The good, the bad, and the ugly of the internet

   The last few decades have proved to be some of the most influential, innovative and advancing decades of our civilization's history. Medicine, information, technology... everything has been advancing and is continuing to advance. Many people would agree that one of the biggest advancements during this time was in fact the invention of nothing other than the Internet. However, with the invention of the internet, came the good, the bad and the ugly of the web.


   The beginning of the internet would result in the beginning of the "Information Age". The internet has connected the world on a whole new scale- information is easily shared, and it has changed the way people interact, work and play. Now information can be exchanged within a matter of minutes instead of a couple of days via mail. Information is available at the tip of our fingers- anything we want to know we can access through the web. Friends and family can chat or video call while half way across the world. The internet has created a whole new platform of jobs and opportunity. It was only 30 or 40 years ago when university students had to hand write everything, when governments had a lot more hassle in order to communicate. The internet has, in no doubt, advance our communication of ideas and increased the amount of information available. However, just as the internet advances in greatness, more flaws and bad aspects of the internet are revealed.

   With so much information ready by our side, people tend to take advantage of the availability of the net. The internet is used to commit fraud, hoaxes, plagiarism and also use the internet to post non-credible resources and false claims. Things like Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites let people post whatever information they want, and this information tends to be extremely easy to access. There are a lot of shady people out there that will use any personal information that has been shared for their own good. People have become easier targets for fraud, identity theft, and money scams, which the internet has made easier. Another negative aspect of the internet is that along with the huge amount of information presented, a lot of fake information is presented as well. Along with the bad of the internet comes the ugly of the internet.

With the introduction of online chatting and social networking came some of the ugliest aspects of the internet. Sure, you can chat with your friends and family instantly, and browse family pictures, see what your friends have been up to in the last few months and catch up with old friends. But what happens when you let a stranger into your online world? With the new availability of transforming yourself online, with a new name and face, people have done a lot of ugly things. More and more online predators have been caught in the last 10 years, and this really proves the dangers of the internet. With so much output of personal information, it has made it easier for you to be followed, and found. Little kids without any knowledge of this danger become easy targets for sexual predators.

   The good, the bad, and the ugly of the internet has been presented. You may be thinking, "Well why have the internet if it is so dangerous?"-but the answer is simple. In this day and age, the good outweigh the bad, drastically. If not, the internet would just be a useless commodity only used by the shadiest of people.