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Question:

sweetcandy
sweetcandy
Student
Community / Jr. College

What are some advantages and disadvantages of internet use in children and adults?

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Posted by sweetcandy on Wednesday March 25, 2009 at 4:11 PM and tagged with internet, social sciences.

Answers:

  1. bridgetrbcs
    bridgetrbcs Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The internet can be both helpful and hindering to people of all ages. 

     For children, the internet provides a vast library of knowledge.  Students literally have the world at their fingertips.  Any topic can be researched at any time, day or night.  The internet also makes learning the textbook content more interesting by offering games and short videos that students may watch and interact with.

      For adults, it is still a wonderful resource for information about diseases, world news, parenting tips, and many other things.  Again, adults, like children, can research any topic at any time.  There are also games on the internet, as well as forums and groups, that cater to the interests of individuals.  Many adults choose to shop online instead of going to the mall or department stores.

    The internet, however, can be harmful to children and adults in quite a few ways.  Online predators are always out preying on children who will willing give away their personal information.  Children may also "stumble" across sites that are inappropriate for them.  Some problems for adults that are caused by the internet are pornography, lack of real-life relationships, laziness, and gambling.

     

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    Posted by bridgetrbcs on Wednesday March 25, 2009 at 6:43 PM


  2. marilynn07 Teacher
    High School - 9th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Great answer.  One more potential problem is the same as with books- most people who are writing are trying to convince the reader of something.  In books, other print material and on the internet, some people may be mistaken in what interpretation they put on what they write. An example of this would be a statistical analysis I once read on an internet site.  It said that 86% of statistics found on the internet were simply made up, which could of course include that statistic.  Just as in all research, you need to keep at it long enough to balance out enough information to arrive at a true understanding.

     

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    Posted by marilynn07 on Thursday March 26, 2009 at 1:48 AM


  3. dswain001 Teacher
    Middle School

    eNotes Editor

    The Internet is a marvelous invention. Because of its introduction into education and its availability to just about anyone, the world will probably never be the same.

    People of all ages can log on 24/7 in search of whatever they need. The elderly woman who is unable to drive can log onto the Internet and shop for groceries, fill a prescription or even chat with her grandchildren via web cam.

    Collectors no longer have to scour flea markets and yard sales on weekends to find coveted items to add to their collections all they have to do is log on to Ebay and post a bid. Anything can be purchased on line now. Clothing, Jewelry, Furniture...even take-out.

    As a teacher I have found the Internet to be extremely useful in planning lessons. The web has a plethora of sites created specifically for teachers to share ideas, change information, and share documents (thanks enotes!). Perhaps young people stand to gain the most from using the Internet. In addition to being able to express themselves and show creativity on sites like MySpace and Twitter, they can also use the net for school projects and homework.

    Still, for every pro, there is a con. I think that students sometimes rely too much in the internet. They don't seem to understand that just because something is on Google, that doesn't make it a reliable source. I cannot count the number of times a student has turned in an essay that contains incorrect facts from sites that have been created by someone who isn't an authority on the topic.

    Chat rooms have become the new playground for sexual predators. The Internet gives them the anonymity they need to lure unsuspecting children into inappropriate conversations and in some cases meeting up with them. There are laws that keep predators away from parks and schools, but none keeping them off the Internet.

    Without proper supervision, children can accidentally log on to pornographic websites. Even adults can fall prey to identity theft and stolen passwords if they aren't careful about the things they are downloading onto their computer.

     

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    Posted by dswain001 on Thursday March 26, 2009 at 6:54 AM