Fifteen years ago only a few people knew, what Internet is. Nowadays, it became the most influential and powerful medium in all world. In Internet, there are thousands of sites, where you can find different services and bases of information. Most people use the electronic post as well as the World Wide Web. Today computers and Internet are present in most houses. In my opinion, before you decide to have Internet, you should learn about the advantages and disadvantages of it.
There are many people, who claim that Internet is a very dangerous tool. They say that the consequences of spending much time in front of the computer, may be very bad. Some of those, who have no access to Internet say that it is not necessary for normal life. In contemporary world it is not easy to have no contact with Internet.
Many people wonder, if children should be allowed to use Internet. Parents often have no idea, what may happen to their children if they spend too much time in Internet. We all know, that it happens that kids talk on special comunicators. They may not always know, with whom they talk. Those children may not be aware that they get to know someone dangerous. In Internet, pornography is easily available. It is practically impossible to prevent children from visiting such sites. Parent in all world wonder, what to do with this problem. There are no 'safe places' in Internet- you may come across some silly material anywhere- in e-mails, chats or seeking for information. People, who create pornography sites are very smart and they make tricks, which easily make such sites open first, when you enter Internet. We may argue, that parents should keep an eye on what children watch and to whom they talk on Internet, but we know how difficult it may be to prevent kids from surfing in Internet. We should work on creating good educational system, which informs children about the dangers of Internet. Also parents should be told by specialists, what to do to help their kids not to become addicted or to have access to inappropriate sites. Nowadays, there are many tools, which may be helpful in making Internet safe. The companies, like America Online, work on the system monitoring all thet is done and said on their service online. Nevertheless, there are thousands of different 'places' in Internet, which are not under control.
Internet causes much trouble in the world of professional musicians. In Internet people may find all music online. They don't have to pay for it and they may get every song they want. There are several softwares, like Emule or Kazaa, which provide all songs for free. People, who created such softwares claim that they make music really free. But those, who play and sing, and want to earn their living on music, are terrified. They simply get less money. We may establish different laws, forbidding such services, but in my opinion, it is impossible to stop people from using them all.
There is another great disadvantage of Internet, which has to be considered. Talking to people on Internet and sending messages is never fully safe. It is very easy to decipher the codes and get access to someone else's mail or privet chats. When you enter Internet, the information about what you do is coded in web sites. We need to know, that the more information, mails and messages we send and the more operations we do there, we are exposing ourselves to the danger. If you send some money or buy something online, you have to make sure that the site you are on is protected with a good security system. And even if it is protected, you cannot feel safe, because information about you is easily available anyway.
Nowadays, computers as well as people may get infected by different viruses. The greatest source of computer viruses provides Internet. Many viruses are transported on CDs and floppy disks. Nevertheless, the viruses form Internet cause greatest damages. Such viruses may destroy the hardware and all softwares in the computer. It makes a computer completely out of order. All computers should be equipped in good anti-virus programs.
Although there are so many bad points of Internet, there are many advantages of it as well. I think that there are even more advantages than there are disadvantages.
Internet is the best source of different information. Those people, who learn at school or at the universities make the most numerous group of internauts. They use Internet to get necessary information and to widen their knowledge. For many, there is no better source for different types of researches than Internet. We may find up-to-date information on many matters. You have a possibility to talk to many specialists online. Most people visit health services and get necessary health information and get professional health from the doctors.
Many people consider Internet the good source of entertainment. One may play different games online or download them, visit chats or simply watching interestingsites in web. Most games available there are free. In chat rooms you can meet several people and talk to them on different subjects. Surfing the web, one may find hundereds of interesting things. You may listen to your favorite music or learn more about your hobbies.
Furthermore, in Internet you can always find the newest news. There are hundereds of services providing news from the whole world as well as the local news. The information is updated every minute. Most people like reading news concerning sport or weather. We are always well informed thanks to Internet, about all issues interesting for us.
Lately, Internet shopping became very popular. In virtual shops, you may buy anything you want and need. Today, when you want to do the shopping, you don't even have to go out of home. The companies, which have shops in Internet, have earned much money recently. Most popular products bought online is clothes. More and more women in the US and in Europe buy their clothes in Internet. But even smaller shops and groceries are available online. To buy some product, you only need to sit in front of your computer and click the mouse. The product you buy will be delivered to your door in few hours.
Summing up, I think that it is very difficult to live without computers and Internet nowadays. If we are careful enough, we may find Internet extremely advantageous. It may help us at school and at work. It simply makes our lives easier. Nevertheless, we cannot forget about the danger it may bring.
