is internet making the world a better place?

Imagine a world without internet. Try to figure out how would our lives be if we went back to the 80's... Do you start realizing the influence that this revolutionary tool has on our lifestyle?

Internet has not only launched a new way of communication, it is creating a huge library, a massive source of data avaliable for all of us. The oportunities that this tool offers to our society are so amazing that we even forget about the drawbacks.Yet they exist.

I'll start talking about the benefits of this network, some of which I've already introduced above. In first place, I have to mention the data that this brilliant resource offers. The times of looking up words in a thick filthy book are gone, as well as buying expensive enciclopedias that fill our bookshelves with dust and thousands of heavy A-to-Z-books. Now we find all this knowledge with a click on the mouse within seconds. Time is money, and internet helps saving time... Besides, the knowledge you find online is so extensive we couldn't write it all down: we find more information in less time. The only drawback here is that there is so much info we sometimes find untrustable data, therefore we have to contrast it and try to look up only in official sites.

In addition to this online library, we find a fast and easy way of communication. A lot of websites and social networks such as Skype, Facebook, etc. enable us to find people and meet online with friends and family, and even strangers... and here is where the con starts: who could these stranger be? Chatting and sharing with our social circles is absolutely harmless, however, when we start publishing about ourselves online, we miss any control on this info we share and it becomes public. Public means that it belongs to no one and to everyone, then we are exposing all our life to the dangers of being stolen and misused.

Related to both of the points I've analyzed so far, I must add that the information is not only knowledge kept in online enciclopedias. The speed of this resource allows us to use it as a newsfeed: the era of immediate information is here. Although physical newspapers are threatened by online services and might even disappear, I reckon "up-to-second" information is better. Furthermore, with the devices currently available we can reach different sources and contrast them without needing to buy annoying newspapers (at least for me, 'cause I'm not able to read a paper without ending with a lot of odd pages flying around!).

Finally, Internet is creating a new way of trading and a lot of business are being founded thanks to the new opportunities it offers. Publicity is very important sector that keeps funding our favorite websites. A new way of trading means, at the same time, a new way of swindling, therefore, we have to be aware that not all that glitters is gold and must watch carefully what we do...

To sum up, Internet is definitely making the world a better place, but at the same time it can become very dangerous and we have to be cautious when surfing the net!