Communication Over The Internet

Communication over the internet displays good and bad features; in recent years it’s improved dramatically however the increasingly dangerous schemes have become smarter along with it. Wi-Fi in our homes provides an almost instant connection to anyone across the globe, and with 3G and 4G being introduced it makes it easier to connect when you’re on the go.

The good, the bad and the sneaky:

Good:

• ü  You’re able to talk to people across the globe instantly, also being able to see them via video conferencing programs such as Skype or Google Hangout. This makes it easier to stay in touch with your friends or family who live far away without having to pay the transatlantic phone call fee, as it’s done via Wi-Fi
• Instant messaging is a convenient way of staying in contact with others, SMS text messaging can now be sent to some phones through Wi-Fi through either the phone service or a mobile application which allows that. 
• ü  You can easily look up information online through search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. This makes it increasingly easy to find out answers instantly, instead of the ‘dated’ method of looking into textbooks.
• ü  Shopping online makes it easy for you to purchase items and have them delivered to you, opposed to having to go out to the high street. Online deals make it more enticing as you can usually find items on the high street much cheaper online. Promotional codes and the fact you can return items back make online shopping seem like a better option.
• E commerce is the buying and selling of goods online, and sites such as Amazon offer deals much cheaper online. However now supermarkets are offering services where you can order your groceries online and have them either delivered, or click and collect in store, which saves time and saves money by showing the options simply and offering deals and offers to entice you to buy. 
• ü  Bank transactions can be made online, as well as new software where you can manage your accounts online instead of having to go to a bank to check your balance etc.
• ü  Social media/networking helps people stay in contact as you can find out what people are doing as well as being able to chat to people instantly and share thoughts or pictures on sites/communities such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
• ü  Downloading files online makes it easy to listen to new artists, or copy files to print and store on your computer.
• ü  YouTube and other video platforms are rapidly becoming more popular and more people seem to be watching TV and video online rather than on their TVs as it only requires internet connection and for students especially who don’t want to buy TVs when they can find it online.

       Bad:

• ´        Phishing is where e-mails may come through to your account asking you for your details in exchange for money or other bribes, these e-mails are actually fakes not from your bank company or phone company but instead from people based in possibly a different country posing so that they get your details and then hack your accounts.
• ´        Cyber bullying is a regular occurrence from sites such as Facebook or ask.fm, where it’s easy to hide behind a computer screen and in some cases anonymously bully someone.
• ´        ‘Catfishing’ is a new form of internet slang, in which someone is pretending to be someone else online, and using other people’s photos and stealing their identity.
• ´        Piracy happens frequently and is easier to use and free torrent sites make it seem like the better option, however by doing this you’re not supporting the artist or television company and instead downloading torrents to illegally save some money.
• ´        The internet has made it simpler for people to find your location, whether this be from your IP address, or geo-tagging which shows your location on social media sites.
• ´        Computer viruses can happen by simply clicking a link to a unfamiliar site which leads to the site hacking your computer and causing it not to function properly. This causes you to reset your computer and lose all data, or alternatively have to pay a shop to fix it, which isn’t always reliable.

Personally, as great as communication is on the internet, it’s always a good idea to make sure you are cautious of the effects that it may have and be aware of the sites you’re browsing. But overall it’s one of, if not the best way of communicating with people globally and provides a great way of networking with your friends and family. 

What do you think? Is communication over the internet good or bad?