The internet has done a lot to change the way we function in society today. The thing about the internet is that along with all the ways it helps make life easier, it also makes life very stressful. This of course is depending on the responsibility and frame of mind of the user. A majority of people have started using this very complex system without knowing everything that comes along with it. Below are a few things the internet has to offer, and a few ways it can hurt more than help as year’s progress. Positives: There are a lot of benefits with internet. The list goes on forever and will continue to grow as technology develops. Here are three positives that come along with having access to the internet. 1. Staying in contact with friends and family. This is probably the most important reason for internet in my daily life. As you grow older the friends you lived next door to move out of state, and you move away from your parents as well. New lives begin and old lives are separated. It is comforting to be able to see what people are up to, and share pictures. I know there is always a phone to call everyone, but being able to have that daily glimpse and see who is doing good and who needs a friend to lean on really does help relationships between people last longer and stay stronger. Social websites, like facebook, are also very helpful in finding people you haven’t seen in a while. A quote from Daniel Nations in his article Why Facebook? sums this up for me. “Ever wonder whatever happened to your prom date? Or your best friend from middle school? With more and more people joining Facebook, it is becoming a great place to look up old friends and getting back in touch.” http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialnetworking/a/why_facebook.htm 2. Time efficiency and easy access for research. The internet has made it easier to access information that helps save time and avoids stress in a person’s life. It is extremely convenient to be able to go to one location and find solutions to life’s daily little obstacles. If you have to figure out where something is or when it opens, you can find it. If you need to know where the most reliable appliance is, you can find it. If you need to know 10 things about Iowa for your child’s homework in science, you can find it. In an article written by Hermanqi Harankhedkar, he explains how businesses profit from the internet because it makes it more accessible for the consumer. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/internet-and-its-uses-in-our-daily-life.html 3. Awareness in the masses Another huge positive is that the public is privy to information that in the past, would be kept from them. There is a lot that businesses don’t mention in the thirty seconds allotted for them in between episodes of MTV’s Teen Mom and Teen Wolf. There is much more consumer awareness now that you can instantly gain information on websites like this: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/homes-mortgages Negatives: While there are many positives to the internet, they usually come with a negative attached. Here are three negatives that create valid debate for the positives listed above. 1. Shallow family relationships. It is great to be able to say hi, and share pictures and stories with friends you can’t see every day. It is not as great when you are online scrolling through your facebook newsfeed for four hours while the rest of your family that you live with sits on their electronic devices and nobody even looks up to see whose home. This is a problem with the internet. It is distancing households. Parent interaction is a big factor when it comes to how a child will develop mentally. In an article by Barbara Frasier, she talks about a lot of ways to be more active in your child’s life, and being in the internet is not listed. http://www.thesuccessfulparent.com/parent-child-relationship/repairing-the-parent-child-relationship 2. Too much information The amount of information on the internet is ridiculous. You can find seven hundred different ways to tie a sneaker if you look hard enough. When you are trying to find an answer to something, it can be confusing trying to figure out what is accurate, what is still in business, etc… In order to use the internet efficiently, you have to be aware of what website you are looking at. According to an article called Why Evaluate Web Information, it is extremely important to know where you are getting your facts. http://education.illinois.edu/wp/credibility/page2.html 3. Gossip to the masses. It is extremely beneficial being able to go to a reliable website to find out what is in your food, or what the candidate for governor said to the cop when he got pulled over for a DWI. These are things that we, the public, have every right to know about. These are things that will influence our society in one way or another. It is not extremely beneficial however, to have a person with no background on a subject to put their two cents in and try to sway a decision that will influence our society. I do not find it to be a step in the right direction if we all start taking our advice and getting our news from a random debutantes twitter. #probablynotthebestidea . Thank you for your time reading my blog about some of the positives and negatives of the internet.