What makes Internet useful

With the rapid development of network science and technology, the application of the Internet has already covered every aspect of life and has gradually become a part of life. The Internet makes our study, work and living convenient and more interesting. However, it also has its influence on our behaviour and at the same time brings a lot of new challenges for life.
Nowadays, with the popularisation of the network, online life is not just for computer geeks alone. One of the most obvious advantage of the Internet is resource sharing. The Internet can supply numerous information resources which are renewed and up to date.
The Internet is changing people's lifestyle. People can create new social nets with friends all over the world. No matter where you are, whether you are good at socialising or not, you can chat with other people on the net without the limitation of time and space. All those new communication relationship websites and chat tools such as MySpace, Facebook, the widely used e-mail and chatting on webcam provide new forms of communication. Based on the development of Internet, people can be in touch with friends anytime and anywhere without the traditional face-to-face communication. Human communication has transformed beyond recognition.
Online shopping, just as its name implies, is to buy product online instead of the conventional consumption habits and patterns. With the growth of the network technology and the increasing number of people purchasing online, a new consumption pattern is getting more and more attention.
Everything in the world has its positives and negatives and the Internet is no exception. Today, the Internet is a widespread information medium of communication. Not only does it bring convenience for mankind but also may cause a great deal of problems too. How to deal with Internet crime? How to correctly guide the young people to properly use the network? Many studies of Internet users, especially youths, have concluded that spending too much time online can adversely affect their psychological well-being. Consequently, new technology brings a new lifestyle. If it is misused, the quality of people's life deteriorates and even it may threaten the mental health of teenage students.
The Internet is a completely new world emerging in the 21st century. It creates new ways for citizens to communicate, work and share information. It is obvious that it has and will continue to change the way people live. Also it will have greater influence on almost all aspects of our daily life, society and even the whole world in the future.
Last but not least, we cannot say with absolute certainty that the Internet does good or harm to our life. Whether it does good or harm to life depends on how we exploit it and how the Internet inspires human intelligence. However, the Internet is ultimately more beneficial than harmful to people. The most difficult question about the future of the Internet is not how the technology will change but how the people will change with the progress of technology.
The writer is doing his M.A in ELT at Jahangirnagar University
Email: Shahadatcb123@yahoo.com