It is evident that, at present, people are spending a considerable amount of
on the Internet, and
spending less
with real people. I strongly agree that
use of the Internet has greatly increased the level of
available, it has
had detrimental effects on the amount and type of social
that takes place.
The benefits of the Internet in terms of increased
are clear, with people connected across the globe. In the past,
was only possible by phone or mail, which entailed
and expense. It
usually meant just keeping in contact with those people already known to you. With the internet,
has changed dramatically. Email and social networking sites
as Facebook and MSN have created online communities that are global in scale, and they have fostered
between people and countries that we would not have thought possible in the not too distant past.
That said, there is no doubt in my mind that
has had negative impacts on social
. People, especially the younger generation, spend hours of their
online, chatting and on forums.
can be beneficial, it is certainly not the same as real
with human beings and does not involve the same skills. It is important that children have and maintain real friendships in order to develop their own interpersonal skills. Not only
, it can
have negative effects on local communities if people are spending most of their
communicating online and not mixing in their neighbourhoods, and possibly lead to feelings of isolation for those individuals who do not have a ‘real_ person to turn to in times of need.
To conclude, I believe that the internet has undoubtedly been beneficial, but there are good reasons to be concerned about social
in our societies. It is
important that we maintain a balance between our online life and our contact with real human beings.
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