https://debatewise.

org/debates/3033-internet-brings-more-harm-than-good/

All the Yes points:

1. The internet has become a major source of information for many people. However, online
information ...
2. Everyone’s privacy is greatly harmed by the internet. We can quickly see what politicians and
celeb...
3. You can choose any identity you want when you are online. Many people hide behind profiles
they hav...
4. Many people are just addicted to the internet. They can’t stop browsing, they are hooked on
gaming ...
5. Since the nineties, instant messaging and emailing has been used to extract passwords, bank
account ...
6. The internet has allowed big companies to capture a lot of business online while smaller, local
comp...

Internet Brings More Harm Than Good

Yes because...

The internet has become a major source of information for many people. However, online
information ...

The internet has become a major source of information for many people. However, online information
has usually not gone through the same checks as newspaper articles or books. There is a higher risk that
some of the facts or quotations from a particular source in an article are false. Whereas newspapers
might lose customers if people find out they gave been ‘selling lies’, a blog can be easily deleted. If
people base their opinions on information they find online, they could well be basing their opinion on
false facts. Since the internet gives equal space to material of greatly varying quality, this is a serious
risk.

No because...

The internet gives millions of people access to information they would not otherwise have had, which is
a huge benefit. And people who read the news online are not that easy to fool. Especially when you
spend a lot of time online, you can tell bloggers who just want to shout from bloggers who carefully
refer to their sources. The type of people this argument worries about are not the type of people that
read high quality newspapers in the first place, they would read the trashy ones. The problem of bad
information and news making is not unique to the internet; there are lots of trashy magazines as well.
We learn in schools to double-check our sources and not believe everything we read, and we can apply
that skill whilst surfing the internet.

Internet Brings More Harm Than Good

Yes because...

Everyone’s privacy is greatly harmed by the internet. We can quickly see what politicians and celeb...
Everyone’s privacy is greatly harmed by the internet. We can quickly see what politicians and celebrities
are doing when the paparazzi posts news pictures online, but people can also see what we’ve been
doing. Some sites store information. Some ask us to fill in information which can be sold to other sites
for commercial purposes. Once we post something online, it is almost impossible to erase it from the
net. For example, if I break up with a person, they can take revenge and post embarrassing photos of me
online. There have been numerous court cases where a woman demanded that her ex remove some
privately taken photos from a dating site, so that she would be left alone. Unfortunately, the law cannot
protect your right to privacy in this area.

No because...

You are the first and most important person to protect your own privacy. Don’t fill in private
information, if you don’t want people to know about it. There are laws protecting you from websites
that just sell on your information, but if you give personal information out without being sure that it will
be properly used you only have yourself to blame.

Internet Brings More Harm Than Good

Yes because...

You can choose any identity you want when you are online. Many people hide behind profiles they hav...

You can choose any identity you want when you are online. Many people hide behind profiles they have
made up. They start making nasty remarks on public forums or chat rooms. They would never have
normally said these things, but because they can hide behind an identity they start upsetting and hurting
others. Even though other people can try to stop them from this behaviour, their warnings are not as
effective as a warning from someone you know very well, like a friend, a parent or a teacher. The
internet’s anonymity allows them to show sides of themselves that, for good reasons, they normally
wouldn’t have shown. This increases the risk that, because they get away with it online, they show
similar behaviour in their real life. This harms everyone.

No because...

Against this group of people who misbehave online is a group of people who have finally found
individuals with similar mindsets. Not everyone likes the same things and the more unusual your
preferences, the harder it will be to find friends. The internet has finally given many people a place
where they can be themselves, and where they can meet likeminded people. It is a great relief for them
that they do not have to fear being discovered by people they know.\

You cannot let a small group of badly behaved people ruin the freedom of many others. We should work
on creating better policies to deal with rude people, but we should not go back to the old situation
where people who are d

Internet Brings More Harm Than Good

Yes because...

Many people are just addicted to the internet. They can’t stop browsing, they are hooked on gaming ...
Many people are just addicted to the internet. They can’t stop browsing, they are hooked on gaming
and they spend too much time indoors. Instead of going out for a walk or play outside, they sit behind
their computers for hours. A sad consequence of the addiction is that they are so used to high speed
information by just clicking on the next link that they can no longer appreciate a good book, or a nice
conversation with a friend. By failing to take exercise they grow fat and unhealthy. Their family life
suffers and their only relationships are online – they can’t cope in the real world.

No because...

There is nothing wrong with sitting indoors. It’s better to sit indoors and actively research and surf
online than to sit in front of a television and passively take in what the TV company decided you should
watch. 20 years ago people used to worry kids spent too much time inside watching TV, but viewing
hours have dropped as people choose to use the internet instead. There are lots of educational games
and news sites we can browse around and learn from in much more effective way than television could
ever provide. Furthermore, many people keep up their social contacts online. Saying they cannot
appreciate a nice conversation, or a good book is just a wild claim.

Internet Brings More Harm Than Good

Yes because...

Since the nineties, instant messaging and emailing has been used to extract passwords, bank account ...

Since the nineties, instant messaging and emailing has been used to extract passwords, bank account
details or credit card numbers. This phenomenon is called phishing. A phisher uses professional-looking
websites and profiles, and tens of thousands of people have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to
phishers. If we could better control who contacts us, this would not have happened on such a large
scale.

No because...

It is unfortunate that people who are willing to help have been abused by others. However, there have
been many campaigns that raise awareness about phishing. Governments and banks have provided
guidelines about how to recognize phishers. We should firmly deal with the crime of phishing, but not
forget how much easier our life has become now that we can do our financial business online and via
bank cards.ifferent in some way end up feeling isolated and lonely.\

Internet Brings More Harm Than Good

Yes because...

The internet has allowed big companies to capture a lot of business online while smaller, local comp...

The internet has allowed big companies to capture a lot of business online while smaller, local
companies have lost out. And because the internet makes it easier to get work done abroad, jobs have
left many western countries for low-wage countries abroad.

No because...

The internet has brought greater prosperity, allowing lots of different businesses to set up online. This
has brought a lot more choice to ordinary people, and also driven down prices as people find it easier to
compare different companies products. Small businesses can cheaply set up online and find a market for
their goods and services. And by making it easier to work anywhere with an internet connection, it has
allowed many more people to work from home and to share out projects with co-workers over the
whole world.

https://europa.eu/youth/ie/article/42/26808_sv

“The Internet Does More Harm Than Good" by Sarah Kieran

Sarah Kieran presents her views about the internet at the National Finale of the Europe Direct Soapbox
Competition 2014

Hi, my name is Sarah Kieran. I’m from Our Lady’s College Greenhills, Drogheda. Today I’m going to talk
to you about colour. You may think that this is a talk on the internet’s effects on our lives-but that’s
exactly my point. The internet brings so much colour and light into our lives. Before the age of the
internet we lived in a dull black and white society, a silent movie, a mime. The coming of the internet
has brightened up our lives, in so many ways.

Just this week my own teacher, head of the drama society in my school, received a package.
This package came from America, and contained a white tuxedo. This brilliant white tux is for our school
play. It brightens up the stage, makes this simple transition year drama project into something that we
could only ever have envisioned to be on the big screen. And of course without it, the poor chap playing
the part of the man in the white tuxedo would have had to wear most likely his dad’s wedding suit-
which undoubtedly would be 2 sizes too big. The internet has allowed us to close the gap between us
and them. We can have any colour delivered to our doorstep. This then brings me onto my second
point.

When the internet first came on the scene we were all scared there would be another “video
killed the radio star” scenario: but between email and the postal service. Yes, simple things like banking,
job applications and-or those exceptionally lazy people-birthday cards, can all now be sent via email. But
the workload for the postal service has in no way diminished. I cannot possibly keep count of the
number of parcels delivered to my own housing estate each week from online retailers like Asos,
Amazon and Boohoo.com. These bring new style, new taste and new colours to our towns every day.

I finally want to talk to you about online advertisements. They are those small ads that you see
on the side of your newsfeed on Facebook, with quirky colourful images trying to sell you phones and
concert tickets. Before online advertisements, employers depended on their good old rolodex full of
business cards, which they would flick through when they needed to get the number of the guy they got
to do it last time to do it again. But this method has a major flaw: what if the employer decides to spice
things up a bit? Host a samba party for his employees? Where will he get the card for his new flamenco
dress supplier? Online advertisements fill that gap and solve that problem. Employers have their own
site completely dedicated to advertisements called “LinkedIn”. Here you can get anything, at any time,
in any place; from didgeridoo suppliers in Roscommon to Chinese lantern manufacturers in northern
Nigeria. This leads to endless opportunities for business. And no, don’t worry; business card sales have
not plummeted as a result of this. In fact the amount of business cards being made has actually risen in
recent years due to the new opportunities for independent businesses because of online
advertisements.
 The internet is a painting; the lurking shadows in the corners are the dark net, the deep reds
are the hearts of hopeful lovers, and the rich blue horizon - the top of your Facebook newsfeed. It is a
portrait of society, and the frame is your screen.

Written by Sarah Kieran

https://www.cram.com/essay/Debate-The-Internet-Brings-More/FKC3BP835C

Examples of harm:
1. Pornography - a lot of rapists and sexual offenders start off with pornography
2. Horror - screamers and horror movies, that traumatize people, especially children
3. Violence and gore - movies that contain excessive amounts of violence and gore
4. cyber bullying - social networks or blogs flaming or flaming through gaming
5. leaking personal information accidentally through social networks
6. false information - websites that give wrong information
7. involvement in criminal acts, such as piracy
8. Cheat money - black markets

https://www.scribd.com/document/338842271/This-House-Believes-That-Internet-Brings-More-Harm-
Than-Good