Re: what are negative and positive aspects about the internet?

The internet allows people from all over the world to communicate. They can make information publicly available (through the World Wide Web), leave messages for individuals (through email), or have live conversations (through chat rooms, IRC, etc.) This enormous flexibility surpasses all other types of communication we have had in the past.

Positive aspects of this type of communication are the ability to have quick access to many types of information. Businesses can communicate more effectively and more economically. Individuals can quickly research items, publish their own information, hold discussions with people around the world, and participate in hundreds of other activities.

There are a few negative aspects of increased communication abilities. Internet addiction has surfaced as a new medical problem. See the Center for On-Line Addiction for more information.

Recently, internet businesses have sparked a wave of enthusiasm for investment. Investing in stocks is generally good for the economy and can be a good way to plan for retirement. However, many investors are now getting into the market without adequate preparation, and they may lose large amounts of money if they are not careful.

Copyright law has come under close scrutiny lately because anything that can be stored on a computer can quickly be copied. The publishing and music industries, which previously controlled how copies were made in order to control prices, are having a hard time dealing with the internet's ability to quickly distribute illegal copies of products. The (C)opyright Website has a lot of useful information on this issue.

As people put more information online, security becomes more important. Since it is easy to make copies of computer files, companies must be very careful when giving people access to their files. Computer viruses and denial of service attacks can cause major problems for online systems.

In the end, the positive aspects of the internet outweigh the negative aspects, but all of the negative aspects must be dealt with.