Автор работы: Пользователь скрыл имя, 13 Марта 2012 в 22:37, реферат
Internet was invented in the early 1960’s and since then it has captivated the entire planet. Internet is a very “young” invention, but at the same time, according to comScore Networks, about 694 million people use Internet worldwide. And what is surprising, teenagers use internet more than adults, some of them even have become seriously addicted to the Internet. The problem is that internet has become not only a “helper”, but also a “wrecker”, which does a lot of harm to people’s health: psychological and physical disorders, different types of addiction.
Mitskevich
Mitskevich Maryia
Lukošaitytė Aušra
ENG 113 Academic Writing :: Block E
03 March 2011
The Internet: a Friend or an Enemy for Teenagers?
Internet was invented in the early 1960’s and since then it has captivated the entire planet. Internet is a very “young” invention, but at the same time, according to comScore Networks, about 694 million people use Internet worldwide. And what is surprising, teenagers use internet more than adults, some of them even have become seriously addicted to the Internet. The problem is that internet has become not only a “helper”, but also a “wrecker”, which does a lot of harm to people’s health: psychological and physical disorders, different types of addiction.
This problem concerns not only the people, who are Internet users, but also the people, whose relatives and friends use the Internet. For example, I have a 10-year old sister, who seems to be addicted to the Net. Her day can be described in one sentence: she goes to school, comes home, surfs the net and goes to sleep… I’m very worried about her health and her future, as the Internet doesn’t give her an opportunity to develop in the right way: she doesn’t read books, doesn’t do her homework, finally, she doesn’t have friends! So, I’m very concerned about this question, as it affects my dearest and nearest person.
There are three perspectives on this issue. At first I’ll talk about the first perspective, which says, that the Net has more bad effects than good ones. Then I’ll explain the perspective, which says, that the Net is a friend for teenager. After that I’ll describe the medium perspective, which says that the Net is an enemy and a friend at the same time. And finally I’ll explain my own perspective.
The first perspective says that the Net is a great enemy for teenagers. There are three negative effects of internet, which are mostly injurious to teenagers. They are: online games, available pornography and unreliable communication (Head of Art Department at the Calvary Model College, Isheri-Olofin, Mrs Ifeanyi Etinagbedia). The most alarming problem is available pornography. “Morally, the child becomes bankrupt and he begins to practice what he has seen. It will not allow him to respect his parents because now it looks like he has experienced what adults are supposed to experience.”- Mrs Ifeanyi Etinagbedia says. Another problem is online games, which seem to be very interesting and fascinating for teenagers. As a person begins to play a game, it fully absorbs him\her and then it is difficult to get rid of the willingness to play “5 minutes more”. So, the teenager can’t do anything except playing this game again and again. One more negative effect of the Net is unreliable communication. All the teenagers seek for some kind of communication in the Internet. However, the problem is that when they go in the chat room, “they can't just imagine who they are chatting with, that is why the effect is really negative because there can be psychos and also the 'paedophiles' in the chat rooms” (Mrs Ifeanyi Etinagbedia). It is all about the teenager’s safety.
However, there is another perspective, which proves, that the Net is a great friend for teenagers. The surveys found, that “the more teens disclose online, the more likely they are to report higher-quality friendships and more friendship-forming behaviors” (Grohol, John M, “World of Psychology”). It has also been proven that the online-communication helps shy people to disclose, because in cyber space people can be whoever they want and they also can say whatever they want. Exactly through communication people become confident. Another advantage of the Net is the availability of information. Teenagers can read free news, books and encyclopedias. There is also a possibility for teenagers to take some information from the Net and to apply it in their studies. So, the information available in the Net not only broadens the teenagers’ horizons, but also helps them study.
There is also a moderate perspective on the effects of the Net. It says that the Internet is our enemy and friend at the same time. According to the “WebUpon”, all the effects of the Internet are two-sided. For example, online-communication is two-sided: it promotes self-disclosure, but at the same time it promotes danger for a teenager, as he/she can communicate with a 'paedophiles' or a mentally ill person. Also, the availability of the information for the teenagers promotes the willingness to gain new knowledge, but at the same time it gives an opportunity for watching pornography. The effects of online-games are also two-sided: while playing an online-game, a teenager is having fun and at the same time he/she slowly becomes addicted to it. So, this perspective indicates that the Net can’t be only our friend or our enemy, as both positive and negative effects are balanced in it.
Finally, my own perspective is that the Net can be useful only if used in appropriate way. The teenagers should be limited in time of using the Internet not to become addicted to it. So, it would be wise to create the schedule of using the Net and to encourage the teenagers to follow it. If there is a danger that a teenager can watch pornography or communicate in an insecure chat room, the teenager should have the access to the Net only under parental supervision. In such cases the great invention will become a great helper and a friend for teenagers. Finally, I should say that everything is in our hands and we ourselves make the great inventions our friends or enemies.
References:
Информация о работе The Internet a Friend or an Enemy for Teenagers?