The Good and the Bad

While searching for my homework material, I came across the article ‘The Good, the Bad and the Internet” from Freedom Magazine. The article is an overview of what the internet is, and of the good and bad of the internet. It is relevant to our class because it is exploring the pros and cons of the internet or “cyberspace”. Since the internet is the main focus of our class, I think that it is important to recognize the good and bad things about the internet. It is a fairly short, surface level argument that focuses more on the problems of the internet than anything else. However, it still points out the main arguments in the debate and gets your mind thinking about all the different sides that exist. The article also touches on many points that we have already covered in class, such as privacy issues and the misuse of the ability to be anonymous. It also raises the question of incorrect information on the internet, which is something we have not talked about as much in class, but is still a very relevant problem with the internet.
What really caught my eye was the opening sentences of the article, “You may be a stranger to the Internet, the main artery on the so-called information superhighway. You may not even know what the Internet really is or how it works. You may not even own or use a computer. But even if you don’t know a modem from a mouse, the Internet knows you. Probably better than you care to be known.” This opening points out how the internet has become a sea of information, which is accessible to anyone with a computer. And, whether you like it or not, the world can learn about you by simply clicking a mouse and typing in your name. I also like how the article links to other articles that are related to the argument. It adds substance to the article and allows the reader to explore further on the topic. My favorite link was the “Introducing Ethics into the Computer World” because it talked of how a code of ethics needed to be established for internet users to make the internet safer. It pointed out that there is no real way to police the internet, so instead users must learn to be responsible and ethical when they use the computer. I think that this is a good solution to the internet problem, because it is too hard to get laws passed to regulate the internet- they almost always infringe on some right.
Another thing I liked about the article is how it did shortly point out the positive things related to the internet. Sometimes arguments tend to leave out the counter argument, but this article admits to the pros. The internet provides convenience and speed, because needed information can be accessed at the click of a mouse. It also points out that the internet has helped greatly in research because it allows the researcher to find needed data quickly. Overall, I just thought this article was a good article that mentioned a lot of the topics we have discussed in class over the past weeks.

Copy and paste:
http://www.theta.com/goodman/goodbad.htm