revision

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Student name:	JIAWEI SUN
CEG number:	CEG08048166
Programme (e.g. UFP)	MFP ENGLISH
Programme Start Date (e.g. September 2018)	JAN 2019

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EAP ESSAY

Jiawei Sun

Caroline Hollis

MFP ENGLISH

14/03/2019

The internet is the system of interconnected computer networks that use the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to connect devices worldwide, and it has made our world become a smaller place. One of the significant Internet advances began in the early 1960s in crafted by Paul Baran and Donald Davies. In 1982, the Internet Protocol Suite was institutionalised, which allowed overall expansion of interconnected systems. With internet evolution, individuals and many businesses have benefited from what it offers. Nowadays people access different services including video streaming, digital newspapers, and electronic mails via the internet. According to the Internet World Stats (2018), by June 2018, 4.2 billion of the world’s population had access to the internet. This statistics implies there are 55.1% internet users all over the world. The Asian continent leads in terms of internet users with 49%, followed by Europe 16.8%, Africa 11%, North America 8.2% and Oceania/ Australia has the least number of internet users in the world at 0.7% (Internet World Stats, 2018). The purpose of this essay is to find out the benefits of the Internet and how the internet changes people’s life. Even though there are some negative effects on the Internet, these can not compare to its benefits.

Internet use can lead to undesirable outcomes such as loneliness and depression when poorly used. According to Phys.org (2012), some of the negative effects of internet use include compulsive internet use (CIU) and excessive internet use (EIU). CIU means that an individual cannot stop or control their online behaviour while EIU refers to the degree at which the individual spends time on the internet. These factors discourage face-to-face socialisation hence leading to negative impacts such as loneliness and depression. However, the Internet benefits people more than these disadvantages. The Internet has made communication between people in different locations easier and convenient. As of June 2018, half of the world’s population has internet access. People around the world can now connect and communicate without having to travel or leave their rooms. There are several internet platforms such as social networking sites that facilitate communication. These platforms allow the internet users to send and receive messages instantly hence making communication cheaper and easy. Business people and companies use emails, video conferencing and chat rooms to negotiate business deals virtually. Therefore, they don’t have to incur transport costs travelling to other locations for business meetings. The internet also allows patients to consult their doctors without necessarily leaving their homes. Generally, the internet improved how people communicate and share information than it was a decade ago.

The spread of computer network makes information flooding, which leads to the weakening of teenagers’ moral cognition. The globality of the Internet leads to the decline of people’s moral judgment and evaluation ability. The internet closes the connections between people, but the internet is a virtual platform which contains much-complicated information, and there is no practical way to distinguish whether the data is real or fake. In this way, People can use the Internet to obtain some information that is not proper, such as pornography and violence videos. However, information flooding and the globality of the Internet are not big problems compare to what internet benefits people. Teenagers’ moral cognition would be weakened in some other ways, although the Internet does not exist. It’s not about what information is there on the Internet; it’s about moral education. Moral education in schools is the responsibility of teachers and counsellor, and it’s also the responsibility for the parents. The Internet is providing people with much more information than ever before, unlike the limitation of books. People should be very critical of any information they find on the Web and carefully examine each site (Georgetown University Library). So do not blame there is too much information on the Web. Meanwhile, the information and sources on the Internet can be pretty good tools. The internet has changed learning and educational experience. The Internet allows storage of large amount of information which can be accessed anytime. There are various types of information on the internet accessible through search engines such as Google and Yahoo and are beneficial in learning. The internet has influenced education through online learning. Today, students can earn their college degrees and accomplish their goals via online classes. Online education in the United States has become a feasible education option given that it reduces the burden of paying tuition fees. About 5.8 million students were enrolled in at least one distance learning course in fall 2014, according to “Online Report Card: Tracking Online Education in the United States.” The Internet has also enabled smooth sharing of information between students and teachers through cloud storage. Cloud storage services like Google Docs allows accessing data and other learning resources without necessarily having to carry physical materials such as textbooks.

The use of the internet in banking and other service sectors has increased cases of cybercrime. There is a group of people who use the internet to commit crimes and takes advantage of internet susceptibility to hack to steal money and other valuable financial data from banks. However, the Internet has also improved various economic sectors. A study conducted by Khan (2016, p13), which revealed many ways in which the Internet improves business operations. The internet achieves this by facilitating online business, offering e-commerce services and by facilitating the marketing Khan (2016, p13). Big data and data analytics, for example, are current engines for marketing products and services. Sites such as eBay allow customers to bid, buy, sell, and even conduct online auctions. The banking sector has also been revolutionised through the Internet. The introduction of the internet in the service industry especially the banking sector has helped companies to meet demands and the needs of their customer in a more effective way. Electronic-banking which involves internet banking has enabled individual customers and businesses to access their bank accounts from the comfort of their mobile phones and computers. Internet banking allows people to obtain financial services such as fund transfers, online insurance, and online utility bill payments without visiting the facilities physically. Unlike the traditional banking system, internet banking is safer because it does not entail moving around with money which is susceptible to thefts.

The internet can either be a threat or a blessing depending on how the people use it. The benefits of the internet in society are endless. Through the internet, people can communicate quickly and more conveniently than it was some years ago. Today, information is more accessible as people can read newspapers online through their mobile phones, stream videos, and transacts businesses virtually courtesy of the internet. Internet, however, should be regulated to prevent adverse outcomes. The government should put policies in place that will protect internet users from online criminals. Internet users should also exercise proper use of the internet to avoid falling victims of the negative consequences of the internet. Parents should also control how their children use the internet to prevent addiction and other psychological impacts. Otherwise, the internet is a blessing to the 21st Century.

References

Internetworldstats.com. (2018). World Internet Users Statistics and 2018 World Population Stats. [online] Available at: https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm [Accessed 14 Mar. 2019].

Khan AG (2016). Electronic Commerce: A Study on Benefits and Challenges in an Emerging Economy. Global Journal of Management and Business Research: B Economics and Commerce, 16 (1) : 2016

Library.georgetown.edu. (n.d.). Evaluating Internet Resources | Georgetown University Library. [online] Available at: https://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content [Accessed 14 Mar. 2019].

OLC. (n.d.). Online Report Card - Tracking Online Education in the United States, 2015-OLC. [online] Available at: https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-report-card-tracking-online-education-united-states-2015/ [Accessed 14 Mar. 2019].

Phys.org. (2012). The negative effects of Internet use. [online] Available at: https://phys.org/news/2012-10-negative-effects-internet.html [Accessed 14 Mar. 2019].