ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CYBERSPACE

ADVANTAGES

Some advantages of cyberspace are informational resources, entertainment, and social networking.

The Internet is a virtual library of information. You can get any kind of information on any topic  that you desire, it will be available on the Internet. There are search engines like Google and Yahoo and they are at your service 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.. You can get information like who was the first person to fly a plane or the the dollars current value.

Entertainment is another popular reason why many people prefer to surf the Internet. You can download games and music instead of going out of your comfort zone to get the latest and the hottest game or CD. There are numerous games that can be downloaded for free. The industry of online gaming has grown drastically. Also,  some of the celebrity websites are some of the uses people do. Like viewing their twitters or my space pages. Even celebrities are using the Internet effectively to connect with their fans.

Social networking also plays a major role in cyberspace. One cannot imagine an online life without Facebook or Twitter. Social networking has become so popular among youth that it might one day replace physical networking. It has evolved as a great medium to connect with millions of people with similar interests. Apart from finding long-lost friends, you can also look for job, business opportunities on forums, communities etc. Besides, there are chat rooms where users can meet new and interesting people. Some of them may even end up finding their life partners.

Some disadvantages may be theft of personal information, spamming, and virus threats.

DISADVANTAGES

If you use the Internet for online banking, social networking or other services, you may risk a theft to your personal information such as name, address, credit card number etc. Unscrupulous people can access this information through unsecured connections or by planting software and then use your personal details for their benefit. Needless to say, this may land you in serious trouble.
Spamming refers to sending unwanted e-mails in bulk, which provide no purpose and needlessly obstruct the entire system. Such illegal activities can be very frustrating for you as it makes your Internet slower and less reliable.
 

Internet users are often plagued by virus attacks on their systems. Virus programs are a head headache and may get activated if you click a harmless link. Computers connected to the Internet are very prone to targeted virus attacks and may end up crashing.

The disadvantages outweigh the advantages more because of the security and dangers that is entitles within. You never know who is accessing your personal information and what they will do with it.

                   
                                        By Alphonce Bhoke BAPRM 42527