Internet- Boon Or Bane?

The Internet is said to be a pool of information wherein you can find information on any topic. It is the best place to
gain knowledge and information along with being in constant touch with your dear ones. Despite many advantages
and benefits, Internet is still considered to be the unsafe zone for the kids as they may fall prey to the criminals in the
world of immense pain and treachery.

Every year so many children fall victim to internet predators. The fortunate ones are involved with them over the
internet only and never actually meet the predator, whereas the unlucky ones who meet them face to face are often
abducted, raped, tortured or even killed. If friends, family members, or even law enforcement agencies discover these
relationships in time, they put an end to them, however, often they get to know too late and the damage is done.

By sensing this danger many Internet companies like America Online, Yahoo and Netscape have started offering a
feature of parental vigilance. This restricts the kid's access to the Internet and parents get the chance to monitor
them. Simply stated, if you don't allow your kids to watch obscene shows on television, they shoul not be allowed to
access or open any unsuitable site.

It's a good idea to talk to your child and explain the internet safety techniques. Keep a close watch on what kind of
persons your child is conversing with, and monitor them during the conversation. Always be there for your child when
he or she wants to share something with you.

Usually, schools and libraries have strict limits in place when dealing with children's access to the internet. If this is
not the case, do not allow your child to access the World Wide Web at any of these locations or carefully monitor his or
her surfing time while at these unsecure locations. Furthermore, speak with school boards or city chairs regarding the
lax rules at these locations.

Another precaution that needs to be taken is at your child's friend's place. You should make your stance on internet
access be known to all parties concerned. Preferably, your child and the friend should not be allowed to access the
World Wide Web without adult supervision.

In your own home, place the family computer in a place where others can see the screen. Instead of having a
separate home office, put the family computer in the kitchen or family room. This ensures your child is never alone
while explore the internet and you can be present if any problems arise.

Also, teach your child about the dangers of the internet. You should not deliberately scare your child into a certain
behavior, but let him or her know the potential problems that may arise. Also notify your child of the proper way to
report problems or screennames of individuals who are participating in unsavory communication.

You have to ensure your child's protection while on the internet to make him or her make the best use of the World
Wide Web. The internet can be a fantastic place for kids of all ages provided you teach your child to distinguish
between the right and wrong of the internet.

Read more: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Internet--Boon-Or-Bane-/109000#ixzz13NYS19V6

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Internet Revolution - Is It A Boon Or Bane?

• Submitted by: abhi12345
• Date Submitted: 11/11/2008
• Category: Science
• Words: 1826
• Pages: 8
• Views: 1318
• Popularity Rank: 3443
The Internet Revolution: A Boon or a Bane!
Dr A.Poddar

Head Dept.of Electronic Science

Surendranath Evening College,

Kolkata

What is a Revolution? Well, it is an event, spread over some period of time, which brings about phenomenal
changes in society, essentially for its betterment. Foremost amongst the famous revolutions that come to our
mind is the ‘Industrial Revolution’ in Europe, in the 18th century that heralded the study and use of science and
technology for the betterment of mankind. Closer home, the ‘Green Revolution’ happened in India. What it
meant was that the country no longer had to beg to feed its millions. And now we are in the midst of another
revolution of a totally different kind. Yes, you guessed it right: it’s the “Internet Revolution”.

So, what is the “Internet”? Technically speaking, the Internet is the acronym for millions of computers, spread
all over the world, which are interconnected by telecommunication systems. It’s like a huge spider web and
hence some also refer it as the “world wide web” (www in short). People all over the world can share
information over the Internet through their computers using common communication norms called protocols.

How did the Internet come into being? One can trace its origins to the ARPANET, a humble computer network
that was created in the 1960’s to keep communication channels open in the event of a nuclear war. It was
followed by a series of networks, collectively called the NSFNET, catering primarily to the academic and
scientific institutions. Access to such networks became all the more easier with the development of new
software applications and entry of commercial firms. The system, over a period of three decades, evolved into a
huge worldwide network that has come to be called the Internet.

What is so special about the Internet? After all, we have had telecommunication networks, road networks,
power and energy networks etc. The answer lies in the fact that unlike the case of the above mentioned
networks, the Internet network belongs to no one (or should we say, it belongs to everybody!). The Internet
network has no political boundaries. It was not invented but evolved over a period of time as a consequence of
peoples’ desire to share knowledge and information and to communicate.

The Internet resembles a city centre offering diverse services. If you want to post someone a letter you have to
find a post office. The Internet has an equivalent electronic post office in the form of an e-mail (electronic mail)
program. All you need to do is sit in front of your computer, write an e-mail and send it over the internet to
whosoever you want, provided the recipient has access to the Internet too. Unlike ordinary letters, e-mail takes
at most a few seconds to reach its destination, irrespective of the distance involved. The city centre may have a
library housing a huge number of books. The Internet however provides the reader the means to access
millions of books and journals through online libraries. One may also access a real library, sift through its
catalogues, select and order a book over the Internet. And the wonderful part of it is he may do so at any time
of the day and night. A city centre has coffee shops where one may engage in quiet and not so quiet
conversation with acquaintances and strangers alike. The Internet has 24-hour “Chat Rooms” catering to
similar needs. The Internet also has online shops wherein you can browse commodities, compare prices and
buy goods any time from the comfort of your home.

In this context, Mr Sarkar’s experience is worth narrating. Mr Sarkar was a sort of person who had difficulty
making up his mind. His son, Sanjoy, was pestering him for a colour TV set for quite some time now. (The world
cup was just round the corner). He finally gave in to his tantrums and went to visit the big TV showroom near
his house. No sooner had he entered, all the salesmen converged upon him and proceeded to lecture him for
the next half hour on the virtues of the latest digital flat screen TVs, sporting very high price tags. Mr Sarkar
was at his wit’s end. He was utterly confused. He thought it best to leave the showroom without buying a TV.
The salesmen, needless to mention were not the least amused. Mr Sarkar could tell from the look on their faces
and the mutterings beneath their breath! An utterly embarrassed Mr Sarkar returned home and narrated the
incident to his son. Sanjoy remarked, “Why don’t you use the Internet to find the all the information you need
before buying the TV”? Mr Sarkar was a novice as far as computers were concerned. But he followed his
teenage son to the ‘Cyber-café’ and with a little bit of help from the attendant spent 15 minutes on the
Internet. At the end of it he was a contended man. He had all the information (all of it authentic) he needed. He
proceeded to buy the TV of his choice. Since that day Mr Sarkar has regularly been using the Internet to his
benefit.

The above narrative gives an example of how the Internet can play a role in e-commerce (electronic
commerce). Today we also have electronic banking. More and more banks are providing e-banking facilities to
the customer. The customer need not go to the bank any more: he could perform the transactions with the
bank sitting at home. Recently, Indian Railways has launched online ticket services whereby ordinary people
can buy reserved tickets from their home or the street corner ‘cyber café’. Just think of it! No more standing in
serpentine queues at Kolaghat for hours for that elusive rail ticket to Puri!!

On the lighter side, the use of the Internet may lead to amusing yet unwelcome experiences. Take the case of
Rajat. A shy and introvert character, he yearned for a companion. Somebody told him about electronic-dating.
That suited him best. He sure found the companion he was looking for, on the net, and spent the next few
months chatting with her over the Internet. It was not long before he proposed and got an affirmative response.
He could not wait to meet his beautiful would be bride. Meet he did, soon enough, but got the shock of his life.
The woman he earned for was his reticent little sister, Rita, who too had, till that moment, been blissfully
unaware of true identity of her prospective husband!!

Rajat, of course, kept using the ‘Net’ and finally found his woman. This time around he didn’t forget to trade
pictures along with his e-mails!

Well, it all sounds great. The Internet does seem to make life easier. But for whom? In India, the major chunk of
the population lives in villages and small towns. E-banking and e-commerce do not sound too exciting to him,
surely!! So how does he benefit from the Internet? The answer lies in e-governance, e-health care and e-
education. The Internet can be used by the government to connect it to the grassroots, viz., the villages and
thereby speedup development. The Internet can help connect primary health care centres in remote villages to
the big hospitals in the metropolis.

Imagine a critical patient in a remote Bengal village being brought to the health centre. The doctor attending
him is not sure of how to treat him. He uses the computer at the health centre to contact Calcutta Medical
College, whereby a renowned doctor gets in touch with him. The expert at CMC sees the medical report of the
patient and advises the doctor at the health centre as to what steps need to be taken. The Internet can
similarly play a big role in education. In our country, many schools and colleges do not have the money to set
up expensive laboratories to conduct practical classes. The Internet offers them an option of setting up a virtual
practical classroom at a nominal cost. All it will require is a computer and an Internet connection. The students
can perform the experiments online using interactive software available for free. The Internet can also be used
in distance learning by open universities, like NSOU, IGNOU etc to spread education and literacy to our
unfortunate fellow countrymen who were not able to savour the fruits of formal education confined to
classrooms.

The Internet can therefore be utilized in diverse fields for the benefit of the society at large. However, it, like all
good things, has its pitfalls. Financial transactions over the Internet are prone to fraud. They employ electronic
passwords instead of the good hold hand written signature. Although rare, instances of computer whiz kids
cracking passwords and playing havoc have come to light.

The freedom from censorship inherent in this medium can and is being misused by shady people like
pornographers, paedophiles, religious fanatics etc. Recently, a paedophile ring comprising people from two
continents was unearthed who traded despicable pictures of their own children over the Internet. Horrific, isn’t
it? The Internet is a repository of huge amount of information, not all of it good. You can use it to gather enough
information, for example, to make a powerful explosive device. No wonder militants make extensive use of the
Internet.

However the most worrying complaint against the spread of Internet is that it is creating sort of a digital divide:
into those having access to computers & the Internet and those not having it. Some people apprehend that the
existing fissures between educationally advantaged and disadvantaged groups within societies and between
the developed and developing worlds risk being further widened with the advance of technology. Children born
into homes having access to computers and the Internet

will have an inherent advantage when competing for entry into higher education systems or when applying for
jobs. These apprehensions are not totally unfounded. The solution lies in making access to the Internet cheap
and easy for people from all walks of life. The price of computers has come down over the last decade or so.
But it is still prohibitively expensive for the common man. If the common man can’t afford a computer it’s the
role of the government to make it accessible to him. It is in this context that the government, nowadays, is
providing special emphasis on computer education and information technology.

The Internet revolution is here to stay for the next few decades. It has the potential of creating a huge number
of jobs. Its virtues outnumber its demerits by a factor of many to one. With proper checks and balances in
place, the Internet can do us a profound amount of good. All sections of people, irrespective of class, ethnicity,
gender or place of residence should be allowed and encouraged to partake in this revolution and savour its
fruits. Then only will the revolution be considered a success.