In 1991, the World Wide Web became publicly available (Bryant 2011). With this, life as we knew it changed dramatically. When the Internet went live, most people were not even aware of its existence, yet alone usage. Initially, the Internet was used for electronic mail and software distribution. Then, as technology progressed, many search engines, web pages, and social media links popped up, each trying to outlive the other. By 2015, more than three billion people were using the Internet, according to the United Nations agency that overseas international communications (Davidson 2015). The reason for the growth in usage has come from the use of mobiles and Internets rising affordability. Currently, when you buy a new cellphone, it comes with a call plan and an Internet plan. One can easily choose a reliable and affordable plan, as per their usage. So, what truly happens when the Internet becomes cheaper, easier to find and connect, and in some cases an essential requirement for social status and business ventures? Today, like most technology, the Internet has a dark side that not many will consider. By using the Internet frequently, one exposes themselves to dangerous, misleading and personality altering circumstances. Many will argue that the invention of the Internet is a blessing, but a lot of people actually think that the cons outweigh the pros.
Some of the most popular websites on the net are Google, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, and Wikipedia, to name a few. Facebook alone had 1.86 billion monthly users as of the end of 2016. Even though they cater to people who are eighteen and above, its very easy to circumnavigate this age requirement by giving a false age. Many children from the ages of eight have used the Internet for school projects, games, or watching videos. According to statistics, twenty three percent of Snapchat users are 13-17 year olds. Snapchat has superseded platforms like Instagram, Twitter or Facebook as of spring 2017. It is also one of the most popular mobile apps in the United States. So what are children doing on these social media platforms? Here comes the trouble. Children are being targeted on these social platforms. It’s very easy to create a false account and target children. Many children themselves are putting them in harms way by uploading indecent pictures or just checking in at locations, thus revealing their whereabouts to everyone. Since most profiles are under pseudonyms, it’s very easy to create an online persona to harass someone or bully young kids. Due to the Internet, bullying has shifted from the playground to online screens. Pictures can be used, along with indecent language to bring someone down. It’s also easy to gain private information from shared computers and take on someone else’s identity. There are helplines that cater to cyber bullying, but the irreparable damage is done once someone has already been targeted. Posts can be removed but if someone has taken a screenshot, or something goes viral, its hard to stop it from spreading. Not only is the average child a target, but also celebrities face a lot of criticism and attacks online. It’s always easier to be the sharp, biting voice hiding behind a screen. The Internet allows bullies to say whatever they want, whenever they want and that can evoke a need for parents to be more sensitive and vigilant to their children’s social media accounts.
Children are over exposed to the net from a very young age. They see their own parents twiddling on their personal cell phones, and young kids yearn to have a cell phone of their own. Most parents have no problems letting their kids watch videos on YouTube in their spare time. There are many bloggers than openly market new toys and games on their YouTube channels. Young girls can also follow many budding makeup artists and follow the latest trends. This has created a vast room for disillusionment about what’s real, and how one should dress, what children should buy, and what they should covet. Children want to buy the latest toys, like LOL dolls, or hatchimals. Most children watch these YouTube videos and obsess over these toys to no end. What this does is create a sense of want, where there is actually no real need. Children themselves make most videos and upload them on their YouTube channels, to make the viewing parents and children feel as if its normal for kids to have such expensive toys. Gone, are the days when people used to go to toy stores and explore in aisles of merchandise. No wonder the company Toys R Us is going out of business! Many blame the goliath Amazon for Toys R Us’s demise. Most businesses today are forced to have an online presence to make sales, as there is hardly that much footfall in stores. But this increases the chances of credit card fraud, overspending, and a sense of isolation from the consumer. Shopping used to be a family event. Most women would shop to uplift their moods. Now, with a click of a button, that sense of satisfaction is gone. A person used to queue in lines for tickets, sales, shows and bond with their fellow peers. Now people book everything online without interacting with any other human being. The boom of the Internet has killed many careers like librarians, travel agents, photo developers, etc. And with that it has created a new arena of problems like buying things one doesn’t need, and causing a divide in people who rather perform tasks online rather than circulate with real beings.
Another impact of the Internet is on our perception of reality. Newspapers are going extinct and almost all business and brands have an online webpage. Most children rather look up information on Wikipedia, than open an encyclopedia. So, where is all the information on the net coming from? It’s coming from us, regular people. This creates a great faction in the information that’s available online. Not everything that one finds on the net is true. But news circulates really fast online, and thus creates great speculation about its authenticity. Incorrect news, based on rumors and hearsay are rampant. This is not just a limited to news. Spamming and advertising is also very common online. You will see more advertising online than ever in real life! The young generation is addicted to the online world, and many rely heavily on it for their daily use. There are hardly any retractions for false news. People just move on the next big scandal. Also, since it’s easy to create a webpage, many contradicting sites are up. People fight for their legit causes online, and attack each other on personal issues. Since there is freedom of speech, in the online world, that can take on a whole new arena of difficulties. People can write whatever they wish, whether its slander, or spill secrets, or even just conjecture about someone else. It is also relatively easy to engage in illegal activities online under false names. Some of these activities can be exploitation, pornography and credit card theft. This makes all online users vulnerable to attacks. One has to be careful about using their credit card, or personal information online. Everything that you may put up in your youth could later come back to haunt you in your adulthood. Once something is online, it can never truly be taken off. This is alarming, as one wrong opinion or wrong sentiment mentioned online can brand you with an incorrect tag.
In conclusion, the invention of the Internet may have some immeasurable benefits, like faster communication, accessible sphere of immense knowledge, and fun and interactive ways to engage with the world. But it certainly has a dark side, which one should never ignore. The Internet has the power to isolate people, and it has successfully made many addicted to its presence. Many find it very hard to live without having a social media presence, and many also require the Internet for work purposes. The Internet has become a dark necessity that almost everyone covets for various different reasons. But its usage should come with a side of caution as it truly has a precarious side to it as well.