The Internet and You: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Internet and You: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

by Henry Ekwuruke, It is the exercise of freedom and the ability to bear the heavy burden of responsibility that distinguishes man as an authentic existential being. Such a freedom and ability manifest in avenues he or she channels his energy and resources. The Internet is one of such avenues. Fortunately and more unfortunately, the freedom on the Internet opens the gate to opinions, virtues and crimes. Possible reasons are that it has no conscience and soul. As a worldwide network of computers and with communication as its irreducible essence, the Internet has really offered opportunities to further all courses of basic freedom. When created some decades ago, this phenomenon was not intended as an instrument of worldwide communication and technology as it is today. To the question, what is the secret of this success, the answer lies primarily in its flexibility. Instead of restricting component networks to a particular manufacturer, Internet technology allows interconnection of any kind of computer network. The visual nature of web documents is another reason for its no-end explosion in usage. Professor Philip Emeagwali, a Nigerian and one of the great minds of our time, a father of the Internet as called by the former American President Bill Clinton, and a king in the IT industry opines that the Internet’s original purpose of development was to enlighten and to entertain: to cheat and to steal. Above all, it tolerates all cultures and emotion; artifice and religion. Presently, communication has become quicker and cheaper than we could have been imagined years ago. However, this extraordinary striking and seemingly ubiquitous phenomenon called the “Internet” must be both welcomed for the good, feared for its bad and also skipped for its ugly trends and for all that it enables. From the forgoing, it is quite extraordinary and precious. Thus, it must be defended from all that would destroy it. Such is the logic that gives the onus for this write up. The majority of the people musing the Internet are ignorant of the numerous dangers that lurk online. Danger to Privacy Electronic mails and other web documents can easily be snooped and tracked by hackers and crackers. As people surf the web, they are constantly giving very personal information about themselves on websites. What is involved here has to do with the issue of privacy and security. Many are easily gullible to this because of the “cargo cult mentality” that thrives on the net. File sharing and downloads into computers increases the chances of getting “spy ware” or “sneak ware” (which tracks down information). Consequently, many become victims of identity theft – one of the worst privacy violations with devastating consequences. While the Internet gives unprecedented information and opportunities to the public in an instantaneous and interlink basis, the problem saddles itself on our necks. It may be impossible to regulate. Presently, it provides no guarantee of information security and accuracy which is critical to sound investment decisions. Thus, the persistence of scams is something every person should be afraid of. The investing public is becoming saddled with this situation with a significant new role to sift through voluminous pieces of information that may require much time and sophisticated professional acumen. Obscenities Pornography, violence and pedophiles form the nest issue of urgent concern. Websites and news groups (an Internet service comparable to membership of a global discussion or salon and equivalent of bulletin board system) contain a variety of textual and pictorial depiction of subjects considered too obscene for normal viewing. In fact, certain websites are totally dedicated to this type of information. Unfortunately, these make the Internet stand as the greatest threat to decency. Of particular and grave concern are the dangers posed by pedophiles that go all out to prey on children and teens. As the use of the Internet becomes rampant, many children and teens can now easily access web pages. The sad tale is that masquerading pedophiles are all over the Internet looking for unsuspecting victims. Do you know they have a lot of enticing ways to captivate your child? They can for example, allow your child access to an online account, which allows him or her to visit very expensive casinos online. Chat rooms participants typically reveal certain aspects of their background in a file frequently referred to as a PROFILE. A pedophile aimed with these vital facts about a minor, need not look for other ways to track him or her down. The Exodus of Virtual Realities The issues of abandoning real human communities in preference for online communities or virtual communities are fast becoming prevalent. This would not only affect our social behavior but everything about our rich African human heritage and values. It would promote individualism, self-centeredness, gross alienation and pathological isolation. Education, religion and trade would suffer What about Hate Sites? The proliferation of “hate” sites adds another dimension of abuse. This stands out as one of the most common ways for promoting and encouraging such ideologies as Nazism, Holocaust nullification and cyber terrorism. These sites attack with venomous incentives, religious and ethical principles. Sadly, the government of the world cannot do anything substantial to this menace because of the decentralization and borderless quality of the Internet. Copyright Sufferers Artists and writers have their own part of the story of abuse. It is unfortunately disappointing that the net promotes plagiarism. Websites provide free downloads of music pieces, movies and other intellectual properties at no charge and at some times without the author’s permission. Such practices are very discouraging and abuse the copyright laws of any nation in the world. Viruses Over 350 computer viruses are said to be released per month into cyberspace. The dangers are that when contracted, important documents on the hard disks can be destroyed and thus cause a serious damage to the computer. So watch out, most documents you download from the Internet could be virus ridden! Globalization and the Digital Divide While the principal aim of this network is to strengthen globalization, it is my view and opinion that the Internet will equally serve as a major tool for a perverted kind of globalization, called “GLOBALISM” which will bring about a further divide between the haves and the have-nots, the learned and the unlearned, the skilled and the unskilled, if not well confronted. And this surely will not favor the Third world countries! Useful Suggestions to Making a Paradigm Shift Now, it should be drawn home that the dangers prevalent online are not enough reason to avoid the Internet. The fact that there are criminally minded people, always ready to use it for the furthering of selfish and unquestionable motives, must be considered a reflection of our society and not a problem with this world-changing technology. There are promising efforts by governments throughout the world to work together to combat and govern the Internet and online criminal activities. This, however, does not mean that the problem will be solved overnight. The first major step is education. If we are aware of the very malignant effects of what we get online, we will work assiduously to prevent what we can. Installing filter software, a kind of software that limits what one sees on the Internet, is another ebullient step toward avoiding hate, pornographic and violent sites. This may not be 100% effective. It is however useful. Never give out passwords. When giving out personal information to websites, be careful to observe whether such websites are protected with a recognizable security symbol. To fight viruses, install and always update good virus protection software packages. Finally, learn to function well in the world of cyberspace, making discerning judgments according to sound criteria about what you find and use on the Internet. The Internet in spite of its dangers, remains a veritable avenue for self actualization and education and information. So let us all rise up to the challenge