There is a big influence of technique on our daily life. Electronicdevices, multimedia and computers are things we have to deal with everyday. Especially the Internet is becoming more and more important for nearlyeverybody as it is one of the newest and most forward-looking media andsurely “the” medium of the future. Therefore we thought that it would be necessary to think about some goodand bad aspects of how this medium influences us, what impacts it has onour social behaviour and what the future will look like.
The Internet changed our life enormously, there is no doubt about that. There are many advantages of the Internet that show you the importance ofthis new medium. What I want to say is that Internet changed our life in apositive way. First we have to make a differentiation concerning the usage. You can usethe Internet at home for personal or you at work for professional usage.
Let’s come to the first. To spend a part of our day on the Internet is formany people quite normal. They use this kind of medium to get informationabout all kinds topics. Maybe some of them are interested in chatting,probably they are members of a community. Whatever you are looking for, youwill find it.
Even if you want to have very specific information, you willfind it in a short time. Normally, you often have to send a letter, thanyou have to wait for the reception of the reply, or you have to make sometelephone calls and so on. In any case, the traditional way is the longerone. To put your own information on the Internet is also possible. Createyour own homepage, tell other users about your interests, what you want,that’s no problem at all.
As we all know, software costs a lot, if you buy it legal. Free software,free music is available on the Internet. You just have to download theprogram, the mp3-file or whatever and that’s it. Why do you want to paymore as you need to’special websites are created just to give you thenewest programs, or to tell you where you can get it from. Napster mightactually be the most famous one. The computer is a fix part of every modern office and the greatest part hasalso an access to the Internet.
Companies already present their products,their services on the Internet and so they get more flexible. The next advantage I want to mention is the faster development. Manyuniversities and research institutions are also linked. They are able toexchange experiences, novelties and often they start new projects together. If they are linked, they can save time and money. Especially at the business sector knowledge is power.
If you are the leaderof a product, of a technology or just of an idea you are able to make a lotof money. To get into this position, the Internet can play an essentialpart. Companies all over the world are online. If you want, it is noproblem for you to exchange experiences, you will hear new things, you willsee some facts from another point of view. For this reason you will findnew solutions, new ways to go, so take this chance!”Learning by doing”, everybody knows this phrase and its still an essentialpart concerning the Internet. Children also use the Internet, most of thetime they will “play” over the Internet, but they learn to work with thecomputer.
There is only one way to learn something, you have to do it. Evenit’s the first contact with the computer, after a few minutes the personwill know that the computer-mouse is no animal running on the monitor. Heor she learns to write on the keyboard, to navigate, to open and closeprograms, to save data. . . within hours.
Try to do that on a normal computercourse for beginners, you will need more time and the most important fact,it’s not as funny as surfing on the Internet and so they participants areless motivated. Let’s change over to another positive effect of the Internet. In any case, everybody’s private situation is different. For many womentheir own children are the main reason for staying at home. Nowadays thiswon’t be a problem any more, you can do work on your computer at home,called tele-working. Also men take this opportunity to work at home.
Whatare the consequences, the advantages of tele-working’sure, if you have afamily, you can spend more time at home, probably you can spend more timewith your children. Next is, that you can organize every day in the way youwant to. Meetings at the company are reduced to a minimum. Tele-working isalso an advantage for the owner of the company. Officialstudiessubstantiate that people who work at home are more motivated than theircolleagues at the office. .
You see, the Internet is really a very positive medium. Use the Internetand discover the advantages of this new, forward-looking medium! Markus TemmelAnother advantage of the internet is that you can join a community. You can create new social contacts all over the world, which you could notdo so easy without the internet. Such communities can also help people who can not go out to find friends inthe real life because they are disabled.
Therefore they can chat with otherpeople via the internet. Sometimes it is also easier for people, who areafraid to look into the other’s face while talking, to chat with a personthat they do not know. There is something between them which makes iteasier for them to communicate. It also does not matter if you have aterrible appearance because you can pretend to be whatever you want. Youcan also change your gender and your age to talk about topics which you donot normally do.
However, there are no time and place limitations and there are noboundaries, both geographical and political. You can chat with people inAustralia and you have freedom of your mind in a way. Moreover the internet is much cheaper than the real life, e. g. phoning afriend in Australia costs more than to chat with him. From my point of view the e-mail has replaced the traditional letter.
Youdo not have to buy stamps anymore and it is much faster and also for free. You can also add files to your E-mail and that’s why a big data transfer ispossible. Therefore you do not have to send disks with information aroundthe world anymore and you have your information in a digital way. Another free service of the internet is sending SMS. You can save a lot ofmoney if you do not send it with your mobile phone especially from Austriato America.
You also have the opportunity to register as a user. Then youcan use more things, e. g. sending E-postcards, I-messages (messages betweenregistered users), and lead an address book. You can also place your digital photos in the internet. With a password anda login name your friends in America can look at your photos withoutsending them to them.
Another important part is online gaming. You can play with people from allover the world and share your knowledge. In my opinion it’s more exiting toplay with friends than playing alone. Additionally, another big advantage of the internet is the easy access toinformation. Online reference books and dictionaries replace the way to thebookshop or to the library.
It is again cheaper to search for informationin the internet than to buy a book, that is old after one year. In theinternet a lot of information is renewed and up to date. You can also findinformation which is very new and a book does not exist yet. Moreover you can read the daily newspapers from all over the world,sometimes for free. You do not have to buy them anymore.
In addition, mostnewspaper sites have an archive in which you can search for old articles. However, the internet is also a big “advertising company”. A lot ofenterprises have a homepage with ads and support opportunities. On some ofthem you can order products online.
Then you do not have to go to the cityanymore. You avoid waiting in front of the cash because of a long queue. Moreover, you can get the newest stock exchange courses because the stockexchange in the Internet is always the most current one. You also have theability to tell the computer to buy shares when the course is down.
Besides you can learn with the internet. CBTs (Computer Based Training)already exist but you can also join an internet course with other members. Furthermore you can hold videoconferences which means that e. g. yourteacher is sitting in his office in America and teaching you in Austria. This is very important in the medical sector because doctors from all overthe world can join an operation.
So specialists can give tips and helpother doctors to complete the operation successfully. The patient has notto wait until a specialist will come from America. But this is only available because of the internet 2 which is much faster. The internet is a database full of information and offers us a lot ofservices, sometimes for free.
This makes our life easier and sometimes alsocheaper. All in all I think that the internet is very useful especially forstudents. Martina TheuermannClicking on the Internet-Button is getting more and morethrillingnowadays. Sometimes it is a real adventure not being sure if you havedownloaded a virus or if it is only a hoax.
You even cannot be sure to bealone if you are alone. Is there someone else working on my computer or isit only me? To have more security you have to install a firewall, buy anti-virus-programmes and update them regularly. So you have to spend much moneyonly for preventing a virus-caused breakdown or hacker-attacks. It isannoying not being sure if the money you have spent will prevent all thosethings or if there is already a new virus and a new way hacking intocomputers.
This is no more an investment into security it is a steadyconsumption which will not end. Some people even have to take up a loan tobuy a computer. They are forced to buy one. Otherwise they maybe would notbe able to stay in their job. What will the poor people do? They will berarely informed about news and the space between rich and poor will becomebigger and bigger. Having downloaded the latest anti-virus-program it will not prevent meetingbad people on the internet.
If you chat with someone you cannot be sureabout the truth of his/her words. Most people cheat emotions, cheat abouttheir appearance, age, job. That can be funny but if you want to meetsomeone talking to each other seriously it can be hard to do so. Is it aman, is it a woman or is it someone I already know? You never can be sure. Is that something on the other side already hacking into my computerreading personal information? If you get to a web site of a bank – is it areal bank or only a faked one? There have to be some signs which identifyan original website reliably. How can I be sure if I want to buy somethingon the web and send my credit card-number that nobody will read it?Imagine the following scene: You are surfing through the internet andsuddenly – you are just downloading the latest screensaver of VeronaFeldbusch – the whole internet breaks down.
What would you do? Trying tobuild your own internet? Worrying about the lack of Verona’sitting infront of the computer waiting for hours and looking into a black screen?Seriously, what would happen? I think most of the people would wait an houror longer. Some people would stop existing because they have no real life. They only exist on the internet with their avatars in the chat rooms. Theyhave given up reality for cyberspace. It is more practical for them becausethey do not need to ask someone to meet someone. The other one is just onthe other end.
Seriously speaking, I think people would not be glad abouthaving to get out of their rooms. They feel uncomfortable about leavingtheir beloved computer. They do not know what to do. I think many even donot know any more how a book looks like or a typewriter. Besides losing oursocial abilities we are also losing our every-day-abilities.
The computeris a nanny, a dictionary, an information centre, a job, a shopping centre. Nobody has to know anything about everyday business because the computerdoes it for us. Internet user are becoming younger and younger. For children it is noproblem to work with a computer. They just accept “him” as partner.
Butwhat do the older people do’some even do not know how to switch thecomputer on. I know some people who are afraid of the computer. They thinkeverything they do is wrong and the computer is breaking down on purpose. For these people the computer is already too complex. There has to besomething like a computer for beginners.
Otherwise there will always besome people who do not want to know how to use the computer because thereis too much to know about it. There are people who do not read the paper in the morning any more. Theyare reading the e-paper. Even in the morning they are sitting in front ofthe computer and not talking to each other while drinking a cup of tea. Inthe future there will be more and more e-papers and the newspapers willdisappear. Some are beginning to talk to their computer (Come on, let’swork!) but they are not any more able to talk to each other.
While chattingin the internet you are frequently using abbreviations,uncompletedsentences and so on. This leads to speaking disabilities in everyday life. Eva UkowitzOne of the most negative aspects of the impact of the internet on our dailylife is, in my opinion, that it alters the social behaviour, habits andabilities of people. Especially children are often badly influenced by the internet.
Therefore I want to deal with the impact of the internet on the socialbehaviour of children. In our times, when nearly every household has a computer and access to theinternet, it is only clear that also children deal with computers and theinternet. They should learn how to use it, of course. The world of the world wide web and virtual space is going to become moreimportant with every year and everybody should be able to use this tool -even children. They should know how to get information, how they can buy something on theweb, where they can meet people online.
They should be able to use the internet because if they are not, they aregoing to have great difficulties with getting on in their lives withoutknowing how to use the internet later on. Simply because it is a verypowerful media which is going to be the main medium in the future. But what I am worrying about is that children will be very competentexperts on using the internet – but not on how to live in the real worldanymore. The first point I want to mention is that I don’t consider the internet asa suitable babysitter or friend for children.
As I have already said, I think that it is important that children learnhow to use the internet but it is also very important that they learn tohave the right attitude towards the internet. The internet will never replace the real world and therefore it isimportant that children see that the internet is a great tool if you knowhow to handle it but it should not be a replacement for real friends, for areal life. It’s the parents duty to tell their children so. Parents should not just put their children in front of a computer and say”Oh well, that’s the internet, go on, have some fun and be quiet.
” Theinternet was not made for children and so it should not be used as ababysitter. You can never be sure what the child will get to see when it is onlinewithout an adult sitting next to it. There is so much harmful, offendingand simply disgusting material on the internet, that it is – in my opinion- totally careless when you let your children surf through the net all bythemselves. By reading the emails from the discussion group I often heard that if youteach your children the basics of ethic and just tell them not to look atharmful material then they can go online and surf through the net alone.
I’m not of the same opinion. Children are children and they are not adults. If you tell them not to look at – for example – pornographic sites, you cannever be sure that they will not. Children are nosy ones – at least most ofthem are – and most children will go and have a look at pornographicmaterials on the internet.
The only way to provide that children do not seeharmful things on the internet is to sit next to them and supervise them. I have a little brother, aged seven and when he wants to go online, then hehas to ask my parents or me to come with him and sit next to him while he’ssurfing. Surely, it doesn’t mean fun when you have to sit next to him andlisten to the Teletubbies talking or see Mickey Mouse bowling but I am farmore interested in hearing and seeing these things than in not being surewhat he would see if I was not sitting next to him. That’s the one point why the internet should not be used as a babysitter. The other point is that it is – in my opinion – not good for the childrento sit in front of the computer all day.
Children need friends and they need to play with friends to learn how tobehave and how to interact with others. Human beings are not born with any social abilities – we have to learn allof these stuff. And if children sit in front of the computer and don’t play with otherchildren – when and where should they learn how to behave?Another question is whether the internet is a useful medium to educatechildren or not. Well, in my opinion it is not.
Even for adults it is often a problem to say whether an information isright or wrong on the internet. So when adults are not able to be sureabout it – how should children be?The risk to learn wrong things from the internet is very big and so theinternet should not be used to educate the child right from the beginningon. But: You should try to tell your children how they can distinguish between”good” and “bad” information. (Be critically, try to figure out who haswritten the information, when was the last update, and so on.
. . . ) Later on,they will have to get information for the internet and then they should beable to use it, of course.
But in my opinion there’s no sense to teach them the basics with the helpof the internet before they have learnt how to distinguish between good andbad information – they are simply too young to be sure about that. Tanja VogrinIt is very difficult to differ between the good and bad aspects ofinternet. There are good and bad things about every service of theinternet. If you chat you can meet many interesting people which come from all overthe world.
Distance is not important any more. You can meet people whichare not able to find friends in reality because of their appearance. Incyberspace there is no appearance – the character of a person counts. Butyou also can meet people, who cheat on you and fool you. That can be funny,but it is not if you want to meet “real”, devine friends. Sometimes, if youmeet your online friends it can be very thrilling.
You make your ownpicture of your chat-partner in your mind. And what about your friends inreality? There will be less time left for them, if you sit in front of thePC all the day. But there is also the possibility to make your real friendsyour online-friends. Searching for information you will find a huge amount of it on every topicyou are searching for. This can be very comfortable.
You only have to typein a word and you will find everything about it. But be careful! There isalso false information. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between trueand false information. Often you have the possibility to listen to music on the internet.
You mayalso download it for free. That is very cheap because you only have to paythe telephone-costs and the music is for free. What does that mean for themusicians? They will not get all their money they would normally receive. That is not too dangerous for the well-known musicians but it can becomedangerous to the little ones who cannot afford to lose a part of theirincome. What about communicating with an online-friend? You will send him/her anemail.
It is faster than a letter, cheaper than a telephone call and easierto use than a radio set. But: Is the encryption-code secure enough? Manyhackers will try to read the message you send to your friends. This leadsto the next problem of the internet: How can you provide privacy in a non-private world? Everybody wants to know everything about everyone. How canyou say: “This is my private zone, nobody can get into it.
” A few minuteslater someone will try to get into the privacy-zone. Why? Everyone thinksthere must be something very interesting and secret inside this zone. Nothing is more interesting than a forbidden place. There is some specialanonymity about the internet. You may tell anything about yourself andeveryone will believe you – if nobody checks the information.
You also mayswap your gender and nobody will recognise it. What will happen, if you are ill and cannot leave the house? No problem!You can do everything on the internet without leaving the house. You can dothe shopping, meet friends and so on. The only problem is the way ofpaying. It is very easy, you only have to type in your credit card-numberand the goods will be paid.
But some transmission techniques are not verysafe and so someone could read your credit card-number and use it to buythings himself. You always have to inform yourself about the transmission-techniques to be sure about security. Otherwise you may pay for beinguninformed later on. This leads to the costs of the internet. The only good about it is that thesurf-cost are low (depending on the provider). But anything else is verycost-intensive.
You have to buy anti-virus-programmes, software, computer,. . . And that is not enough! Internet is developing very fast for this youhave to update the programmes regularly. You will also not abandon theoption to get a faster computer. Which are the points we have agreed on?Information is difficult to divide into true and false.
It is too muchinformation to be able to view on everything. It is a strong positive argument that internet does not care about time ordistance. Everyone can be online every time and communicate with everyoneeverywhere. Though you have the possibility to meet many people on the internetfrequent use of this will cause loneliness because you won’t have realfriends anymore. It is very difficult to give children access to the internet. There aremany things which are not suitable for children.
Either you sit next tothem during surfing or you believe in the internet that it will not showharmful things and in the children that they will not try to find harmfulthings.
