internet use, including the development of memory skills, attention span, abilities for critical reasoning, language acquisition, reading, and learning abilities. More research is however needed to draw more reliable conclusions.

Damage to communities: Many off-line communities suffer through the partial migration of human activities – shopping, commerce, socialising, leisure activities, professional interactions – to the internet. Online communities sometimes extend off-line communities and sometimes replace them. They are often inadequate replacements, however, as they do not possess some of the valuable or the strongest qualities of off-line communities, and communities may consequently suffer from impoverished communication, incivility, and a lack of trust and commitment.

The study identifies a number of broad policy options for preventing and mitigating these harmful effects. They include, among other things:

• promoting technology that better protects social institutions, stimulating or requiring tech companies to introduce products and services that better protect social institutions and internet users;
• education about the internet and its consequences;
• stronger social services support for internet users: this policy option involves strengthening social services dedicated to internet users to prevent or mitigate harmful effects such as internet addition, antisocial online behaviour or information overload;
• incentivising or requiring employers to develop policies that protect workers against harmful effects of work-related internet use, such as information overload and the blurring of lines between public and private life;
• establishing governmental units and multi-stakeholder platforms at EU level,to address the problems of the internet’s harmful social and cultural effects.

Problematic use of the internet (PUI) research network

Finally, in relation to internet-caused damage, it is worth mentioning the recent article published by the European Science-Media Hub (ESMH) on the European Problematic Use of Internet (PUI) research network. The project, funded by the European Commission, gathers over 120 psychologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists, with the objective of reaching a better definition of diagnostic criteria, the role of genetics and personality traits, and the brain-based mechanisms behind internet related disorders.

Scientific Foresight (STOA)

Lobbyists and interest representatives: how do the european union institutions engage with lobbyists, european parliament plenary session – april ii 2024, alternative protein sources for food and feed, european parliament plenary session – april i 2024, charting the course: exploring challenges and opportunities in open science, eu political and economic agreements with chile and kenya – answering citizens’ concerns, european parliament plenary session – march 2024, europe’s 2040 climate target – answering citizens’ concerns, women in politics in the 2024 election year, rare disease day 2024, 100 days to eu elections, european parliament plenary session – february ii 2024.

In my opinion, the article talks about relevant issues of the internet which affect us and which we do not realize because we have used to use it since we were children. The internet has given us many facilities to perform daily tasks, communicate or buy things with just one click, but everything in excess is bad, because as the article says it has affected our health, privacy and how we relate; and on the other hand, we also have the risk of encountering people who have bad intentions and sites with false information. I agree with the political options mentioned in the article because most people use social networks and sites for fashion, and do not know about the dangers of these.

Although the internet is a very important tool which can facilitate our daily activities thanks to the ease of obtaining information and being able to communicate with other people, it is important to know that the internet can also generate negative effects on people, especially young people. Some of these negative effects can be invasion of privacy, cyberbullying, information overload, damage to our social relationships as well as affecting our ability to concentrate and attention span.

I believe that as a society we need to start giving more importance to the negative effects that the internet has on us and start implementing measures to reduce its use among young people as it is a problem that may worsen for future generations.

The internet, while offering numerous social and economic benefits, poses significant risks to individuals and societies. From privacy breaches to cyber-bullying, the internet can harm our mental health, social relationships, and even cognitive development. Excessive internet use, especially among young Europeans, has been linked to information overload, social isolation, and damage to intimate relationships. Moreover, the blurring of public and private boundaries online has led to diminished privacy and security. These harmful effects challenge European values like equality, respect for human rights, and democracy. Addressing these issues requires concerted efforts from technology companies, policymakers, and educators to promote responsible internet use and protect vulnerable populations.

Personally, I think that the Internet is an important tool that contributes to people’s knowledge, however, in recent years it has become a tool for aggression, it spreads false information and psychologically affects users through unrealistic scenarios that can feed comparison, loneliness and anxiety. It may be that the Internet is an excellent tool for companies, to learn something new, to communicate, but it is important not to abuse its benefits and be aware of the damage it can cause to us.

The article has many points in its favor because the Internet has emerged as a tool designed to facilitate and speed up tasks that previously took a long time. However, currently the Internet is being used for negative things, this can create a danger for minors and for the entire society, the amount of information available can overload our brain and lead us to social isolation. Despite these challenges, the Internet also represents an opportunity for positive evolution and transformation in our daily lives. Facilitating activities such as shopping online, connecting with people from different parts of the world, viewing international events and festivals, as well as access to platforms to watch movies and series. It’s important to remember that everything in excess can be bad, so it is crucial to learn how to manage its use appropriately to take full advantage of its benefits.

I agree with the article, we see with the children’s and with us, prefer stay in our mobile phones, laptop, game console, etc, that sharing time with family, friends, created relationships or new friends and this is more negative in society because too affect in our memory, danger our atention and more things that not we see, everything affect our brain. The technologies affect our daily’s routines, are a distraction for all people, lost very time checking social medias, games and how mentioned the article, generate an addiction and too is a big problem.

[…] that governs online activities and cybercrimes in Malaysia.  Among others, it prohibits the improper use of network facilities or services (Internet included) to harass individuals, including through disseminating personal […]

[…] of any other technology yet discovered. The presented article will give us an exact snapshot of how the Internet directly impacts our daily lives. This is so as, likewise, it highlights the negative impact of the Internet in our daily […]

This comprehensive overview highlights the multifaceted impact of online behavior on individuals and society. It underscores the challenges posed by issues like cyberbullying, the blurring of public and private boundaries, cognitive development, and the potential erosion of communities. The suggested policy options, including promoting technology that safeguards social institutions and educating users about the internet’s consequences, provide a framework for addressing these concerns. The mention of the European Problematic Use of Internet research network also showcases ongoing efforts to better understand and tackle internet-related disorders.

I know that the internet has brought advantages and disadvantages not only for children, young people and adults, since many of the pages are not what they seem, their addiction has benefited us from not thinking anymore and that is dangerous. Although the Internet is addictive, we must improve its use and use it for the common good and avoid uploading things that are harmful to everyone.

I think that everything that the article mentions is very important and considers that the Internet is a very useful tool but not all of us know how to use it well, as mentioned there are many situations and problems that have arisen year after year. The problem of becoming addicted to the use of the Internet should be treated when we start to notice it so as not to affect our lives, I would say.

The Internet is a good tool to be able to work in an easier way and makes life more practical, but unfortunately there are many people who use that great opportunity for bad things.I believe that if we knew how to manage the internal situation responsibly, we would have more progress as a society without being afraid of something happening to us.We have to handle everything with great care, to avoid being at risk, but personally it is of great help to have this technology.

I agree with the solutions proposed in the article. I think it is important to know the risks when using the Internet, that is why the proposal that I liked the most are the campaigns aimed at high school and university students about Internet addiction, addiction to online games and addiction to online gambling, because it is increasingly seen in our society, nowadays even 4-5 year old children use the internet and spend all day there, that is why it is important that we take measures to prevent it.

I always got my own conclussion about technology and one of the most several proof never created: Internet. Todo much 30 years ago Internet rase up and it’s here to stay in our lives forever. The ironic of history stands that Internet was born through the first sprediang database by computer. From since on internet has been changed and show a highlighted progress that it’s advicing to adjust to the people profile and making their lives just to like bit easier.

I consider it important to know the risks involved in the use of the internet and reading this article that shows the results of a study conducted by the STOA I realize that we must have a limit with its use, it is important that children have access to the internet in a regulated manner because as mentioned can create addictions that are difficult to leave, I have personally seen how the excessive use of the internet attacks the youngest and the oldest in my family, my little cousins spend all day on their cell phones playing video games and my grandparents believe all the false news they publish. That’s why taking the measures suggested in the article are necessary for everyone’s health.

Certainly the Internet and new technologies have given us one of the best tools of all time, not only individually, but on a global level; but like everything it also has its less favorable aspects in all categories and for all generations, especially the new generations. The so-called misuse of the Internet, which unfortunately has not been able to be controlled in part due to the lack of reach: the consumption or activity of each individual who uses the Internet cannot be controlled; easy access, as well as the lack of individual awareness of the danger involved when sailing or the consequences that poor control can lead to The goal of treatment is not abstinence, as in other addictions, but control of its use

I think that the use of the internet as mentioned is not only good, but also as the blog mentions, it is a very dangerous tool since if you use it a lot you can change your personality through social networks, you are in danger because clandestine pages, you also waste a lot of time on it, therefore you isolate yourself and your information is no longer private, so it is good to encourage people to use the internet less and campaigns that explain the damage it can cause to reduce the amount of time wasted on the Internet and only used when appropriate and time consistent with social networks.

In this case I quite agree with this article, it’s impressive because it say about “Harmful effects on cognitive development” but also “Internet addiction” and very true. Now, I have had some problems gaving up to use my social networks, but some times when I want, I can dropped out my phone by myself, there’s no problem but it’s difficult. I’m a nurse but also, can you imagine a person need to use the internet just as fast as a addicted to heroine? it’s same, between both there’s a health problem. It’s really fantastic that this article there’s facts and its researches say about others topics like “problematic internet use” part II “Impaired public/private boundaries”. Well, I prefer to think there are negative and positive things, the net it’s good but it can be bad too.

I agree with the information collected in the research, like many people of my age, we consider that the internet become in an essential part of our lives, however, we have not realized that this has become an addiction, in fact especially through social networks, which if we see the figures of depression in young people, we see that internet addiction is something closely related to this problem. We as young adults must understand the problems caused by excessive use of the Internet.

Internet addiction is a complex problem with various causes and consequences. While it may not be universally recognized as a distinct mental disorder, it is widely recognized as a behavioral problem that can have serious implications for individuals and their quality of life. Recognizing the signs, seeking professional help when necessary, and promoting responsible internet use are essential steps in addressing internet addiction.

I totally agree with all the points on this article, I’ve had bad experiences using the internet as privacy violation, fraud, fake news and data insecurity, but I hadn’t really paid attention to another important problems, the most annoying and worrying for me is the internet addiction, it’s by far the most common problem among young people and we don’t give it enough importance because we believe that it’s totally normal to spend so much time on social networks or playing online, this affect our social relationships and cognitive development, me for example, I can’t stop checking my mbobile phone notifications ALL DAY. I think that the incorrect use of the internet is becoming more and more dangerous for us. Teaching education about the internet to students is as important as it is to company workers.

In my opinion with the article I think that the internet and social networks currently have a great impact on society. They benefit people with global connection, access to information and the possibility to express themselves. They facilitate communication and collaboration. However, they can also affect society with problems such as digital addiction, loss of privacy andmisinformation. It is important to use these tools in the right way.

I agree with this article. I think the internet is very important in the present and for the future of new technologies but it is very harmful to children as it can affect their development of memory skills, attention span, critical thinking skills, language and so on.

Social networks can also be harmful for children, young people and even adults both mentally and emotionally. That is why we must learn to use the internet correctly as it can become addictive and can lead us to create an alternate reality.

I agree with this article, besides I think most of the people didn´t know how to use it. It´s very easy to fall to the darkside, overall when childhood start very early to play. Harmful effects include loss of quality of life and nowadays all is about earn money, the Internet is the present and the future but maybe we could think if we want to pay the price.

In my opinion, each and every one of the parts mentioned in this article are true since the internet throughout our lives and for as long as it has existed has facilitated us in many aspects but has also worked against us; affected in many things such as memory, sight, in addition to increasing our apathy to use our ability to think, reason, solve and learn. For this reason, I support each of the proposals so that the use of an indispensable and helpful tool is less harmful to health.

I agree with the article, it think to me that social networks and the internet can indeed cause a lot of damage, both mentally and emotionally. If there were more precautions about how to use the internet, I don’t think it would be so dangerous and social networks would be a healthy environment. As in everything, there are good and bad things but it depends on each person, as well as not exceeding the use of the internet.

I agree with everything mentioned in the article, I believe that not all people use the Internet correctly, the majority only use the Internet for entertainment when it could be a field of knowledge, that the article mentions that there are people addicted to the Internet I feel that the internet has made us forget important and basic things in our lives, an example is adding, people now use calculators and no longer take the time to think. I think that lately it has become something negative but at the same time something necessary in our lives. I also agree with some solutions, for example, giving information about the Internet, its advantages and disadvantages to be aware of this and have better control of the Internet.

I agree with all points because it´s a reality, the thrue is that almost all the people doesn´t use for expanding your conocimient only they use for entretaning as the article mentions there people adddicted a internet, videogames and pornoghaphy, I agree with them mention that the satisfaction isn´t the same, I consider that is the best live when you finish an activity and you can touch your goals in fisic, we haven´t more remember things and the effect is negative, but I think we need adapt to it and select the best information and contents.

I’m agree with many of the solutions proposed in the article. Especially with the campaigns to students in secondary schools and at universities about internet addiction, online gaming addiction and online gambling addiction, because I think that is a topic that we seeing it more and more in our society and it’s important that we take actions to prevent the addiction in the youngest people.

You will never be real doctors.

[…] put aside the negative aspects of online living for the time being and think about a big question to end this analysis with: does it really matter […]

[…] Scientific Foresight. (18. 2. 2019). How the internet can harm us, and what can we do about it? https://epthinktank.eu/2019/02/18/how-the-internet-can-harm-us-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/ […]

[…] social skills from the overuse of cyberspaces can be extensive. As stated in an article done by the European Parliamentary Research Service on how the internet can harm us, “Extensive internet use, of social media in particular, is […]

[…] https://epthinktank.eu/2019/02/18/how-the-internet-can-harm-us-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/ (Mar 6 , 2023 , 15:57 ) […]

Hey check this discord

[…] Foresight (STOA) (2019). How The Internet Can Harm Us, And What Can We Do About It? Available at: https://epthinktank.eu/2019/02/18/how-the-internet-can-harm-us-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/ (Accessed 31 July 2020) • Statista (N/P). Internet Statistics and Market Data about the Internet, […]

[…] keep a TV, laptop, or mobile phone in your children’s bed […]

[…] are doing some very valuable research on some important topics. One of them is a study on “How The Internet Can Harm Us, And What Can We Do About It?“, released about a year ago (February […]

The radiations that come out from the wifi is also poor for health. It destroys the immune system of the person that causes many problems.

im a black rattle snake

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

• What Europe does for me

EU legislation in progress

Download the EPRS App

• EP Plenary Sessions
• Cost of Non-Europe reports
• Latest Media
• Climate Change
• Russia's war on Ukraine

We write about

• Replies to campaigns from citizens
• What Europe does for you
• Economic and Social Policies
• EU Financing / Budgetary Affairs
• Institutional and Legal Affairs
• International Relations
• Policy Cycle
• Structural and Cohesion Policies

RSS Link to Scientific Foresight (STOA)

Social media.

• EP Think Tank
• Write to the European Parliament
• EP Library catalogue

Disclaimer and Copyright statement

The content of all documents (and articles) contained in this blog is the sole responsibility of the author and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. It is addressed to the Members and staff of the EP for their parliamentary work. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. For a comprehensive description of our cookie and data protection policies, please visit Terms and Conditions page. Copyright © European Union, 2014-2024. All rights reserved.

Discover more from Epthinktank

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies
• Cookie Policy

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

More information about our Cookie Policy .

The present website is hosted by WordPress.com, a service by Automattic. Automattic is a global company with thousands of servers located in several separate data centres around the world. While Automattic takes care of the security of the platform , we, the European Parliamentary Research Service, own the content of the blog. For more detailed information about the compliance of Automattic products and services with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), please see their dedicated page .

Data collected

We do not collect any personal data that could identify an individual user. The users that are registered in WordPress.com should consult wordpress.com terms of service . We do collect anonymised aggregate data for statistical purposes. The data collected for this purposes include: number of visits/visitors per page, the country of the user, and aggregate numbers of incoming and outgoing clicks.

We determine unique page counts by using a “hashed” version of the visitor’s IP address. The visitor’s full IP address is deleted from our logs after a little over a month. That timeframe is how long the data is needed in order to allow us to calculate your stats on a monthly basis and no longer.

We collect your email address only if you proactively requested to be notified about the updates on the blog. You can always contact us to remove your email address from our records or unsubscribe from the notification service.

We can also see your name and email address if you made a comment to one of our posts. We do not make the email address visible on the comment. Nevertheless, on request, we can delete your comments.

We collect cookies only to facilitate your browsing experience, such as enabling you to share our posts via social media or comment on the post. The majority of cookies will be used only if you are a registered WordPress.com user. In this case, you are bound to WordPress.com terms of service .

Some pages embed content from third parties. In this case, you will need to actively consent to their terms in order to see the content.

We do not collect cookies to show advertisement nor resell any information collected with cookies to third parties. Read more about the wordpress.com cookie policy and the way to control cookies on their dedicated page .

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

• The Internet and the Pandemic

90% of Americans say the internet has been essential or important to them, many made video calls and 40% used technology in new ways. But while tech was a lifeline for some, others faced struggles

Table of contents.

• 1. How the internet and technology shaped Americans’ personal experiences amid COVID-19
• 2. Parents, their children and school during the pandemic
• 3. Navigating technological challenges
• 4. The role of technology in COVID-19 vaccine registration
• Acknowledgments
• Methodology

Pew Research Center has a long history of studying technology adoption trends and the impact of digital technology on society. This report focuses on American adults’ experiences with and attitudes about their internet and technology use during the COVID-19 outbreak. For this analysis, we surveyed 4,623 U.S. adults from April 12-18, 2021. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the  ATP’s methodology .

Chapter 1 of this report includes responses to an open-ended question and the overall report includes a number of quotations to help illustrate themes and add nuance to the survey findings. Quotations may have been lightly edited for grammar, spelling and clarity. The first three themes mentioned in each open-ended response, according to a researcher-developed codebook, were coded into categories for analysis. 

Here are the questions used for this report , along with responses, and its methodology .

The  coronavirus  has transformed many aspects of Americans’ lives. It  shut down  schools, businesses and workplaces and forced millions to  stay at home  for extended lengths of time. Public health authorities recommended  limits on social contact  to try to contain the spread of the virus, and these profoundly altered the way many worked, learned, connected with loved ones, carried out basic daily tasks, celebrated and mourned. For some, technology played a role in this transformation.  

Results from a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted April 12-18, 2021, reveal the extent to which people’s use of the internet has changed, their views about how helpful technology has been for them and the struggles some have faced. 

The vast majority of adults (90%) say the internet has been at least important to them personally during the pandemic, the survey finds. The share who say it has been  essential  – 58% – is up slightly from 53% in April 2020. There have also been upticks in the shares who say the internet has been essential in the past year among those with a bachelor’s degree or more formal education, adults under 30, and those 65 and older. 

A large majority of Americans (81%) also say they talked with others via video calls at some point since the pandemic’s onset. And for 40% of Americans, digital tools have taken on new relevance: They report they used technology or the internet in ways that were new or different to them. Some also sought upgrades to their service as the pandemic unfolded: 29% of broadband users did something to improve the speed, reliability or quality of their high-speed internet connection at home since the beginning of the outbreak.

Still, tech use has not been an unmitigated boon for everyone. “ Zoom fatigue ” was widely speculated to be a problem in the pandemic, and some Americans report related experiences in the new survey: 40% of those who have ever talked with others via video calls since the beginning of the pandemic say they have felt worn out or fatigued often or sometimes by the time they spend on them. Moreover,  changes in screen time  occurred for  Americans generally  and for  parents of young children . The survey finds that a third of all adults say they tried to cut back on time spent on their smartphone or the internet at some point during the pandemic. In addition, 72% of parents of children in grades K-12 say their kids are spending more time on screens compared with before the outbreak. 1

For many, digital interactions could only do so much as a stand-in for in-person communication. About two-thirds of Americans (68%) say the interactions they would have had in person, but instead had online or over the phone, have generally been useful – but not a replacement for in-person contact. Another 15% say these tools haven’t been of much use in their interactions. Still, 17% report that these digital interactions have been just as good as in-person contact.

Some types of technology have been more helpful than others for Americans. For example, 44% say text messages or group messaging apps have helped them a lot to stay connected with family and friends, 38% say the same about voice calls and 30% say this about video calls. Smaller shares say social media sites (20%) and email (19%) have helped them in this way.

The survey offers a snapshot of Americans’ lives just over one year into the pandemic as they reflected back on what had happened. It is important to note the findings were gathered in April 2021, just before  all U.S. adults became eligible for coronavirus vaccine s. At the time, some states were  beginning to loosen restrictions  on businesses and social encounters. This survey also was fielded before the delta variant  became prominent  in the United States,  raising concerns  about new and  evolving variants . 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the survey.

Americans’ tech experiences in the pandemic are linked to digital divides, tech readiness 

Some Americans’ experiences with technology haven’t been smooth or easy during the pandemic. The digital divides related to  internet use  and  affordability  were highlighted by the pandemic and also emerged in new ways as life moved online.

For all Americans relying on screens during the pandemic,  connection quality  has been important for school assignments, meetings and virtual social encounters alike. The new survey highlights difficulties for some: Roughly half of those who have a high-speed internet connection at home (48%) say they have problems with the speed, reliability or quality of their home connection often or sometimes. 2

Beyond that, affordability  remained a persistent concern  for a portion of digital tech users as the pandemic continued – about a quarter of home broadband users (26%) and smartphone owners (24%) said in the April 2021 survey that they worried a lot or some about paying their internet and cellphone bills over the next few months. 

From parents of children facing the “ homework gap ” to Americans struggling to  afford home internet , those with lower incomes have been particularly likely to struggle. At the same time, some of those with higher incomes have been affected as well.

Affordability and connection problems have hit broadband users with lower incomes especially hard. Nearly half of broadband users with lower incomes, and about a quarter of those with midrange incomes, say that as of April they were at least somewhat worried about paying their internet bill over the next few months. 3 And home broadband users with lower incomes are roughly 20 points more likely to say they often or sometimes experience problems with their connection than those with relatively high incomes. Still, 55% of those with lower incomes say the internet has been essential to them personally in the pandemic.

At the same time, Americans’ levels of formal education are associated with their experiences turning to tech during the pandemic. 

Those with a bachelor’s or advanced degree are about twice as likely as those with a high school diploma or less formal education to have used tech in new or different ways during the pandemic. There is also roughly a 20 percentage point gap between these two groups in the shares who have made video calls about once a day or more often and who say these calls have helped at least a little to stay connected with family and friends. And 71% of those with a bachelor’s degree or more education say the internet has been essential, compared with 45% of those with a high school diploma or less.

More broadly, not all Americans believe they have key tech skills. In this survey, about a quarter of adults (26%) say they usually need someone else’s help to set up or show them how to use a new computer, smartphone or other electronic device. And one-in-ten report they have little to no confidence in their ability to use these types of devices to do the things they need to do online. This report refers to those who say they experience either or both of these issues as having “lower tech readiness.” Some 30% of adults fall in this category. (A full description of how this group was identified can be found in  Chapter 3. )

These struggles are particularly acute for older adults, some of whom have had to  learn new tech skills  over the course of the pandemic. Roughly two-thirds of adults 75 and older fall into the group having lower tech readiness – that is, they either have little or no confidence in their ability to use their devices, or generally need help setting up and learning how to use new devices. Some 54% of Americans ages 65 to 74 are also in this group. 

Americans with lower tech readiness have had different experiences with technology during the pandemic. While 82% of the Americans with lower tech readiness say the internet has been at least important to them personally during the pandemic, they are less likely than those with higher tech readiness to say the internet has been essential (39% vs. 66%). Some 21% of those with lower tech readiness say digital interactions haven’t been of much use in standing in for in-person contact, compared with 12% of those with higher tech readiness. 

46% of parents with lower incomes whose children faced school closures say their children had at least one problem related to the ‘homework gap’

As school moved online for many families, parents and their children experienced profound changes. Fully 93% of parents with K-12 children at home say these children had some online instruction during the pandemic. Among these parents, 62% report that online learning has gone very or somewhat well, and 70% say it has been very or somewhat easy for them to help their children use technology for online instruction.

Still, 30% of the parents whose children have had online instruction during the pandemic say it has been very or somewhat difficult for them to help their children use technology or the internet for this. 

The survey also shows that children from households with lower incomes who faced school closures in the pandemic have been especially likely to encounter tech-related obstacles in completing their schoolwork – a phenomenon contributing to the “ homework gap .”

Overall, about a third (34%) of all parents whose children’s schools closed at some point say their children have encountered at least one of the tech-related issues we asked about amid COVID-19: having to do schoolwork on a cellphone, being unable to complete schoolwork because of lack of computer access at home, or having to use public Wi-Fi to finish schoolwork because there was no reliable connection at home. 

This share is higher among parents with lower incomes whose children’s schools closed. Nearly half (46%) say their children have faced at least one of these issues. Some with higher incomes were affected as well – about three-in-ten (31%) of these parents with midrange incomes say their children faced one or more of these issues, as do about one-in-five of these parents with higher household incomes.

Prior Center work has documented this “ homework gap ” in other contexts – both  before the coronavirus outbreak  and  near the beginning of the pandemic . In April 2020, for example, parents with lower incomes were particularly likely to think their children would face these struggles amid the outbreak.

Besides issues related to remote schooling, other changes were afoot in families as the pandemic forced many families to shelter in place. For instance, parents’ estimates of their children’s screen time – and family rules around this – changed in some homes. About seven-in-ten parents with children in kindergarten through 12th grade (72%) say their children were spending more time on screens as of the April survey compared with before the outbreak. Some 39% of parents with school-age children say they have become less strict about screen time rules during the outbreak. About one-in-five (18%) say they have become more strict, while 43% have kept screen time rules about the same. 

More adults now favor the idea that schools should provide digital technology to all students during the pandemic than did in April 2020

Americans’ tech struggles related to digital divides gained attention from policymakers and news organizations as the pandemic progressed.

On some policy issues, public attitudes changed over the course of the outbreak – for example, views on what K-12 schools should provide to students shifted. Some 49% now say K-12 schools have a responsibility to provide all students with laptop or tablet computers in order to help them complete their schoolwork during the pandemic, up 12 percentage points from a year ago.

The shares of those who say so have increased for both major political parties over the past year: This view shifted 15 points for Republicans and those who lean toward the GOP, and there was a 9-point increase for Democrats and Democratic leaners.

However, when it comes to views of policy solutions for internet access more generally, not much has changed. Some 37% of Americans say that the government has a responsibility to ensure all Americans have high-speed internet access during the outbreak, and the overall share is unchanged from April 2020 – the first time Americans were asked this specific question about the government’s pandemic responsibility to provide internet access. 4

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the government has this responsibility, and within the Republican Party, those with lower incomes are more likely to say this than their counterparts earning more money. 

Video calls and conferencing have been part of everyday life

Americans’ own words provide insight into exactly how their lives changed amid COVID-19. When asked to describe the new or different ways they had used technology, some Americans mention video calls and conferencing facilitating a variety of virtual interactions – including attending events like weddings, family holidays and funerals or transforming where and how they worked. 5 From family calls, shopping for groceries and placing takeout orders online to having telehealth visits with medical professionals or participating in online learning activities, some aspects of life have been virtually transformed: 

“I’ve gone from not even knowing remote programs like Zoom even existed, to using them nearly every day.” – Man, 54

“[I’ve been] h andling … deaths of family and friends remotely, attending and sharing classical music concerts and recitals with other professionals, viewing [my] own church services and Bible classes, shopping. … Basically, [the internet has been] a lifeline.”  – Woman, 69

“I … use Zoom for church youth activities. [I] use Zoom for meetings. I order groceries and takeout food online. We arranged for a ‘digital reception’ for my daughter’s wedding as well as live streaming the event.” – Woman, 44

When asked about video calls specifically, half of Americans report they have talked with others in this way at least once a week since the beginning of the outbreak; one-in-five have used these platforms daily. But how often people have experienced this type of digital connectedness varies by age. For example, about a quarter of adults ages 18 to 49 (27%) say they have connected with others on video calls about once a day or more often, compared with 16% of those 50 to 64 and just 7% of those 65 and older. 

Even as video technology became a part of life for users, many  accounts of burnout  surfaced and some speculated that “Zoom fatigue” was setting in as Americans grew weary of this type of screen time. The survey finds that some 40% of those who participated in video calls since the beginning of the pandemic – a third of all Americans – say they feel worn out or fatigued often or sometimes from the time they spend on video calls. About three-quarters of those who have been on these calls several times a day in the pandemic say this.

Fatigue is not limited to frequent users, however: For example, about a third (34%) of those who have made video calls about once a week say they feel worn out at least sometimes.

These are among the main findings from the survey. Other key results include:

Some Americans’ personal lives and social relationships have changed during the pandemic:  Some 36% of Americans say their own personal lives changed in a major way as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Another 47% say their personal lives changed, but only a little bit.   About half (52%) of those who say major change has occurred in their personal lives due to the pandemic also say they have used tech in new ways, compared with about four-in-ten (38%) of those whose personal lives changed a little bit and roughly one-in-five (19%) of those who say their personal lives stayed about the same.

Even as tech helped some to stay connected, a quarter of Americans say they feel less close to close family members now compared with before the pandemic, and about four-in-ten (38%) say the same about friends they know well. Roughly half (53%) say this about casual acquaintances.

The majority of those who tried to sign up for vaccine appointments in the first part of the year went online to do so:  Despite early problems with  vaccine rollout  and  online registration systems , in the April survey tech problems did  not  appear to be major struggles for most adults who had tried to sign up online for COVID-19 vaccines. The survey explored Americans’ experiences getting these vaccine appointments and reveals that in April 57% of adults had tried to sign themselves up and 25% had tried to sign someone else up. Fully 78% of those who tried to sign themselves up and 87% of those who tried to sign others up were online registrants. 

When it comes to difficulties with the online vaccine signup process, 29% of those who had tried to sign up online – 13% of all Americans – say it was very or somewhat difficult to sign themselves up for vaccines at that time. Among five reasons for this that the survey asked about, the most common  major  reason was lack of available appointments, rather than tech-related problems. Adults 65 and older who tried to sign themselves up for the vaccine online were the most likely age group to experience at least some difficulty when they tried to get a vaccine appointment.

Tech struggles and usefulness alike vary by race and ethnicity.  Americans’ experiences also have varied across racial and ethnic groups. For example, Black Americans are more likely than White or Hispanic adults to meet the criteria for having “lower tech readiness.” 6 Among broadband users, Black and Hispanic adults were also more likely than White adults to be worried about paying their bills for their high-speed internet access at home as of April, though the share of Hispanic Americans who say this declined sharply since April 2020. And a majority of Black and Hispanic broadband users say they at least sometimes have experienced problems with their internet connection. 

Still, Black adults and Hispanic adults are more likely than White adults to say various technologies – text messages, voice calls, video calls, social media sites and email – have helped them a lot to stay connected with family and friends amid the pandemic.

Tech has helped some adults under 30 to connect with friends, but tech fatigue also set in for some.  Only about one-in-five adults ages 18 to 29 say they feel closer to friends they know well compared with before the pandemic. This share is twice as high as that among adults 50 and older. Adults under 30 are also more likely than any other age group to say social media sites have helped a lot in staying connected with family and friends (30% say so), and about four-in-ten of those ages 18 to 29 say this about video calls. 

Screen time affected some negatively, however. About six-in-ten adults under 30 (57%) who have ever made video calls in the pandemic say they at least sometimes feel worn out or fatigued from spending time on video calls, and about half (49%) of young adults say they have tried to cut back on time spent on the internet or their smartphone.

• Throughout this report, “parents” refers to those who said they were the parent or guardian of any children who were enrolled in elementary, middle or high school and who lived in their household at the time of the survey. ↩
• People with a high-speed internet connection at home also are referred to as “home broadband users” or “broadband users” throughout this report. ↩
• Family incomes are based on 2019 earnings and adjusted for differences in purchasing power by geographic region and for household sizes. Middle income is defined here as two-thirds to double the median annual family income for all panelists on the American Trends Panel. Lower income falls below that range; upper income falls above it. ↩
• A separate  Center study  also fielded in April 2021 asked Americans what the government is responsible for on a number of topics, but did not mention the coronavirus outbreak. Some 43% of Americans said in that survey that the federal government has a responsibility to provide high-speed internet for all Americans. This was a significant increase from 2019, the last time the Center had asked that more general question, when 28% said the same. ↩
• Quotations in this report may have been lightly edited for grammar, spelling and clarity. ↩
• There were not enough Asian American respondents in the sample to be broken out into a separate analysis. As always, their responses are incorporated into the general population figures throughout this report. ↩

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Fresh data delivery Saturday mornings

Sign up for The Briefing

Weekly updates on the world of news & information

• Business & Workplace
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• COVID-19 & Technology
• Digital Divide
• Education & Learning Online

A look at small businesses in the U.S.

Majorities of adults see decline of union membership as bad for the u.s. and working people, a look at black-owned businesses in the u.s., from businesses and banks to colleges and churches: americans’ views of u.s. institutions, 2023 saw some of the biggest, hardest-fought labor disputes in recent decades, most popular, report materials.

• American Trends Panel Wave 88

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Age & Generations
• Economy & Work
• Family & Relationships
• Gender & LGBTQ
• Immigration & Migration
• International Affairs
• Internet & Technology
• Methodological Research
• News Habits & Media
• Non-U.S. Governments
• Other Topics
• Politics & Policy
• Race & Ethnicity
• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookie Settings

Reprints, Permissions & Use Policy

MIT Technology Review

• Newsletters

The Impact of the Internet on Society: A Global Perspective

• Manuel Castells archive page

Provided by BBVA

The Internet is the decisive technology of the Information Age, and with the explosion of wireless communication in the early twenty-first century, we can say that humankind is now almost entirely connected, albeit with great levels of inequality in bandwidth, efficiency, and price.

People, companies, and institutions feel the depth of this technological change, but the speed and scope of the transformation has triggered all manner of utopian and dystopian perceptions that, when examined closely through methodologically rigorous empirical research, turn out not to be accurate. For instance, media often report that intense use of the Internet increases the risk of isolation, alienation, and withdrawal from society, but available evidence shows that the Internet neither isolates people nor reduces their sociability; it actually increases sociability, civic engagement, and the intensity of family and friendship relationships, in all cultures.

Our current “network society” is a product of the digital revolution and some major sociocultural changes. One of these is the rise of the “Me-centered society,” marked by an increased focus on individual growth and a decline in community understood in terms of space, work, family, and ascription in general. But individuation does not mean isolation, or the end of community. Instead, social relationships are being reconstructed on the basis of individual interests, values, and projects. Community is formed through individuals’ quests for like-minded people in a process that combines online interaction with offline interaction, cyberspace, and the local space.

View other articles provided by BBVA OpenMind:

• the way of the dodo.

• A Revolution in Business • Banking, Information, and Technology: Toward Knowledge Banking • Cyber Attacks

Globally, time spent on social networking sites surpassed time spent on e-mail in November 2007, and the number of social networking users surpassed the number of e-mail users in July 2009. Today, social networking sites are the preferred platforms for all kinds of activities, both business and personal, and sociability has dramatically increased — but it is a different kind of sociability. Most Facebook users visit the site daily, and they connect on multiple dimensions, but only on the dimensions they choose. The virtual life is becoming more social than the physical life, but it is less a virtual reality than a real virtuality, facilitating real-life work and urban living.

Because people are increasingly at ease in the Web’s multidimensionality, marketers, government, and civil society are migrating massively to the networks people construct by themselves and for themselves. At root, social-networking entrepreneurs are really selling spaces in which people can freely and autonomously construct their lives. Sites that attempt to impede free communication are soon abandoned by many users in favor of friendlier and less restricted spaces.

Perhaps the most telling expression of this new freedom is the Internet’s transformation of sociopolitical practices. Messages no longer flow solely from the few to the many, with little interactivity. Now, messages also flow from the many to the many, multimodally and interactively. By disintermediating government and corporate control of communication, horizontal communication networks have created a new landscape of social and political change.

Networked social movements have been particularly active since 2010, notably in the Arab revolutions against dictatorships and the protests against the management of the financial crisis. Online and particularly wireless communication has helped social movements pose more of a challenge to state power.

The Internet and the Web constitute the technological infrastructure of the global network society, and the understanding of their logic is a key field of research. It is only scholarly research that will enable us to cut through the myths surrounding this digital communication technology that is already a second skin for young people, yet continues to feed the fears and the fantasies of those who are still in charge of a society that they barely understand.

Read the full article here.

Keep Reading

Most popular, large language models can do jaw-dropping things. but nobody knows exactly why..

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

• Will Douglas Heaven archive page

How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets

When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.

• Cassandra Willyard archive page

The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.

Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.

• Casey Crownhart archive page

Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch

Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.

Stay connected

Get the latest updates from mit technology review.

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at [email protected] with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.

Search form

A for and against essay about the internet.

Look at the essay and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the text and do the other exercises.

Preparation

Check your writing: grouping - ideas

Check your writing: gap fill - useful phrases, worksheets and downloads.

What's your opinion? Do you think the internet is bad for young people?

Sign up to our newsletter for LearnEnglish Teens

We will process your data to send you our newsletter and updates based on your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. Read our privacy policy for more information.

Threats of the Internet Essay

Introduction.

The Internet has become an indispensable part of our lives, gradually entering all the possible spheres and shaping the way we run our errands, communicate with people, and analyze the world around us. It changes our attitudes to work processes, leisure, and even interpersonal relations with the help of algorithms, simple solutions, and easy accessibility. Millions of services, goods, possibilities and infinite terabytes of all kinds of information have become available for a tap on the screen. In theory, all of these things seem to be convenient, progressive, and helpful, but the reality proves them to be also harmful to the well-being of people.

Some of the most relevant problems of today can already foreshadow the challenges we will most probably face in the not distant future. In the article “Our Machine Master” David Brooks predicts two ways for humanity equipped with artificial intelligence (AI). Contrary to many beliefs it will not give rise to humanoids, but it will be integrated into cars, headphones, watches, and other ordinary things that most people use on a daily basis. Such a close coexistence cannot but influence our habits and behavior, and in the end, such non-stop assistance and “external brain” might render people helpless and vulnerable in the face of all the dangers the real world holds.

Despite all the scientific and technical progress, our planet poses many dangers to humanity, some of them are still not thoroughly studied, some remain unknown. Moreover, even our bodies might become the victims of these technologies because less and less physical activities stay difficult enough to be performed by humans only. It is possible to suggest that we will have more free time and it will give a quality change to our lifestyle, but so far the experience of using technologies shows that they become addictive.

Another threat that lies in digital technologies is related to big data and control, which corporations acquire through online services. Such digital giants as Google and Amazon have access to all the personal and behavioral information that we share on the net, and though they claim to use for our benefit, the algorithms of the Internet also misuse in subtle and invisible ways. Searching tools can show us results they think should interest us judging by our previous clicks and views.

It is a powerful mechanism, but some people do not even notice that they are shown a distorted reality or only the part which the code deemed relevant for them. What started as endless freedoms and accessibility of all the information turns out to be pseudo equality and tyranny, in a way. I think that the article “Our Machine Master” by Brookes best argues with statistics and critical thinking, though all the rest also have relevant figures and examples, so none of them is weak.

Today digital media work according to similar principles of collecting big data, and showing the most interesting content for their users. YouTube and Instagram are among the most popular services that provide visual content; they both try to show as many relevant search results that should be interesting for users, based on their search history. Both are complex platforms with a variety of features, but at the same time, they are user-friendly, very appealing to large audiences, useful for sharing visual content and discussing it.

The wide popularity of these two services proves that people find them effective and relevant for their purposes because they succeed in holding the users’ attention and make them come back regularly. The main difference is that YouTube does not deal with photographs and mainly streams music videos and personal vlogs when Instagram also supports pictures, texting, and broadcasting. Instagram has a lower barrier of entry because photos require less preparation and work compared to video, they are easier to share, and do not take much time to be evaluated by other people.

In my personal experience, I use Instagram mostly to follow my friends and relatives and interact with them occasionally. As for YouTube, its audience seems impersonal to me, often there is too much happening in the comments section, and I usually do not contribute to discussions and only watch videos. Both services can steal a lot of my time because in a short period they have adapted to my choices and likes, and manage to provide interesting content I would not have found myself. This tendency is rather alarming, so I try to cut my time online and be mindful about things I come across on the net.

New media and technologies are developing so fast that it is hardly possible to keep up with their pace and stay sane, healthy, and socially acceptable. The biggest problem is that this endless succession of updates, notifications, and news demands all of our attention, and thus robs us of everything happening in the outer world. Attention has become one of the most valuable assets, and the more one spends online, the less connected they stay from their real-life troubles and joys. Apart from that, relying on technologies too much might weaken people and make it harder for them to adjust to the realities of the outer world.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 23). Threats of the Internet. https://ivypanda.com/essays/threats-of-the-internet/

"Threats of the Internet." IvyPanda , 23 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/threats-of-the-internet/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Threats of the Internet'. 23 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Threats of the Internet." February 23, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/threats-of-the-internet/.

1. IvyPanda . "Threats of the Internet." February 23, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/threats-of-the-internet/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Threats of the Internet." February 23, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/threats-of-the-internet/.

• The Popularization of Instagram and Its Effects
• YouTube and Google Video
• YouTube: History, Advantages and Disadvantages
• Instagram in Our Life
• Outer Space and Its Impact on the Earth
• The YouTube Platform's Development and Influence
• YouTube Instructions: How to Upload a Video
• Instagram: Promotion of Loneliness
• How Instagram Claimed Its Users’ Most Intimate Moments
• Innovation: Instagram (App)
• The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Children’s Internet
• Wireless Local Area Network and Channel Fading
• The Internet of Things: Technical Description
• The Internet at Individual and Societal Levels
• Mobile Wireless Internet vs. Wi-Fi

Essay On Internet for Students and Children

500+ words essay on internet.

We live in the age of the internet. Also, it has become an important part of our life that we can’t live without it. Besides, the internet is an invention of high-end science and modern technology . Apart from that, we are connected to internet 24×7. Also, we can send big and small messages and information faster than ever. In this essay on the Internet, we are going to discuss various things related to the internet.

Reach of Internet

It is very difficult to estimate the area that the internet cover. Also, every second million people remain connected to it with any problem or issue. Apart from that, just like all the things the internet also has some good and bad effect on the life of people. So the first thing which we have to do is learn about the good and bad effect of the internet.

Good effects of the internet mean all those things that the internet make possible. Also, these things make our life easier and safer.

Bad effects of the internet mean all those things that we can no longer do because of the internet. Also, these things cause trouble for oneself and others too.

You can access in any corner of the world. Also, it is very easy to use and manage. In today’s world, we cannot imagine our life without it.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Uses Of Internet

From the time it first came into existence until now the internet has completed a long journey. Also, during this journey, the internet has adopted many things and became more user-friendly and interactive. Besides, every big and small things are available on internet and article or material that you require can be obtainable from internet.

Tim Berners-Lee can be called one of the main father of internet as he invented/discovered the WWW (World Wide Web) which is used on every website. Also, there are millions of pages and website on the internet that it will take you years to go through all of them.

The Internet can be used to do different things like you can learn, teach, research, write, share, receive, e-mail , explore, and surf the internet.

Read Essay on Technology here

Convenience Due To Internet

Because of internet, our lives have become more convenient as compared to the times when we don’t have internet. Earlier, we have to stand in queues to send mails (letters), for withdrawing or depositing money, to book tickets, etc. but after the dawn of the internet, all these things become quite easy. Also, we do not have to waste our precious time standing in queues.

Also, the internet has contributed a lot to the environment as much of the offices (government and private), school and colleges have become digital that saves countless paper.

Although, there is no doubt that the internet had made our life easier and convenient but we can’t leave the fact that it has caused many bigger problems in the past. And with the speed, we are becoming addict to it a day in will come when it will become our basic necessity.

{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “FAQPage”, “mainEntity”: [ { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What are the limitation of internet?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Although internet can help you with anything but there are certain limitation to it. First of it does not have a physical appearance. Secondly, it does not have emotions and thirdly, it can’t send you to a place where you can’t go (physically).” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What is the ideal age for using internet?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Nowadays everybody from small kids to adult is internet addicts. So it is difficult to decide an ideal age for using internet. However, according to researches using internet from an early age can cause problems in the child so internet usage of small children should be controlled or banned.” } } ] }

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

• Travelling Essay
• Picnic Essay
• Our Country Essay
• My Parents Essay
• Essay on Favourite Personality
• Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
• Essay on Knowledge is Power
• Essay on Gurpurab
• Essay on My Favourite Season
• Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Acta Inform Med
• v.24(1); 2016 Feb

Social and Psychological Effects of the Internet Use

Marianna diomidous.

1 Dept. of Public Health, Faculty for Nursing, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Kostis Chardalias

Adrianna magita, panagiotis koutonias, paraskevi panagiotopoulou, john mantas, background and aims:.

Over the past two decades there was an upsurge of the use of Internet in human life. With this continuous development, Internet users are able to communicate with any part of the globe, to shop online, to use it as a mean of education, to work remotely and to conduct financial transactions. Unfortunately, this rapid development of the Internet has a detrimental impact in our life, which leads to various phenomena such as cyber bullying, cyber porn, cyber suicide, Internet addiction, social isolation, cyber racism etc. The main purpose of this paper is to record and analyze all these social and psychological effects that appears to users due to the extensive use of the Internet.

Materials and Methods:

This review study was a thorough search of bibliography data conducted through Internet and library research studies. Key words were extracted from search engines and data bases including Google, Yahoo, Scholar Google, PubMed.

The findings of this study showed that the Internet offers a quick access to information and facilitates communication however; it is quite dangerous, especially for young users. For this reason, users should be aware of it and face critically any information that is handed from the website

1. INTRODUCTION

It is an undeniable fact that both computers and the Internet have become one of the most important achievements of modern society. They bring their own revolution in human daily life (science, education, information, entertainment etc) eliminating the distances and offering immediate and easily access to information and communication. With the continuous development of new technologies, the Internet users are able to communicate anywhere in the world to shop online, use it as an educational tool, work remotely and carry out financial transactions with various services offered by banks. The infinite possibilities that are offered by the Internet can often lead users to abuse it, or to use it for malicious purposes against other users, organizations and public services. With the rapid spread and growth of the Internet, they have appeared some social phenomena such as cyberbullying, internet pornography, grooming through social networks, cybersuicide, Internet addiction and social isolation, racism on the web. Moreover, there is always the risk of any sort of fraud exploitation by the so called experts of technology systems who use Internet as a mean to carry out illegal acts.

Social Networks

The human being is often considered as a “social being.” Therefore, it is no surprise that the Internet is continuously transformed from a simple tool for publishing information to a mean of social interaction and participation. Social networks ( 1 ) are characterized as online services that allow individuals to create a public profile within an entrenched net system. Additionally, the users publish a list of other users with whom share a connection and view and interchange their own lists of connections and those who are created by others in the system. Social networks are a set of interactions and relationships. The term is also used today to describe websites that allow interface between users sharing reviews, photos and other information. The most famous of these websites are Facebook, Twitter, My Space, Skype, OoVoo, LinkedIn, Tumblr, YouTube, TripAdvisor. These websites are virtual communities where people can communicate and develop contacts through them.

A social network is a social structure made up for a number of factors, such as individuals or organizations. On the internet, social networks are a platform that is maintained for the creation of social relations between people, usually as active members of the social network, with common interests or activities.

Social networking sites are organized sites on the web with more centered character providing in their overwhelming majority, a series of basic and free services such as creating profiles, uploading pictures and videos, commenting on actions taken by other members of the network or group, instant messaging and other more

Internet Risks

Social networking is an amazing technological phenomenon of the 21st century. Social networking websites allow each user to create and design a personal website, using graphics, color, music, pictures and give it a unique character. This activity is particularly popular among young people and does not require specific technical knowledge. On these websites, users through their virtual profile work interactively with other users, publishing photos and videos, join groups of common interests, publish and exchange their artistic creations, visit pages of other users and use a variety of applications. The Internet is a powerful tool in our hands, but if it is not used properly can put someone in a very risky situation. The challenge of the Internet is to be able to recognize potential hazards, to know how to prevent the risks and create options to avoid and terminate them.

The most significant problems that may be found in the social networking sites are:

Online Grooming ( 2 ), describes the behavior that tries to inspire confidence to the young user, so that to be able to perform a secret meeting with the user. The sexual abuse of the victim, physical violence or child prostitution and abuse through pornography may be the outcome of this meeting which makes it a kind of psychological treatment that is conducted online Another definition says that the «grooming» is a smart handling process, which typically starts without sexual approach, but is designed to entice the victim to sexual encounter. Moreover, sometimes is characterized as a seduction to highlight the slow and gradual process of disclosure of information from the younger user and build a relationship of trust.

Cyberbullying ( 3 ) is an aggressive behavior using electronic means. Such behaviors can make young people feel lonely, unhappy and frightened, to feel insecure and think that something is wrong. They lose confidence in their selves and may not want to go back to school or try to find ways to be isolated from their friends. Furthermore, in extreme cases, continuous, persistent and intense bullying has led to terrible consequences such as suicide intent. Harassment among children and adolescents may occur in very different forms not only manifested through roughhouse and aggression, but also through different types of intimidation that leaves the victim exposed.

Cybersuicide ( 4 ) describes the suicide or the attempt of suicide, which is influenced by the Internet. The Cybersuicide has caught the attention of the scientific community from the time that the recorded incidents of suicide are growing over the internet. It has been suggested that the use of the internet and specifically that the websites about suicide can promote suicide and thereby contribute to increasing rates of Cybersuicide. People who do not know each other come together and meet online and then they are gathered in a certain place in order to commit suicide together. Apart from committing suicide on the internet there is the case of users who commit this act while they are connected to the Internet: “committing suicide in real time via webcam”. In response to the above and other similar cases, the issue of the impact of the Internet in facilitating suicide has begun to be actively discussed. On a practical level, the scientific research regarding the Cybersuicide is still in a native stage, and the empirical evidence that the Internet has contributed to the increase of suicides is currently minimal. However, the Internet bears some features that allow someone to assume that a user can facilitate the act of committing suicide.

Cyber Racism ( 5 ) refers to the phenomenon of online racism. The expression of racism on the internet is common and frequent and is facilitate by the anonymity which is offered by the internet. Racism may be expressed through racist websites, photos videos, comments and messages on social networks.

Internet addiction ( 6 ) is a relatively new form of dependency, which is under review by the scientific community. Essentially it refers to the increasing number of people who report more and more involvement with the Internet to raise the feeling of satisfaction and a systematic increase in the time spent for pumping this feeling. The Internet addiction although not officially recognized as a clinical entity is a condition that causes significant reduction in the social and professional or academic functioning of the individual. Experts of mental health are increasingly invited to approach therapeutically people with problematic Internet use.

Online scams : ( 7 ) the internet facilitates electronic transactions, every day for millions of people and businesses and arrange their economic works through the net. As a matter of fact, it is necessary that the navigation on websites that include transactions should be performed with extreme caution and with confidence that they have been taken into account the forthcoming legislation and the compulsory insurance transaction regarding personal data. The most common scam is the method of Phising. It comes from combining the words password (code) and fishing (fishing). This is a particularly smart technique for economic deception through revealing both the personal data and in particular information concerning financial transactions. Misled unsuspecting users may disclose personal information to a fake form on the Internet. Evidence of the faked victim are double crossed and used for gaining access to personal data.

Electronic Gambling , [8] with the term Electronic Gambling can be identified the activity during which two or more people meet online to exchange bets. Such activity involves the risk of real financial loss or gain. One of the main problems of gambling is loss of money. This can lead to lose ones’ savings, home, or property etc. Many people become addicted and they cannot stop thinking that during the next round will get their money back. Therefore, wasting a lot of money one can waste considerable time in parallel, neglecting existing obligations with all the other ensuing consequences of the addiction. It is found that even the frequent attendance in gambling environments where there is no use of real money, can cause addiction. The ease of access to online gambling websites increases the risks of engagement of young adults in such activities.

Physical problems associated with the use of Computers: The ever-increasing use of computers has a negative impact on the health of users affecting various systems and causing physical and mental problems. Due to these problems there is a discrepancy on the body functionality of some user’s system with consequent changes in their quality of life. The most important of these problems affect the following systems: a) The ophthalmology system, b) The nervous system, c) The musculoskeletal system, d) Headaches, e) Tendency to obesity.

Internet Security: Used as a tremendous source of information and services the Internet should filter the bulk of such information, so that would never be accepted without criticism. Some readily provided information seeking valid practices and technique are listed below:

• Search of information sources by using valid techniques
• Assessment of the information provided
• Disclosure of information provided for ideological or economic benefits
• Safe management of electronic transactions
• Protection from potential online scams

This review study was conducted through bibliographical search of national and international research articles relevant to the subject matter. The Social network sites are increasingly attracting the attention of academic and industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach. Research has indicated that social networking internet sites are being used extensively by young adolescents and adults. As a matter of fact, some communications are of an improper and illegal nature, in which personal information is gathered to facilitate financial fraud, child grooming and new type of racist culture. All of the above are possible in cyberspace.

The spread of the Internet and the growing influence of it to such an extent as to constitute a dominant element in the lives of users, led to the exploration of the consequences that may cause the frequent usage of the internet in the physical and mental development of both young people and adults. Among the multitude of parameters that make up this new and constantly evolving situation are the exposure of users to propaganda and racist ideas. Additionally, Internet may offer inappropriate material and misleading ideas that medicate suicide as a solution. Internet addiction may be causes by the online gambling and various other forms of gambling for users over the Internet. Especially the younger users bear a high risk from exposure to the online world through social networks, as the new phenomena that have appeared such as seduction online, cyberbullying, cheating by hidden advertising messages, etc. greatly influence their psychology and emotional development and often irreversibly stigmatize them forever. Furthermore, the development and the spread of the Internet transformed and modernized the definition of scam. Once users began to use plastic money for transactions conducted solely on the Internet appeared the cases of extortion of money by deceit, through the theft and use of personal data of users. Although frauds have always existed, the abolition of personal contact and the extermination of geographical boundaries provided an opportunity to grow.

4. DISCUSSION

Questions arise about how certain personality characteristics and up to which point the social and family situation and the existing of psychiatric disorders may affect the use of the Internet and may lead to the misuse of it. Excessive use of the Internet has both internal and external effects for users. The internal output is the psychological and emotional sector and personality problems that may arise, such as reduced psychological wellbeing for excessive users according to research findings. The external influence refers to the functionality of the user and the problems associated with reduced activities in real life and minimal to non- existent interaction with the social environment. The excessive use of Internet may lead to poor relationships with friends and family, lack of interest in daily life and neglect of domestic, academic, professional and other responsibilities that gradually lead to a discount of the quality of life. Besides the above mentioned risks of inappropriate Internet usage the benefits of the Internet are numerous and contribute to progress to the human well-being in all areas. It offers a quick access to information and facilitates communication, providing entertainment, education and assistance in medical issues. Unfortunately, it offers anonymity that can make it equally dangerous, especially for young users. For this reason, users should be aware of and ensure the proper use of the Internet so it will not adversely affect their personal lives and their prosperity.

According to this more and more mental health professionals and other specialists are invited to work with people who have problems related to poor or excessive use of the Internet. There are now organized multilateral efforts to address the social and psychological effects of the Internet on a global and national level, implemented by public and private bodies. Campaigns, discussions at schools, advertising campaigns in mass media, sessions for information and sensitization parents and teachers on the safety and security of the Internet. Additional complaint lines and counseling–psychological support work are functioning around the clock for users to prevent scams, gambling, cybercuiside, cyberbullying and cyber grooming

5. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, one would say that the Internet benefits are numerous and contribute to the progress and prosperity of humans in all areas. It offers quick access to information and facilitates communications. However, Internet is provided in abundance and is easily accessible and the illogical use of the Internet makes it be quite dangerous, especially for young users. For this reason, users should be aware of and face critically the information handed at the websites, so that to ensure a proper behavior and delimit the excessive use it of it. The result will be to never appear any effect that will endanger the personal welfare of the users. As a matter of fact the logical use and the maintain balance are the key to maximizing the benefits of the Internet.

• Author’s contribution: author and all co-authors of this paper have contributed in all phases if it’s preparing. Final proof reading was made by first author.

• Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

The Fantastic Zoology of Borges: Imagination and Science

Alfred nobel, founder of the prizes, openmind books, scientific anniversaries, the great invention of marie curie, featured author, latest book, the internet: global evolution and challenges.

The Internet, a global network of networks, is a remarkably complex technical system built on the creative contributions of scientists around the world from the 1950s to the present. Throughout its evolution, the Internet and other networks have been promoted by governments, researchers, educators, and individuals as tools for meeting a range of human needs. A combination of high-level policy and grassroots improvisation has produced social benefits including easier and more widespread access to computers and information; increased scientific collaboration; economic growth; the formation of virtual communities and an increased ability to maintain social ties over long distances; the democratization of content creation; and online political and social activism. The Internet’s rapid growth has also spawned technical crises, such as congestion and a scarcity of network addresses, and social dilemmas, including malicious and illegal activities and persistent digital divides based on income, location, age, gender, and education. Such problems continue to demand creative solutions from scientists, policy makers, and citizens.

Several general themes characterize the technical development of the Internet. First, from the 1950s to the present there has been a steady increase in the size of data networks and the variety of services they offer. Rapid growth and diversity have forced network designers to overcome incompatibilities between computer systems and components, manage data traffic to avoid congestion and chaos, and reach international agreement on technical standards. These challenges have led to fundamental advances in research areas such as operating systems and queuing theory. A second trend has been the modeling of network functions as a series of layers, each of which behaves according to a standard protocol, a set of rules for interaction that is implemented in software or hardware. Layering reduces the complexity of the network system and minimizes the amount of standardization necessary, which makes it easier for networks to join the Internet. A third important feature of the Internet’s technical development has been an unusually decentralized and participatory design process. This has opened the system to innovation from a variety of directions and has encouraged informal worldwide collaboration. The following sections describe some of the major milestones in the evolution of the Internet and its predecessors.

Beginnings: early terminal networks

The first electronic digital computers, invented during the World War II and commercialized immediately afterward, were solitary machines: they were not designed to interact with their human users or to communicate with other computers. Within a few years, however, computer scientists began experimenting with ways to access computers from a distance or transmit data from one machine to another. The data networks of the 1950s and early 1960s were systems to connect terminals to computers, rather than connecting computers to each other. Experiments with terminal networks provided an intriguing research area for computer scientists, but they were also a response to contemporary political and economic realities, including the Cold War and the growth of global economic, transportation, and communication networks.

Computer science research in the United States was largely funded by the military and reflected that country’s rivalry with the USSR. For example, an important US development of the 1950s was Project SAGE, a computerized early-warning defense system designed to detect missile attacks. Each SAGE center had an IBM computer that received data through telephone lines from dozens of radar installations and military bases. A key technology developed for SAGE by AT&T Bell Laboratories was the modem, which converts digital computer data into analog signals that can be sent over the telephone network. AT&T began to offer modems for general use in 1958, and for several decades modems would provide the chief means of network access for home users.

Demand for terminal networks was driven by another technical milestone of the early 1960s: time sharing operating systems. Invented independently in 1959 by Christopher Strachey of the UK and John McCarthy of the US, time sharing allowed multiple users to run programs on a single computer simultaneously. Because the cost of the computer could be shared among a much larger number of users, time sharing made it practical to allow individuals to use a computer interactively for long stretches of time, rather than being restricted to running a single program and receiving the results offline. Commercial time sharing services took advantage of these economies of scale to provide affordable computing to many academic and business customers. By the mid-1960s, commercial time sharing services were developing their own data networks to give their customers low-cost access to their computers.

Global capitalism and the growth of transportation and communication systems provided the impetus for large-scale commercial terminal networks. In the early 1960s, data-intensive industries, such as aviation and stock trading, built cooperative networks to enable firms to share a common pool of information. For example, in the early 1960s American Airlines and IBM created the SABRE on-line reservation system (based on IBM’s work on SAGE), which connected 2,000 terminals across the United States to a central computer. Similarly, the US National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ) created a network for stock quotations in 1970. In an early example of international collaboration in networking, a cooperative of airlines called SITA (Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques) built a network in 1969 using the packet switching technique (see below). The SITA network handled traffic for 175 airlines through computer centers in Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, New York, Paris, and Rome (SITA, 2006). Such financial and commercial networks helped accelerate the integration of the global economy.

Research networks

Terminal networks were based on a relatively simple hub-and-spoke model that connected numerous users to a single central computer resource. More complex networks involving multiple computers were built by computer scientists from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. Experimenting with new technologies, researchers aimed to break the barriers to sharing data between dissimilar computer systems. Scientists and their government sponsors saw a threefold promise in networking: the ability to share scarce and expensive computers, which would increase access while decreasing costs; the ability to share data and work collaboratively with colleagues in other locations; and the opportunity to advance the theory and practice of computer science.

Three of the most important early research networks were the ARPANET (US, 1969), the NPL Mark I (UK, 1969), and CYCLADES (France, 1972). A key innovation of these experimental networks was a communications technique called packet switching. Previous communication systems, such as the telephone and the terminal networks, provided dedicated circuits between the two ends of a connection. In contrast, a packet switching network divides the data to be transmitted into small units called packets that are sent out individually, sharing the network circuits with packets from other connections. Packet switching allows communications links to be used more efficiently, thus conserving an expensive resource. In addition, packets from the same connection can be sent to their destination by different routes, making it possible to distribute traffic among multiple links or respond to a breakdown in one part of the network by routing traffic elsewhere. This flexibility helps prevent congestion and increases the reliability of the network.

The concept of packet switching was invented independently in early 1960s by Paul Baran of the US and Donald Davies of the UK; Davies put the technique into practice in the one-node Mark I network at the National Physical Laboratory. In the US, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored the first large-scale packet switching network, ARPANET. One of the theorists contributing to this project was Leonard Kleinrock, who developed some of the first methods for analyzing packet network behavior. In France, Louis Pouzin pioneered connectionless or datagram networking techniques in the packet-switched CYCLADES network. Datagram networks were simpler than connection-oriented networks such as ARPANET, and this simplicity made it more feasible to interconnect different networks—an important step toward developing a worldwide Internet. As Pouzin noted: “The more sophisticated a network, the less likely it is going to interface properly with another.” (Pouzin 1975, 429.) Experiments in internetworking (connecting multiple networks) were already taking place by the early 1970s. For example, the NPL network was connected to CYCLADES in 1974, and in 1976 both CYCLADES and NPL were connected with the new European Informatics Network. EIN had grown out of a 1971 science and technology study group of the European Economic Community (now the European Union), which recommended the building of a multinational network to help member countries share computer resources and promote computer science research. By 1976 the EIN was providing network service to ten countries, with hubs in Italy, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (Laws and Hathway 1978). The convergence of networking systems thus mirrored the political convergence of the cooperating states.

A number of experimental techniques besides packet switching were featured in the ARPANET. This network connected researchers across the United States working in areas such as time sharing, artificial intelligence, and graphics; because of generous government funding and the large pool of computer science talent involved, the ARPANET builders were able to experiment with promising but extremely challenging techniques. For example, rather than limiting the network to a single type of computer, as had most other experiments in computer-to-computer communication, the ARPANET included a variety of extremely diverse computers. This drove the team of computer scientists, graduate students, and industry engineers to find ways of bridging the incompatibilities between computers, and their hard work made it much easier to build the next generation of networks. The ARPANET also had a distributed topology featuring many switching nodes with multiple interconnections, rather than a single central node. Distributed communications, first described by Baran (1964), could spread out the traffic load and potentially increase reliability by creating multiple paths between any two computers. However, adopting this untried technique greatly increased the complexity of the routing system, forcing the ARPANET designers to analyze and manage unexpected network behavior. In another risky move, the network design called for the routing operations to be decentralized and adaptive: each node would make its routing decisions independently and would change its behavior in response to changes in traffic conditions or network configuration (for example, if an adjacent node became disabled). The ARPANET’s decentralized design and autonomous routing behavior increased the difficulty of analyzing network behavior; at the same time, these techniques would contribute to the future success of the Internet, because they would allow the network to grow without being limited by a central bottleneck.

One of the most novel features of the ARPANET project was not technical but organizational: an informal, decentralized decision-making process. The network software was developed by a loose confederation of researchers and students called the Network Working Group. Any member of the group could suggest a new feature by circulating a Request For Comments; after a period of discussion and trial implementations, the suggestion would be modified, abandoned, or adopted by consensus as a network standard. This collaborative process continues to be used for Internet standards (Bradner 1996) and has helped the system grow and adapt by encouraging free debate and wide participation in its technical development.

By far the most successful application of the early research networks was electronic mail, which became a standard service in the early 1970s. The popularity of email came as a surprise to the ARPANET builders, who had expected that research-oriented networks would focus on sophisticated, computationally-intensive applications such as mathematics or graphics. While email was adopted in part because it was simple to use, its popularity also reflected the realization that scientific research depended as much on human collaboration as on access to machines. Email provided an unprecedented opportunity for ongoing interaction with remote colleagues.

Though they were not open to the general public, the early research networks went beyond providing computer access for a small group of scientists. They produced solutions to formidable technical obstacles and established vital resources for future innovation, including standard techniques and a community of researchers and engineers experienced in networking (Quarterman 1990). Early efforts to build multi-national networks and internets also sowed the seeds of global cooperation, without which today’s Internet could not exist.

Expanding access: proprietary, public, and grassroots networks

In the mid-1970s, the emergence of research networks was paralleled by three other trends: proprietary networking systems offered by computer manufacturers; public data networks built by national telecommunications carriers (PTTs); and grassroots networks that were improvised by individuals with little funding. Companies such as IBM had provided limited networking capabilities since the 1960s, but after the research networks had demonstrated the viability of packet switching, computer firms began offering their own packet-switching technologies. Widely used systems included IBM’s Systems Network Architecture (1974), Xerox Network Services (1975), and Digital Equipment Corporation’s DECNET (1975). Unlike research networks, these proprietary systems had many corporate users. Corporate networks enabled businesses to be both more distributed—because branch operations could access the data they needed to operate independently—and more centralized, because data from far-flung operations could be instantly monitored by the head office. Thus computer networking reflected and augmented the trend toward economic globalization that accelerated in the 1980s and beyond.

While proprietary systems provided a vital service to organizations with many computers from the same manufacturer, these networks were generally not compatible with computers from rival manufacturers. This could be a problem within a single organization and certainly raised an obstacle to building a national or international network. In addition, these commercial systems were under the control of private corporations and did not adhere to publicly established technical standards. This was of particular concern outside the United States, where most of the large computer manufacturers were located. To provide the public with an alternative, in 1974–75 the national telecommunications carriers in Europe, Canada, and Japan announced plans to build data networks that would be available to any user, regardless of the brand of computer they used.

The PTTs’ vision of data networking, modeled on the phone system, included not only universal access but also international connections. Realizing that this would require agreement on a shared network protocol, in 1975–76 the Consultative Committee on International Telegraphy and Telephony of the International Telecommunications Union developed a packet-switching network standard called X.25. X.25 provided a reliable connection called a virtual circuit between two points on a network, allowing terminal users to access online resources without having to install complex networking software. Early adopters of the new standard included Canada’s Datapac network (1977), France’s Transpac (1978), Japan’s DDX (1979), the British Post Office’s PSS (1980), and the multinational Euronet (1979). While X.25 was later superseded by other technologies such as frame relay, it provided a base for the rapid development of public networks around the world and avoided the chaos of competing incompatible standards. Another influential standards effort in the late 1970s was the Open Systems Interconnection model created by the International Standards Organization. This defined the functions for seven layers of network services, ranging from low-level hardware connections to high-level applications and user interfaces. Although there was much debate over these standards (Abbate 1999), adopting a common model helped computer scientists and manufacturers move closer to creating fully interoperable network systems.

Public data networks provided the first online access for much of the world’s population. They also sponsored new types of content and services that made data networks relevant to non-technical users. For example, in the early 1980s France Telecom achieved widespread public use of its Transpac network by offering the innovative Minitel system: a free terminal, given to customers in place of a telephone directory, with access to a free online directory and a variety of paid services. Minitel was in use for almost three decades and served nearly half the French population. With payments securely handled by the phone company, Minitel provided some of the world’s first e-commerce, including airline and train ticketing, mail-order retail, banking and stock trading, information services, and message boards (McGrath 2004).

The development of public data networks reflected an emerging view—by both individual users and the highest levels of government—that access to computer communications was a public good, a resource that would be necessary for full citizenship in the twenty-first century. In serving this mission, public data networks were complemented by a third trend of this period: improvised grassroots networks. These low-cost networks used existing software and simple dial-up connections to exchange mail and discussion lists among an informal community of users. The most well-known were USENET, which was established in 1979 using UNIX protocols, and BITNET, created in 1981 using IBM protocols. These networks played an important role in providing communication to people who had no access to formal networking infrastructure.

Designing the Internet

How did these disparate data communications systems become united into the global network that we know as the Internet? While some connections between networks were established in the 1970s, design incompatibilities generally limited their services to the exchange of mail and news. The technologies that allow the full range of network services to be shared seamlessly across systems were initially created for the ARPANET. DARPA’s explorations in internetworking stemmed from its desire to connect the ARPANET with two new networks it had built, which extended packet switching techniques to radio and satellite communications. Since these media did not have the same technical characteristics as telephone lines—radio links were unreliable; satellites introduced delays—existing techniques such as X.25 or the original ARPANET protocols were not suitable for such a diverse interconnected system. In the early 1970s, therefore, DARPA started an Internet Program to develop a more comprehensive solution.

Another technical development that helped drive the demand for internetworking was local area networks. Ethernet, the most influential of these, was invented in 1973 by Robert Metcalfe, drawing on an earlier network called Alohanet that was created by Norman Abramson, Frank Kuo, and Richard Binder (Metcalfe 1996; Abramson 1970). Ethernet and Alohanet pioneered a technique called random access that allowed many users to share a communication channel without the need for complex routing procedures (1). The simplicity of the random access design helped make LANs affordable for a broad range of users. Ethernet became formally standardized and commercially available in the early 1980s and was widely adopted by universities, businesses, and other organizations. Another popular LAN system, token ring, was invented by IBM researchers in Zurich and commercialized in 1985. The popularity of LANs would create many new networks that potentially could be interconnected; but, like the packet radio network, these random access systems could not guarantee a reliable connection, and therefore would not work well with existing wide-area network protocols. A new system was needed.

The Internet Program was led by Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn, with the collaboration of computer scientists from around the world. In addition to US researchers at DARPA, Stanford, the University of Southern California, the University of Hawaii, BBN, and Xerox PARC, Cerf and Kahn consulted networking experts from University College London, the NPL and CYCLADES groups, and the International Network Working Group (Cerf 1990). The INWG had been founded in 1972 and included representatives from many national PTTs that were planning to build packet-switching networks. By sharing concerns and pooling ideas, this inclusive team was able to design a system that could serve users with diverse infrastructural resources and networking needs.

The Internet architecture had two main elements. The first was a set of protocols called TCP/IP, or Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (Cerf and Kahn 1974 (2) TCP was an example of a host protocol, whose function is to set up and manage a connection between two computers (hosts) across a network. The insight behind TCP was that the host protocol could guarantee a reliable connection between hosts even if they were connected by an unreliable network, such as a packet radio or Ethernet system. By lowering the requirement for reliability in the network, the use of TCP opened the Internet to many more networks than it might otherwise have accommodated. To ensure dependable connections, TCP was designed to verify the safe arrival of packets, using confirmation messages called acknowledgments; compensate for errors by retransmitting lost or damaged packets; and control the rate of data flow between the hosts by limiting the number of packets in transit. In contrast, the Internet Protocol performed a much simpler set of tasks that allowed packets to be passed from machine to machine as they made their way through the network. IP became the common language of the Internet, the only required protocol for a network wishing to join: member networks had the freedom to choose among multiple protocols for other layers of the system (though in practice most eventually adopted TCP for their host protocol). Reflecting the diverse needs and preferences of the experts who participated in its design, the Internet architecture accommodated variation and local autonomy among its member networks.

The second creative element was the use of special computers called gateways as the interface between different networks (Cerf 1979). Gateways are now commonly known as routers; as the name implies, they determine the route that packets should take to get from one network to another. A network would direct non-local packets to a nearby gateway, which would forward the packets to their destination network. By dividing routing responsibility between networks and gateways, this architecture made the Internet easier to scale up: individual networks did not have to know the topology of the whole Internet, only how to reach the nearest gateway; gateways needed to know how to reach all the networks in the Internet, but not how to reach individual hosts within a network.

Another notable invention that would make the worldwide growth of the Internet manageable was the Domain Name System, created in 1984 by Paul Mockapetris (Cerf 1993; Leiner et al 1997). One challenge of communicating across a large network is the need to know the address of the computer at the far end. While human beings usually refer to computers by names (such as “darpa”), the computers in the network identify each other by numerical addresses. In the original ARPANET, the names and addresses of all the host computers had been kept in a large file, which had to be frequently updated and distributed to all the hosts. Clearly, this mechanism would not scale up well for a network of thousands or millions of computers. The Domain Name System decentralized the task of finding addresses by creating groups of names called domains (such as .com or .org) and special computers called name servers that would maintain databases of the addresses that corresponded to each domain name. To find an address, the host would simply query the appropriate name server. The new system also made it possible to decentralize the authority to assign names, so that, for example, each country could control its own domain.

The World Wide Web and other applications

The Internet architecture made it possible to build a worldwide data communications infrastructure, but it did not directly address the question of content. In the 1980s, almost all content on the Internet was plain text. It was relatively difficult for users to locate information they wanted; the user had to know in advance the address of the site hosting the data, since there were no search engines or links between sites. The breakthrough that transformed how Internet content was created, displayed, and found was the World Wide Web.

The World Wide Web was the brainchild of Tim Berners-Lee, a British researcher at CERN, the international physics laboratory in Geneva. He envisioned the Internet as a collaborative space where people could share information of all kinds. In his proposed system, users could create pages of content on computers called web servers, and the web pages could be viewed with a program called a browser. The Web would be able to handle multimedia as well as text, and Web pages could be connected by hyperlinks, so that people could navigate between sites based on meaningful relationships between the ideas on different pages. This would create a web of connections based on content, rather than infrastructure. Berners-Lee formulated his ideas in 1989, and he and collaborator Robert Cailliau created the first operational version of the Web in 1990. The technical underpinnings of the new system included html (hypertext markup language, used to create web pages), http (hypertext transfer protocol, used to transmit web page data), and the url (uniform resource locator, a way of addressing web pages).

The Web was popular with the physicists who used it at CERN, and they spread it to other research sites. At one such site, the US National Center for Supercomputer Applications, Marc Andreessen led the development of an improved browser called Mosaic in 1993. Mosaic could run on personal computers as well as on larger machines, and NCSA made the browser freely available over the Internet, which led to a flood of interest in the Web. By 1994 there were estimated to be a million or more copies of Mosaic in use (Schatz and Hardin 1994).

The Web’s hyperlinks were designed to solve a long-standing problem for Internet users: how to find information within such a large system? To address this need, various finding aids were developed in the 1990s. One of the earliest tools for searching the Internet was Archie (1990), which sent queries to computers on the Internet and gathered listings of publicly available files. Gopher (1991) was a listing system specifically for the Web, while Yahoo (1994) was a directory of Web pages organized by themes. Yahoo’s staff categorized Web pages by hand, rather than automatically; given the vast amount of data accumulating on the Web, however, a variety of new services tried to automate searching. The most successful of these search engines was Google (1998). Search engines transformed the way users find information on the Web, allowing them to search a vast number of sources for a particular topic rather than having to know in advance which sources might have relevant information.

Like the Internet itself, the Web was designed to be flexible, expandable, and decentralized, inviting people to invent new ways of using it. The spread of the World Wide Web coincided with the transition in 1995 of the US Internet backbone from government to private-sector control. This removed many barriers to commercial use of the Internet and ushered in the “dot-com” boom of the 1990s, in which huge amounts of capital were invested in e-commerce schemes. While the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, it was significant in creating a popular understanding of the Internet as an economic engine and not merely a technical novelty. The beginning of the twenty-first century also saw the proliferation of social media that provided new ways for people to interact and share information and entertainment online. These included weblogs (1997), wikis (1995), file sharing (1999), podcasting (2004), social networking sites, and a variety of multi-player games.

The Internet and society: successes and challenges

After half a century of research and innovation, the Internet was firmly established as a widely available resource offering an array of potential benefits. Users had greater access to information of all kinds, and governments and businesses had a new platform for providing information and services. E-commerce brought economic growth, greater choices for consumers, and opportunities for producers in disadvantaged areas to reach new markets. A variety of communications options, from email to elaborate social networking sites, made it easier for friends and family to stay in touch over long distances and for strangers to form “virtual communities” around common interests. Grassroots organizers adopted the Internet for political and social activism and used it to mobilize worldwide responses to natural disasters and human rights abuses. Users of all ages embraced the Internet as a medium for personal expression, and new applications helped democratize the technology by making it easier for ordinary people to independently produce and disseminate news, information, opinion, and entertainment.

However, many challenges remained as the Internet entered the twenty-first century. Users faced abusive practices such as spam (unwanted commercial email), viruses, identity theft, and break-ins. Technical experts responded with solutions that attempted to minimize these ongoing dangers, providing anti-virus systems, filters, secure web transactions, and improved security systems. But other issues were too divisive for a technical solution to satisfy conflicting public opinion, especially when activities crossed national boundaries. Some governments severely limited and closely monitored the online activities of their citizens; while human rights groups protested this as censorship and intimidating surveillance, the governments in question asserted their right to protect public safety and morality. Other groups complained that the Internet was too open to objectionable or illegal content such as child pornography or pirated songs, movies, and software. Filters and copyright protection devices provided means to restrict the flow of such information, but these devices were themselves controversial. Internet governance was another thorny issue, with many of the world’s nations calling for a more international, less US-dominated mechanism for managing the Internet’s name and address system (3). Another technical issue with political ramifications was the proposed transition from the old Internet Protocol, called IPv4, to a new protocol called IPv6 that would provide a much larger number of addresses (Bradner and Mankin 1995); this was in part a response to the fact that the United States held a disproportionate share of the IPv4 addresses. Ipv6 was proposed as an Internet standard in 1994, but due to technical and political disagreements the protocol was still only used for a tiny percentage of Internet traffic 15 years later (DeNardis 2009). Given these many obstacles, the Internet’s decentralized, consensus-based development process continued to work remarkably well to keep the system thriving amid rapid growth and change.

Perhaps most troubling was the persistent inequality of access to the Internet and its opportunities for economic development, political participation, government transparency, and the growth of local science and technology. Significant gaps remained between rich and poor regions, urban and rural citizens, young and old. The United Nations reported in 2007 that the global digital divide was still enormous: “Over half the population in developed regions were using the Internet in 2005, compared to 9 per cent in developing regions and 1 per cent in the 50 least developed countries.” (UN, 2007, 32.) To help address this issue, the UN and International Telecommunications Union sponsored a two-part World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005) to devise a plan of action to bring access to information and communication technologies to all of the world’s people (WSIS 2008). Computer scientists also devoted their ingenuity to making the Internet more accessible to the world’s poor. For example, in 2001 a group of Indian computer scientists reversed the paradigm of expensive, energy-consuming personal computers by creating the Simputer: a simple, low-cost, low-energy computer that would provide a multilingual interface and could be shared among the residents of a village (Sterling 2001) (4). Similarly, Nicholas Negroponte initiated the One Laptop Per Child project in 2005 to serve educational needs in developing countries. To help fit the technology to local needs, lead designer Mary Lou Jepsen invented an inexpensive, power-efficient screen readable in outdoor light, and software designer Walter Bender created an intuitive graphical user interface (One Laptop Per Child 2008; Roush 2008). The Stockholm Challenge, an annual event since 1995, showcases hundreds of innovative projects from around the world that use ICTs to promote development (Stockholm Challenge 2008).

No longer simply the domain of scientists, pushing the frontiers of the Internet increasingly involves social as well as technical innovation and the collaboration of researchers, businesses, civil society organizations, governments, and ordinary people. The values guiding the Internet’s social and technical development have been complementary: increasing access, accommodating diversity, decentralizing authority, making decisions by consensus with a wide range of participants, and allowing users to take an active role in adding features to the network. On the technical side, these goals have been achieved through layered architecture, open protocols, and a collaborative process for approving design changes, while social goals have been advanced through government leadership and the inspiration of individuals who saw the Internet’s potential for communication, cooperation, and self-expression.

Bibliography

Abbate, Janet. Inventing the Internet. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1999.

Abramson, Norman. “The ALOHA System—, Another Alternative for Computer Communications.” Proceedings, AFIPS Fall Joint Computer Conference. Montvale, NJ: AFIPS Press, 1970, 281–285.

Baran, Paul. On Distributed Communications. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1964.

Berners-Lee, Tim. Weaving the Web. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.

Bradner, Scott, and A. Mankin. “The Recommendation for the IP Next Generation Protocol.” Network Working Group Request for Comments 1752, January 1995. Available on the Internet at http://www.rfc-editor.org/

Bradner, Scott. “The Internet Standards Process—Revision 3.” Network Working Group Request for Comments 2026, October 1996. Available on the Internet at http://www.rfc-editor.org/

Campbell-Kelly, Martin, and William Aspray. Computer: A History of the Information Machine. New York: Basic Books, 1996.

Cerf, Vinton G. “DARPA Activities in Packet Network Interconnection.” In K. G. Beauchamp, ed. Interlinking of Computer

Networks. Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel, 1979.

Cerf, Vinton G. Oral history interview by Judy O’Neill (Reston, VA, April 24, 1990), OH 191. Minneapolis, MN: The Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, 1990. Available on the Internet at http://www.cbi.umn.edu/oh/display.phtml?id–118

—, “How the Internet Came to Be.” In Bernard Aboba, ed. The Online User’s Encyclopedia. Addison-Wesley, 1993.

Cerf, Vinton G., and Robert E. KAHN. “A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication.” IEEE Transactions on Communications COM-22, May 1974, 637–648.

Denardis, Laura. Protocol Politics: The Globalization of Internet Governance. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009.

Laws, J., and V. Hathway. “Experience From Two Forms of Inter-Network Connection.” In K. G. Beauchamp, ed. Interlinking of Computer Networks. NATO, 1978, 273–284.

Leiner, Barry M., Vinton G. Cerf, David D. Clark, Robert E. Kahn, Leonard Kleinrock, Daniel C. Lynch, Jon Postel, Larry G. Roberts, and Stephen Wolff. 1997. “A Brief History of the Internet.” Available on the Internet at http://www.isoc.org/internet-history. Revised February 1997.

McGrath, Dermot. “Minitel: The Old New Thing.” Wired, January 18, 2004. Available on the Internet at http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2001/04/42943.

Metcalfe, Robert M. Packet Communication.

San Jose: Peer-to-Peer Communications, 1996.

One Laptop Per Child. http://www.laptop.org/ (accessed September 5, 2008).

Pouzin, Louis. “Presentation and Major Design Aspects of the CYCLADES Computer Network.” In R. L. Grimsdale and F. F. Kuo, eds. Computer Communication Networks. Leyden: Noordhoff, 1975.

Quarterman, John S. The Matrix: Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems Worldwide. Burlington, MA: Digital Press, 1990.

Roush, Wade. “One Laptop Per Child Foundation No Longer a Disruptive Force, Bender Fears.” Xconomy, April 24, 2008. Available on the Internet at http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2008/04/24/

Schatz, Bruce R., and Joseph B. Hardin. “NCSA Mosaic and the World Wide Web: Global Hypermedia Protocols for the Internet.” Science 265 (1994), 895–901.

SITA. “SITA’s history and milestones.” http://www.sita.aero/News_Centre/Corporate_profile/History/ (updated 21 July 2006, accessed September 5, 2008).

Sterling, Bruce. “The Year In Ideas: A to Z; Simputer.” The New York Times, December 9, 2001.

Stockholm Challenge. www.challenge.stockholm.se / (accessed September 5, 2008).

United Nations. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007. New York: United Nations, 2007.

World Summit on the Information Society. http://www.itu.int/wsis/ (accessed September 5, 2008).

• Metcalfe’s improved version of the random access system was called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD).
• Originally there was a single protocol, TCP; it was split into two protocols, TCP and IP, in 1980.
• “Internationalizing” the governance of the Internet was a central issue at the UN-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society in 2005.
• The creators and trustees of the Simputer project were Vijay Chandru, Swami Manohar, Ramesh Hariharan, V. Vinay, Vinay Deshpande, Shashank Garg, and Mark Mathias (http://www.simputer.org/simputer/people/trustees.php).

Related publications

• The Trajectory of Digital Computing
• The Internet of Things: Outlook and Challenges

Download Kindle

Download epub, download pdf, more publications related to this article, more about technology, artificial intelligence, digital world, visionaries, comments on this publication.

Morbi facilisis elit non mi lacinia lacinia. Nunc eleifend aliquet ipsum, nec blandit augue tincidunt nec. Donec scelerisque feugiat lectus nec congue. Quisque tristique tortor vitae turpis euismod, vitae aliquam dolor pretium. Donec luctus posuere ex sit amet scelerisque. Etiam sed neque magna. Mauris non scelerisque lectus. Ut rutrum ex porta, tristique mi vitae, volutpat urna.

Sed in semper tellus, eu efficitur ante. Quisque felis orci, fermentum quis arcu nec, elementum malesuada magna. Nulla vitae finibus ipsum. Aenean vel sapien a magna faucibus tristique ac et ligula. Sed auctor orci metus, vitae egestas libero lacinia quis. Nulla lacus sapien, efficitur mollis nisi tempor, gravida tincidunt sapien. In massa dui, varius vitae iaculis a, dignissim non felis. Ut sagittis pulvinar nisi, at tincidunt metus venenatis a. Ut aliquam scelerisque interdum. Mauris iaculis purus in nulla consequat, sed fermentum sapien condimentum. Aliquam rutrum erat lectus, nec placerat nisl mollis id. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Nam nisl nisi, efficitur et sem in, molestie vulputate libero. Quisque quis mattis lorem. Nunc quis convallis diam, id tincidunt risus. Donec nisl odio, convallis vel porttitor sit amet, lobortis a ante. Cras dapibus porta nulla, at laoreet quam euismod vitae. Fusce sollicitudin massa magna, eu dignissim magna cursus id. Quisque vel nisl tempus, lobortis nisl a, ornare lacus. Donec ac interdum massa. Curabitur id diam luctus, mollis augue vel, interdum risus. Nam vitae tortor erat. Proin quis tincidunt lorem.

Computers and Space Exploration

Do you want to stay up to date with our new publications.

Receive the OpenMind newsletter with all the latest contents published on our website

OpenMind Books

• The Search for Alternatives to Fossil Fuels
• View all books

About OpenMind

Connect with us.

• Keep up to date with our newsletter

Quote this content

Essay on Uses and Abuses of Internet

Students are often asked to write an essay on Uses and Abuses of Internet in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Uses and Abuses of Internet

The uses of internet.

The internet is a powerful tool that has revolutionized our world. It provides us with information, communication, and entertainment. We can research any topic, connect with friends, and enjoy movies or games.

The Abuses of Internet

However, the internet can also be misused. Cyberbullying, online scams, and the spread of false information are common problems. Furthermore, excessive internet use can lead to addiction, affecting our health and social life.

In conclusion, while the internet offers numerous benefits, it’s crucial to use it responsibly to avoid its potential pitfalls.

Also check:

• Paragraph on Uses and Abuses of Internet

250 Words Essay on Uses and Abuses of Internet

Introduction.

The internet, a revolutionary invention of the 20th century, has transformed our lives in profound ways. It has become an indispensable tool in various sectors, including education, business, communication, and entertainment. However, like any tool, it can be used both for constructive and destructive purposes.

Uses of Internet

The internet has democratized access to information, breaking down geographical barriers. It has made education more accessible, with countless resources and online learning platforms available at our fingertips. It has also revolutionized communication, enabling instant interaction across the globe. The internet has made business operations more efficient, from online banking to e-commerce. It has also provided a platform for creative expression and entertainment, with platforms like YouTube and Spotify.

Abuses of Internet

However, the internet’s misuse is a growing concern. Cyberbullying, identity theft, and online harassment are rampant, causing psychological harm to individuals. The internet has also facilitated the spread of misinformation and fake news, leading to societal discord and distrust. Additionally, it has given rise to internet addiction, affecting individuals’ mental health and productivity. The proliferation of explicit content is another issue, impacting the moral fabric of society.

In conclusion, while the internet has myriad benefits, its misuse can lead to serious consequences. It is crucial to use this tool responsibly, promoting digital literacy and ethical online behavior. As we stride further into the digital age, we must strike a balance between leveraging the internet’s potential and mitigating its pitfalls.

500 Words Essay on Uses and Abuses of Internet

The advent of the internet has revolutionized the world, bringing about profound changes in the way we live, learn, and work. It has become an integral part of our lives, providing us with a plethora of information and services at our fingertips. However, like any other invention, the internet also has its share of uses and abuses. This essay explores the beneficial aspects of the internet and its potential pitfalls.

Uses of the Internet

The internet’s most significant advantage is its ability to connect people globally. It has made communication faster, cheaper, and more efficient, breaking down geographical barriers. Through email, social media, video conferencing, and instant messaging, we can interact with anyone, anywhere, at any time.

The internet has also democratized education. Online learning platforms, digital libraries, and educational websites have made knowledge accessible to all, regardless of location or financial status. It has also facilitated research, with a vast amount of information available on any conceivable topic.

Moreover, the internet has transformed the business landscape. E-commerce has opened up new markets, enabling businesses to reach customers globally. It has also made financial transactions more straightforward and faster through online banking and digital payments.

Abuses of the Internet

Despite its advantages, the internet is not without its downsides. One of the most prevalent abuses is cybercrime. This encompasses a wide range of malicious activities, from identity theft and fraud to cyberstalking and cyberbullying. The anonymity that the internet provides can be exploited by unscrupulous individuals to harm others.

Another significant issue is the spread of false information or ‘fake news’. The speed at which information spreads online can lead to the rapid dissemination of misinformation, often leading to panic, confusion, and mistrust.

Additionally, the internet can be a source of addiction. Excessive use of social media, online gaming, or other digital activities can lead to internet addiction, negatively impacting mental health and personal relationships.

In conclusion, the internet is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it offers immense benefits, facilitating communication, education, and business. On the other hand, it can be a tool for harm, enabling cybercrime, the spread of misinformation, and addiction. As users, it is incumbent upon us to use the internet responsibly. We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves from its potential abuses while harnessing its vast potential for our benefit. As the internet continues to evolve, so too must our understanding and regulation of its use and abuse.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on These Days Exposure to Television and Internet
• Essay on Internet Influence on Kids
• Essay on Internet a Boon or a Bane

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

The Invention of the Internet

By: History.com Editors

Updated: October 28, 2019 | Original: July 30, 2010

Unlike technologies such as the light bulb or the telephone, the internet has no single “inventor.” Instead, it has evolved over time. The internet got its start in the United States more than 50 years ago as a government weapon in the Cold War. For years, scientists and researchers used it to communicate and share data with one another. Today, we use the internet for almost everything, and for many people it would be impossible to imagine life without it.

The Sputnik Scare

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first manmade satellite into orbit. The satellite, known as Sputnik, did not do much: It relayed blips and bleeps from its radio transmitters as it circled the Earth. Still, to many Americans, the beach-ball-sized Sputnik was proof of something alarming: While the brightest scientists and engineers in the United States had been designing bigger cars and better television sets, it seemed, the Soviets had been focusing on less frivolous things—and they were going to win the Cold War because of it.

Did you know? Today, almost one-third of the world’s 6.8 billion people use the internet regularly.

After Sputnik’s launch, many Americans began to think more seriously about science and technology. Schools added courses on subjects like chemistry, physics and calculus. Corporations took government grants and invested them in scientific research and development. And the federal government itself formed new agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), to develop space-age technologies such as rockets, weapons and computers.

The Birth of the ARPAnet

Scientists and military experts were especially concerned about what might happen in the event of a Soviet attack on the nation’s telephone system. Just one missile, they feared, could destroy the whole network of lines and wires that made efficient long-distance communication possible. 

In 1962, a scientist from M.I.T. and ARPA named J.C.R. Licklider proposed a solution to this problem: a “galactic network” of computers that could talk to one another. Such a network would enable government leaders to communicate even if the Soviets destroyed the telephone system.

In 1965, another M.I.T. scientist developed a way of sending information from one computer to another that he called “packet switching.” Packet switching breaks data down into blocks, or packets, before sending it to its destination. That way, each packet can take its own route from place to place. Without packet switching, the government’s computer network—now known as the ARPAnet—would have been just as vulnerable to enemy attacks as the phone system.

On October 29, 1969, ARPAnet delivered its first message: a “node-to-node” communication from one computer to another. (The first computer was located in a research lab at UCLA and the second was at Stanford; each one was the size of a small house.) The message—“LOGIN”—was short and simple, but it crashed the fledgling ARPA network anyway: The Stanford computer only received the note’s first two letters.

The Network Grows

By the end of 1969, just four computers were connected to the ARPAnet, but the network grew steadily during the 1970s. 

In 1971, it added the University of Hawaii’s ALOHAnet, and two years later it added networks at London’s University College and the Royal Radar Establishment in Norway. As packet-switched computer networks multiplied, however, it became more difficult for them to integrate into a single worldwide “internet.”

By the end of the 1970s, a computer scientist named Vinton Cerf had begun to solve this problem by developing a way for all of the computers on all of the world’s mini-networks to communicate with one another. He called his invention “Transmission Control Protocol,” or TCP. (Later, he added an additional protocol, known as “Internet Protocol.” The acronym we use to refer to these today is TCP/IP.) One writer describes Cerf’s protocol as “the ‘handshake’ that introduces distant and different computers to each other in a virtual space.”

The World Wide Web

Cerf’s protocol transformed the internet into a worldwide network. Throughout the 1980s, researchers and scientists used it to send files and data from one computer to another. However, in 1991 the internet changed again. That year, a computer programmer in Switzerland named Tim Berners-Lee introduced the World Wide Web: an internet that was not simply a way to send files from one place to another but was itself a “web” of information that anyone on the Internet could retrieve. Berners-Lee created the Internet that we know today.

Since then, the internet has changed in many ways. In 1992, a group of students and researchers at the University of Illinois developed a sophisticated browser that they called Mosaic. (It later became Netscape.) Mosaic offered a user-friendly way to search the Web: It allowed users to see words and pictures on the same page for the first time and to navigate using scrollbars and clickable links. 

That same year, Congress decided that the Web could be used for commercial purposes. As a result, companies of all kinds hurried to set up websites of their own, and e-commerce entrepreneurs began to use the internet to sell goods directly to customers. More recently, social networking sites like Facebook have become a popular way for people of all ages to stay connected.

HISTORY Vault: 101 Inventions That Changed the World

Take a closer look at the inventions that have transformed our lives far beyond our homes (the steam engine), our planet (the telescope) and our wildest dreams (the internet).

Sign up for Inside History

Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

IELTS Mentor "IELTS Preparation & Sample Answer"

• Skip to content
• Jump to main navigation and login

Nav view search

• IELTS Sample

IELTS Writing Task 2/ Essay Topics with sample answer.

Ielts essay 1133 - widespread use of internet has brought many problems, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, the widespread use of the internet has brought many problems. what do you think are the main problems associated with the use of the internet what solutions can you suggest.

• IELTS Essay
• Writing Task 2

IELTS Materials

• IELTS Bar Graph
• IELTS Line Graph
• IELTS Table Chart
• IELTS Flow Chart
• IELTS Pie Chart
• IELTS Letter Writing
• Academic Reading

Useful Links

• IELTS Secrets
• Band Score Calculator
• Exam Specific Tips
• Useful Websites
• IELTS Preparation Tips
• Academic Reading Tips
• Academic Writing Tips
• GT Writing Tips
• Listening Tips
• Speaking Tips
• IELTS Grammar Review
• IELTS Vocabulary
• IELTS Cue Cards
• IELTS Life Skills
• Letter Types

• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Copyright Notice
• HTML Sitemap

Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Internet — The Advantages of the Internet

The Advantages of The Internet

• Categories: Internet

About this sample

Words: 804 |

Published: Jan 30, 2024

Words: 804 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, personal benefits, educational benefits, societal benefits, counterargument and refutation.

• Access to information: The internet offers a wide range of resources that provide individuals with access to a wealth of information. Research materials, academic papers, journals, and educational videos are readily available and can be accessed without leaving the comfort of one's home.
• Communication opportunities: Instant messaging and video calls have allowed individuals to connect with friends, family, and loved ones worldwide. Social media platforms have also provided new and exciting ways for people to communicate and share with one another.
• Entertainment and leisure options: Streaming services offer a plethora of movies and TV shows at one's convenience. Online gaming has allowed individuals to play and connect with gamers from all around the world, providing an avenue for socialization and entertainment.
• E-Learning and online education: The internet has made education available to anyone with a computer and access to the internet. E-learning has provided an avenue for individuals to gain knowledge and skills, irrespective of geographical barriers.
• Promotes collaborative learning: With online forums and discussion boards, learners can collaborate with others to discuss and share ideas. Virtual classrooms have facilitated group activities and project discussions, providing an avenue for interaction and knowledge sharing.
• Provides equal educational opportunities: The internet has created opportunities for those living in underprivileged areas to access quality education. It has also provided accessibility for disabled individuals who would otherwise be limited in their access to education.
• Economic growth and job opportunities: The internet has created numerous business and job opportunities for individuals, especially in the online space and freelancing. The global market reach has been particularly helpful in expanding businesses beyond geographical barriers.
• Enhanced communication and networking: The internet has facilitated international collaborations and provided an avenue for individuals and organizations to connect. Social media platforms have allowed individuals to create and maintain relationships with others, irrespective of geographical locations.
• Democratization of information: The internet has provided an avenue for citizen journalism and online activism, promoting awareness and participation in societal issues.
• Privacy concerns and cybercrime: The internet has made individuals' personal information vulnerable to hacking, which could lead to identity theft and other cybercrimes.
• Misinformation and fake news: The internet has made it easy for individuals to create and spread misinformation, which could have dire consequences on individuals and society.

References:

• Anderson, C. (2018). Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet. Toopics. Retrieved from https://toopics.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-internet/.
• Greenhow, C., Robelia, B., & Hughes, J. E. (2009). Learning, teaching, and scholarship in a digital age : Web 2.0 and classroom research: What path should we take now?. Educational researcher, 38(4), 246-259.
• Walter, S. G., & Su, F. (2011). E-learning 2.0: Social networking and collaboration in learning and teaching. Journal of educational technology development and exchange, 4(1), 1-14.
• Yang, D., & Chen, C. C. (2018). Play, knowledge, and learning: Gaming cultures and the learning society. Peter Lang.
• Taiwo, A. A., & Downe, A. G. (2013). E-learning in Nigeria: bridging the knowledge divide. Journal of education and practice, 4(8), 94-101.
• Hong, Y. Y., & Chan, K. F. (2019). The role of Internet technology in shaping and facilitating international business growth. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing, 4(4), 60-70.
• Moorthy, K., Kong, H. J., & Thatcher, M. (2017). Globalization, networked society , and cultural software: The emergence of a new social order. Routledge.
• Smith, M. A. (2014). Politics, Democracy and the New Media. Routledge.
• Boyd, D. (2019). Media literacy in the digital age. Routledge.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr Jacklynne

Verified writer

• Expert in: Information Science and Technology

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 714 words

3 pages / 1394 words

4 pages / 2037 words

3 pages / 1474 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Internet

In the 21st century, access to the internet has become an integral part of our daily lives. From education and employment opportunities to accessing vital information and engaging in civic participation, the internet plays a [...]

The excessive use of the internet has become a prevalent concern in today's digital age. The internet, once a revolutionary tool for communication and information, has now transformed into an integral part of our daily lives. [...]

Online streaming platforms have revolutionized the way people consume media and entertainment. With the advent of digital technology, these platforms have become a dominant force in the entertainment industry, offering a wide [...]

The rapid evolution of technology has brought us to an era where free internet access in the world is no longer just a luxury but a necessity. The internet has transformed various aspects of our lives, from communication and [...]

American writer, Nicholas Carr’s article, Is Goggle Making Us Stupid, conceives the idea that the net is changing the way our brains receive information. He tries to convince the reader by provoking fear through anecdotes and [...]

Everyone is unique. We all have our own set of traits, DNA, and fingerprints. Each individual possesses their own unique characteristics, interests, and talents to make up a unique identity. Our identity combines all of these [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free