End of Unit Question

13E New and Digital Media: end of unit question

We have reached the end of our unit introducing New and Digital Media and looking at the internet. Using your notes and anything relevant from the NDM stories you have read and posted online answer the following question:

There are always concerns about new technology. In your view, what are the possible benefits and problems attached to the Internet? 

You must include the following:

• An introduction
• Both sides of the argument
• At least three theorists or theories (e.g. Pareto's Law)
• Your opinion

In this essay I will be discussing New and digital media whilst looking at the internet and the concerns that come with new technology. There are a number of benefits and drawbacks to the internet.

The internet is a great and revolutionary concept that is used by over 2 billion people around the world. The internet has various advantages such as it makes information easily available and accessible; it promotes email correspondence, online chatting and education through online tutorials, and its gives individuals an opportunity of downloading software. The internet is an international computer network that makes e-mails and information from computers in places such as educational institutions, government agencies to be available to all.

There are a number of advantages of the internet for example freedom. It is arguable that people have more of a chance to be free and express them on the internet through the use of blogs and forums in which they are allowed to state their opinion to a mass audience. And this is one way in which the internet could be seen as a positive by giving those who may not be able to have an opinion in person to have one on the internet to a large audience.

However there are a number of negative aspects to the internet for example censorship children who are underage may have the problem of seeing uncensored. A great example of this would be pornography, this is so widely available on the internet that children may run into it due to lack of censorship

1) Information on almost every subject imaginable. 
2) Powerful search engines 
3) Ability to do research from your home versus research libraries. 
4) Information at various levels of study. Everything from scholarly articles to ones directed at children. 
5) Message boards where people can discuss ideas on any topic. Ability to get wide range of opinions. People can find others that have a similar interest in whatever they are interested in. 
6) The internet provides the ability of emails. Free mail service to anyone in the country. 
7) Platform for products like SKYPE, which allow for holding a video conference with anyone in the world who also has access. 
8) Friendships and love connections have been made over the internet by people involved in love/passion over similar interests. 
9) Things such as Yahoo Answers and other sites where kids can have readily available help for homework. 
10) News, of all kinds is available almost instantaneously. Commentary, on that news, from every conceivable viewpoint is also available. 


Disadvantages: 

1) There is a lot of wrong information on the internet. Anyone can post anything, and much of it is garbage. 
2) There are predators that hang out on the internet waiting to get unsuspecting people in dangerous situations. 
3) Some people are getting addicted to the internet and thus causing problems with their interactions of friends and loved ones. 
4) Pornography that can get in the hands of young children too easily. 
5) Easy to waste a lot of time on the internet. You can start surfing, and then realize far more time has passed than you realized. Internet and television together of added to the more sedentary lifestyles of people which further exacerbates the obesity problem. 
6) Internet has a lot of "cheater" sites. People can buy essays and pass them off as their own far more easily than they used to be able to do. 
7) There are a lot of unscrupulous businesses that have sprung up on the internet to take advantage of people. 
8) Hackers can create viruses that can get into your personal computer and ruin valuable data. 
9) Hackers can use the internet for identity theft. 
10) It can be quite depressing to be on the internet and realize just how uneducated so many people have become in today's society.