The Double-Edged Sword of the Internet: Is the Internet Helpful for Humanity?
October 8 2024 | Jiho Oh
Humanity has made immense progress in technological advancements in the past few decades. Among thousands of inventions and developments, the Internet stands out as one of the most monumental technological advancements. The Internet revolutionized the way people communicate, allowing people from all over the globe to communicate with each other in a matter of just a few clicks. This ease of communication has dramatically transformed personal interactions, business operations, and educational opportunities. However, the versatility of fast communication over the internet has revealed itself to be a double-edged sword. To name a few, users of the Internet can easily plagiarize another person’s work without their approval and access other people’s information potentially leading to harmful consequences. This brings the important question: Are the benefits of the Internet significant enough to outweigh such drawbacks?
The Internet can be compared to a gigantic library that stores millions of information from around the world. On the surface level, this might seem like a beneficial thing as one can access information they need quickly and easily. However, it also exposes copyrighted material to the threat of plagiarism. A person can effortlessly ‘copy and paste’ a copyrighted material on the internet with or without knowledge of its copyright status. Specifically, if someone plagiarizes another person’s work on the internet without including their attribution, the original owner of the material does not receive any of the credit. Copyright infringement becomes an issue when someone steals another person’s work with knowledge and with intent to exploit their work. In that case, the original owner of the work will not only receive the credit but also will not be able to receive earnings. For example, if a person gets a hold of a movie through an unauthorized method, the owner who created that movie will no longer be able to create income off that copy of the movie. Copyright infringement is also serious as it is very challenging to find who exactly is responsible for the infringement due to the anonymous characteristic of the Internet.
Similarly, a person can access sensitive information on the internet with just a few clicks. Since the Internet has been the primary source of information storage, people have been able to access highly confidential information with ease. For example, a person can find another person’s personal information on the internet by simply searching up their name. If a person accidentally releases their private information on the internet, that information will be seen by hundreds of people in a matter of seconds. That information will keep on spreading throughout the internet and it will no longer be “private”. That is not all, if a person with evil intentions leaks confidential information on the internet, it will be exposed to many exploitations. This is a clear explanation of why everyone having access to the internet is both a good and bad thing.
The extensive connectivity of the internet has also allowed more cyber crimes to happen. A person can easily steal information from another person’s phone and take advantage of it without the person even knowing. Similarly, a person exploits the anonymity of the internet to impersonate other individuals. Most of all, the internet allowed more malicious scams to happen. People are exposed to scams and other malicious activities on the internet. One mistake and clicking on a malicious link or scam can have a devastating impact on that individual. Despite all of the drawbacks of the Internet, should someone still use the Internet? The benefits of the internet definitely outweigh the disadvantages if one is knowledgeable enough of the risks. That is why digital education is important as it prevents individuals from such risks.
The Internet can be compared to a gigantic library that stores millions of information from around the world. On the surface level, this might seem like a beneficial thing as one can access information they need quickly and easily. However, it also exposes copyrighted material to the threat of plagiarism. A person can effortlessly ‘copy and paste’ a copyrighted material on the internet with or without knowledge of its copyright status. Specifically, if someone plagiarizes another person’s work on the internet without including their attribution, the original owner of the material does not receive any of the credit. Copyright infringement becomes an issue when someone steals another person’s work with knowledge and with intent to exploit their work. In that case, the original owner of the work will not only receive the credit but also will not be able to receive earnings. For example, if a person gets a hold of a movie through an unauthorized method, the owner who created that movie will no longer be able to create income off that copy of the movie. Copyright infringement is also serious as it is very challenging to find who exactly is responsible for the infringement due to the anonymous characteristic of the Internet.
Similarly, a person can access sensitive information on the internet with just a few clicks. Since the Internet has been the primary source of information storage, people have been able to access highly confidential information with ease. For example, a person can find another person’s personal information on the internet by simply searching up their name. If a person accidentally releases their private information on the internet, that information will be seen by hundreds of people in a matter of seconds. That information will keep on spreading throughout the internet and it will no longer be “private”. That is not all, if a person with evil intentions leaks confidential information on the internet, it will be exposed to many exploitations. This is a clear explanation of why everyone having access to the internet is both a good and bad thing.
The extensive connectivity of the internet has also allowed more cyber crimes to happen. A person can easily steal information from another person’s phone and take advantage of it without the person even knowing. Similarly, a person exploits the anonymity of the internet to impersonate other individuals. Most of all, the internet allowed more malicious scams to happen. People are exposed to scams and other malicious activities on the internet. One mistake and clicking on a malicious link or scam can have a devastating impact on that individual. Despite all of the drawbacks of the Internet, should someone still use the Internet? The benefits of the internet definitely outweigh the disadvantages if one is knowledgeable enough of the risks. That is why digital education is important as it prevents individuals from such risks.