Introduction
The Internet can be called one of the most significant inventions in the history of humankind, without which it is impossible to imagine modern society. Like all global discoveries, the Internet has positive and negative impacts. The positive effects of the Internet on society include expanding career and learning opportunities and providing more communication options. The negative trend of the Internet lies in the practical impunity of offenses that provoke bullying and violation of the moral health of users. However, the Internet undoubtedly has a relatively positive impact; it is only necessary to create better regulation of behavior in the global network.
Career and Learning Opportunities
The Internet provides opportunities for study and works from anywhere in the world. Currently, more than 400,000 students in the United States study online (Kemp 6). Thanks to the development of Internet technologies, a student can enroll in any university offering a remote program if the country does not provide quality study opportunities. Technology makes it possible to train more high-quality specialists, contributing to improving the well-being of the entire world community. The Internet made it possible to earn money without leaving the apartment. The emergence of the professions of web designers, programmers, and other digital jobs has become possible because of the global network. The ability to work remotely provides more career choices, opportunities for parents on maternity leave, and people with disabilities to earn money on par with people who can work away from home.
Improving Communication
The Internet expands the circle of communication, allowing people to get in touch with users worldwide. The global network unites people, providing the opportunity to communicate with loved ones, even if they are far away. The increase in communication opportunities helps to strengthen family and friendship ties, improves conversational skills, and provides possibilities to learn and practice foreign languages. Online dating has become one of the most popular ways to meet a partner; many couples are created over the Internet (Rosenfeld et al. 17753). Communication via the Internet saves people from loneliness and simplifies finding new acquaintances.
Cyberbullying
Despite the objective advantages, the Internet has become a breeding ground for criminal activity due to insufficient control. Bullying in social networks has become a severe problem in modern society. Between 10 and 40 percent of young Internet users are cyberbullied or witness cyberbullying (Holfeld et al. 235). People who do not adapt well to the real world feel more comfortable on the Internet, where they can hide behind fake names and photos. The problems of victims of cyberbullying are not always the subject of interest of law enforcement agencies since criminals are not easy to trace. Therefore, most people know their illegal actions will not be punished and feel completely free. Internet bullying has a severe impact on the victim’s moral state. As a result of such acts of online aggressors, the Internet harms society.
Conclusion
Thus, the Internet can positively and negatively impact society; however, the pros outweigh the cons. The Internet provides opportunities for work, study, and communication, but the number of people who have been cyberbullied is growing with the increase in Internet users. For society to enjoy only the positive aspects of the development of Internet technologies, it is necessary to ensure control over the inappropriate behavior of users online. Technological progress will go faster every year; people need to develop new norms of behavior to provide only positive effects of this process.
Works Cited
Holfeld, Brett, and Faye Mishna. “Longitudinal associations in youth involvement as victimized, bullying, or witnessing cyberbullying.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 21.4 (2018): 234-239.
Kemp, Neil. “Distance learning and global demand.” International Higher Education 103 (2020): 5-7.
Rosenfeld, Michael J., Reuben J. Thomas, and Sonia Hausen. “Disintermediating your friends: How online dating in the United States displaces other ways of meeting.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116.36 (2019): 17753-17758.