There is a view that the internet has caused few benefits but rather more concerns to the society. Although I agree that access to the internet has not only helped to facilitate connections globally but has also provided a broad range of information across different domains, I still believe that the internet has led to privacy concerns and social media addiction.
**To begin with, the internet has simplified our lives by closing geographical gaps and by giving access to quality education. Young innovators around the globe can engage in conversations through a google meting or a zoom, meaning they can solve pressing global problems and can build innovative ideas together, no matter the geographical barriers. For instance, AFS global change makers facilitate weekly zoom session to discuss Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) and to create solutions together with it’s students. Additionally, high speed internet has made it possible for students from deprived areas to gain knowledge, to conduct research, and to participate in projects. Coursera, for example, provides courses where students can watch lectures and learn from text books given by professors of top universities including Harvard, Stanford. Thus, such learning opportunities help to close educational inequality.
Scams and fraud as well as social isolation have brought concerns about advancing technology, however. Since the AI has developed it became possible to create artificial human voices, human faces and texts, which has made scammers work even easier than ever before. We can take elderly people, for example, who are becoming victim of such tricks since they are not aware of modern ways of scamming. Furthermore, social media platforms such as Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok, have affected young peoples concentration and worldview negatively because of short feeds and low-quality contents . As individuals watch short unhealthy contents continuously, it weakens their focus and increases cortisol, stress hormone, levels. This in turn reduces ones self- confidence along with giving feelings of social isolation.
In conclusion, while the internet has created valuable opportunities for personal and professional growth, it has also facilitated data theft and increased people’s dependence on the instant gratification provided by social media.