Here is the question I am asking in this thread: Is the internet a good thing or a bad thing?

Obviously if you use the internet only occasionally for educational purposes, you're going to think it's handy to have around. There is barely anything that is NOT reseachable on the internet so for educational purposes, it's great!

And for those who do go on it on a day-to-day basis, it can be a great place to meet friends. People who frequent forums, chat rooms, write blogs etc will always become friends with people around them (or on occasion, enemies).

But of course, there is the bad things too, but these only seem to happen if you're a frequent 'net surfer. You could pick up stalkers, you could become friends with someone who isn't you think they are, you could get a virus etc, the list goes on. It can also deprive people of a life outside of their room. People can order their shopping from online shops, never having to step foot outdoors.

What do you think?

Well, true i love the internet as much as the next person, but... over all i don't think its a good thing.
It is good for research and stuff like that, but....

Porn, internet stalkers, and all that other crap is very easy to find on the internet. WAY too easy...... :( And, because of all that crap, some parents don't like their children using the internet because of that. I mean, with a couple of clicks, porn can be access too.

I will admit, thats not stopping me from using the internet. I have no intensions for porn, and it really depends on how you start talking to someone. For instance, a chat room. If you pick up some random person.... :ermm:

But, any way of finding people and talking to them is still not very safe.

(ok,ok, please don't hate me for what i just said! Everyone here is fantastic! :huggle: )

I, personally, couldn't live without the internet o_o I've had it for so long, I don't think I could use dial-up again either *has broadband*

Yes, there are great risks in using the internet and they can often out-weigh the good factors. But alot of life's situations are like that anyway. However, the good factors can outweigh the bad factors if you keep yourself safe ^_^ Don't do things on the internet which you wouldn't do in real life. But often, that's hard to do because you can't tell who's dangerous and who's not on the internet =/

That's why you have to be extra wary of people and take longer to trust them than how long you would normally take away from the internet. My mum has no problem with me using the internet because she knows that I'm sensible and I won't do anything stupid. Safety should always be top priority when using the internet. o.O

I'm probably going round in circles but yeah...I'll stop rambling now :P

Yes, the internet can be used in good ways and bad ways. I'm personally terrified of the internet. It sounds stupid, but I am. I'm always afraid some stalker is going to find me or something ((thats why I deleted my myspace)) I mean you hear all these stories about sick, perverted old men (and some woman actually) posing as 14, and 15 year olds wanting to meet up with you somewhere. Now, while I'm actually not stupid enough to EVER agree to meet someone offline, some people do and they just have to be safe about who they trust, and who they don't.

And also Goddess's point about porn. The internet is full of it, and if some 12 year old is going to a website and porn pops up, its not good. Plus those stupid porn pop-ups can get you viruses. I had to help my cousin get rid of some virus on her computer the other day because of a porn pop-up.

But the internet can also be used for good! Like homework, research papers, essays, ect...and of course Google XD

The internet is the same as everything else--it is good as long as it is used in moderation.

Exactly, Inuyatta. Nothing is 100% good or 100% bad, everything depends on the use that it is given.

The internet could be a good thing and a bad thing.

Good thing because its useful resource to go to when in need of information that you can get at times. There's lots of websites to explore surf around and have a good time etc. etc. etc.

Bad thing because you could become too obssessed with it and could end up doing something you shouldn't be doing or it could take a person out of a hobby they love to do. But it depends on the person.

Its just like becoming to addictive to television. But you take responsibility if something happens. :dunno: Thats my view on the internet.

I think it just depends on us. If we're too horny... of course we can't resist to go to porny sites WHICH WE NOT! It's how the way we interact in the 'net, I don't give my pictures, my address, and my phone number! A lot of stalkers I'm afraid...consider some rabid Clotis. XD Bright side is you can get your homework done in no time by just typing your topic and press "search" in Google, then there's your homework, YAY! :yahoo: and it helps me a lot because I get updated, I know what's happening at the couple, Cloud and Aerith. forgive me for my CxA obssession. :cleris:

You know, I was afraid this topic was coming off of the issue about being harassed and giving out info and dirty stuff on the internet.

Maybe thats why some people think bad about it because people are drawn to stuff like Myspace and online realtionships that stuff happens? :dunno:

yeah...
I don't think having online friends is bad, but we should do it with caution and get to know that friend a little bit more. Unless....you really want stalkers.... :whistle:

Okay, right now I'm tempted to burst out into song and sing "The internet is for porn" from Avenue Q, but since this a serious discussion, I won't^^;

Yes, its fun on the internet. Tons of it. Yes, its a great way to meet people.

...But are they always good people? No. Normally people don't meet up with their online friends. And if you do, bless your soul, I hope they don't rape you.

Erm. I'm trying to stay serious (I'm in a goofy mood^^)

I'm pretty much netrual on whether the internet is good or bad, because depending on how you use it, then I can determine whether its bad or good.

The internet can get you a virus, but that doesn't mean you'll always get one on every site you go to. Its a great place to meet online friends, but then again, their not always who you think they are.

Internet is good for school work, but thats not entirely true. Sometimes people get false information, or can't always give credit for the information they put in paper's. That gets people in trouble and stuff.

The internet also makes people lazy. Which probably means they don't work out, making them gain weight. Unhealthy for you. Also, it damages some people's sight, makes them sickly pale, and probably anti-social. Believe me. All of this ish bad for you. <<<this is one of the biggest downfalls of the internet.

The other one is meeting online friends. Don't jump into meeting them, who says you need to actually *meet* the person in order to have a relationship with that person? You'll just have to live with not being able to see their face. Oh well.

Hopefully the net isn't as dangerous, because people SHOULD learn their lesson at this point.

Bascially, the internet is good depending on who/how you use it. (but it still has its many downfalls and insecurity of many people)

Quote from Weird Al Yancovich:

lolz. But as long as the internet is used in good ways, it's fine.

PS: I do not watch porn! Damn.

I don't really think I can survive without the internet (atm :unsure: )
And I have "online friends" whom I consider as real friends They share with me interesting things/stories I've never experienced myself sometimes because we grow up in different environments. I find this a good learning experience as well. I love them from the bottom of my heart :]
However, internet does made us neglect certain things around the world that we should take note of. Instead of spending all our free time online, there are actually "more fruitful" ways to spend these leisure times , " " because it's my personal opinion. Maybe if everyone of us take a little bit of our leisure surfing time to care more about the world, we might help to make it a little better.

I think the internet is one of the best technological advances mankind could ever provide for his world. Unfortunately, it is prone to abuse, which makes it bad.

The internet isn't bad. The user is the one responsible for making it seem bad because of the things they can do with it.

I agree with this. If you're going to have a myspace, do what I do and only accept people that you know you know (like friends that go to the same school with you since you were in grade school and have known and been friends with since then).

One thing that really irks me about the internet is the messengers. MSN now has this thing where you can put up everything (just about) you. Like your phone number, address. My friend was stupid enough to do this. Luckily, nothing bad has happened to her. But also thanks to her, I know that PA has a 403 (something like that) area code. *goes away ranting about something stupid that her friend did*

O.o Weird Al? I could have sworn that that was from Avenue Q, a Broadway musical....

Anyway...

The internet...can be both...while it can keep you in contact with friends and loved ones, and keep you up to date on the latest of...well everything, it can also be a terrible thing too.

A prime example of this is the Edison Chen scandal that's happening. If anyone's bored and wants to know about it (assuming you know who Edison Chen is), then I implore you to look it up. Be wary, because some of it may be not safe for work.

I feel bad for the guy...and the ladies involved...

I think this is for a different discussion though.

I just looked it up. Does it have something to do with this? Edison Chen's photo scandal

...and if I were his publicist or manager, I'd go crazy. :lol:

This makes the Internet also good for blackmailing people, too. Anyone can easily build a website no matter how crappy it is and post scandalous photos of anybody they know and hate for the entire world to see in one click.

Same with Yahoo messenger and social networking sites like Multiply, Facebook, etc. So it's either I put fake information, refuse to provide any information, or restrict people from viewing the real information about myself.

Exactly! If you're going to do that, just make it to where no one else can see it if you can, or just put fake information. Like my myspace says that I still live in Kyoto and I haven't lived there since I was 4.

Yahoo has it that way now? I didn't know. Might be because I never use YahooMessenger.

And I also think that The Internet is for Porn was also from Avenue Q, the broadway musical. My friend has seen it, and I could have sworn that he was telling me about that song being from there. That was so off topic, but whatever.

The internet, is a series of tubes! And Al Gore invented it!

Er well, bad political speeches aside, the internet is just like any other medium filled with people. There's good, there's bad and there's ugly. It's great for communicating with like-minded people who might otherwise be difficult to find in the real world, like Cleriths for instance ;). And as mentioned before the research possibilities are endless; pretty much anything you want to know can be found online somewhere. You can share artwork, funny videos, stories and much more so much more easily than other mediums.

That said, like any other place filled with piles of people, there's plenty of stupidity to go around. You have morons who say inane crap like "zOMG l0lzz!!!1!one." You've got the usual retinue of perverts and stalkers; though you can find them just as easily in the real world. And of course there's piles of porn; but then that's no different than any big city, where you can find a palace of porno, or whatever, on most street corners. Lastly it's addicting to many people, which can cause one to become anti-social, overweight, etc... as previously mentioned. But then the same can be said of bars, and at least the internet doesn't get you drunk ;).

I can't be too harsh on the internet; it's how I make my living and if it didn't exist I'd probably be doing construction, which pays a lot less and kills one's back ;). So I'm thankful for it. As long as you're smart about it and don't become too addicted to it, the internet is a great blessing.

Oh and anyone who gives out address information to random strangers by sticking it on myspace or shoving it in an MSN profile... is a moron. I don't feel at all sorry for them if someone goes and does something bad to them.

i almost forgot about that lol



anyway true though the internet is probly the only last place where true free speech and expression exist, i can say whatever i want about the president or just some punk kid on COD 4, and theres not alot anyone can do about it unless they wanna play dirty. so I like the options the internet provides people it's a good thing.

Yeah, unfortunately that's the one. Poor guy had to give up his career because he likes doing things in the privacy of his own bedroom.

And The Internet is For Porn IS from Avenue Q, as I own the OST, and have owned the OST for months now.

The net can be a great place...and it can also be a bad place..Its up to the user on how he/she usues it. It also depends on who you meet and who you don't meet.

....I've had a stalker before...It is a scary thing.;;

We all chat to someone we've never met even if its just a hi or how are you kind of thing.

It also depends on where you GO to meet friends...some places good~..some places...bad...All in all its just like everyone said, its a good and bad thing it depends on the user....though...sometimes you could be browsing the most inoocent of sites...and I'll use a personal example..

One day a few years ago I wanted to find a few more Pokemon screencaps for some Misty and other Water Pokemon drawing refferance. I found a very cute site which sadly does not exist anymore. And I went to click on links, clicked on a innocent 12 yr old's web page and what do I get.... A 404 screen with naked ladies across the screen;;;

Sometimes even if your doing the most worksafe things you can always end up at a non worksafe place in a matter of minutes.

It does depend on where you go If you go to Deviant art like me then you already know that a good percentage view nudity as art while others see "free porn"....As repeated it does depend on the user.

It's both good and bad for sure. I found my other half on the internet. And while many say that is gross and stalkish and all that, it rly depends on you, and who you pick up. You got to be extremely sensible when looking for things and use all the best judgements.

It does take up alot of my life, and lately I've been going to college and feel like I don't know what my life is meant for and what I had done before I used the computer daily.

On top of that my mom feels like her life is waisted and no more reason to get up each day so she spends every waking hour on her laptop, so, now I never see her unless she comes down to eat something, and nothing ever gets cleaned or done around the house. Yeah... my every day life is empty, with not a soul to speak to. Gets rather lonesome.

And yet the computer helped me find my hobby as well. I loved to draw and went for Graphic Design and now plan to go more into website designing in the future.