Modern life has become easier and the people of the world have to thanks to the immense contribution of the internet technology to communication and information sharing. There is no doubt that internet has made our life become easier and more convenient.

We can use internet to communicate with people around the world, doing business by using internet, make new friend and know different cultures, searching information, studying and etc. The internet not only allows for communication through email but also ensures easy availability of information, images, and products amongst other things.

Every day the internet continues to provide a new facility, something new that is immensely convenient and that makes life more easier for web users. However, the internet also contains some unwanted elements or disadvantages.

The use of the internet is a significant source of distraction to youngsters. Surfing the web causes addition to people of all ages. It consumes our valuable time of study and work. We are unable to concentrate on essential things.  Children spend their time frivolously playing games, connecting with friends on social media, exchanging pictures, etc. Furthermore, continuously sitting on the internet causes several illnesses, such as obesity, backaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, eye defect, poor posture, etc.  

It gives rise to an unhealthy lifestyle, which lacks the movement of the muscles – sitting on the computer for a long duration results in adverse health issues. Although the Internet has various benefits and is one of the most powerful creations, it also contains many disadvantages. Below is given a list of the complete disadvantages of the Internet.

• ADDICTION, TIME-WASTER, AND CAUSES DISTRACTIONS: If any person is spending much time on the Internet connected devices, he can be addicted to the Internet. An Internet addictive person can lead to spending his precious time on the Internet, rather than doing something productive. Thus, anyone who is addicted to surf the Internet can hamper workplace productivity as well.

• SPAM AND ADVERTISING: The Internet is the best place to advertise any service or product as compared to traditional advertising methods (for example, TV, newspaper, and radio). But you might see more spam in your inbox than junk mail in real life because digital advertising can be sent on a massive scale.

• SOCIAL ISOLATION: The excessive use of Internet has brought the issue of isolation of individuals, especially the younger ones, from the mainstream society. The excessive use of Internet badly impacts the psyche and mental capability of individuals. The youths feel less interested in current society. They are becoming more interested in virtual world.

• E COMMERCE AND FRAUDS ASSOCIATED WITH IT: E commerce is relatively a new phenomenon in the developing world. Though in developed countries there are laws and regulations to prevent fraud and deception in e commerce business. Unfortunately, the developing countries are still struggling to find ways to prevent e commerce fraud. With the rise of Internet usage, millions of cheap products are being sold online with misleading information. As a result there is great risk to save and secure e business and the trust of people

• WOMEN HARASSMENT: Internet has made it possible where people of different groups and different mindset come closer with each other. The instant and unrestricted online interaction has created the issue of harassment of individuals, especially, children, girls and women. Unfortunately, in developing countries there is no strict mechanism to control and punish the potential offenders. As a result the issues of online harassment of women are increasing day by day.

• LEAKAGE OF PRIVATE INFORMATION: However, there is one security threat that has emerged to be a major issue in the last two decades, which is a threat to personal information. Major websites like Google, Facebook, and Amazon have been accused of collecting personal information about the people using their platform. This information is sold to other advertising firms to target customers for personalized ads. Credit and debit card details are particularly vulnerable make sure to use a reliable payment processor instead of sending your details directly to an individual or business.

• CHILD SECURITY: The Internet can also be quite a bad influence on children, even with the presence of parental controls, young children can get exposed to a lot of content on the Internet, which is not suited for the fragile minds of a child. Gruesome online games and horror movies are just the tips of the iceberg. This is why parents should guide children and teach them to be safe on the Internet.

• KIDS EXPOSED TO ADULTS ONLY CONTENT: Internet contains age-inappropriate content like pornography unfortunately such content can be accessed by children parents can lock out harmful sites to keep their children safe nevertheless children can still access the internet from other devices.

• THE GENERATION GAP: Given the fact that nothing is true in today’s virtual world. Internet displays the things in a way that are not completely true. The young generation of today that is completely born and reared in a digital world, feels disinterested in getting along with the little old generation. There is a compromising gap between the two. That’s why this generation gap is getting on wider day by day. The internet focused on the negative effects, it in no way means that we are undermining the importance of internet in our lives. We have written this article for the internet audience, and you are reading it through the internet, which itself explains the positive side of internet usage. It is for us to decide whether we use technology for the betterment of our lives or put it to unabated abuse.

I think the Internet is something that we have to know, and we should know what is good and bad for us, and keep ourselves away from what can damage us in any way.  Though, it has its ills as well yet we can never deny it being a powerful medium of progress in the world of today and certainly for tomorrow as well.

Published in The Daily National Courier, October, 19 2022

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