Why is the Internet useful and dangerous?

Today it is difficult to imagine a person's life without the Internet. The World Wide Web has completely taken over the world, giving people an endless number of possibilities. The number of network users is increasing every day, and the issue of security is naturally discussed: what are the benefits and harms of the Internet and what threats are hidden by the virtual world and how to anticipate them.

The benefits of the Internet for humans

The Internet began its history back in 1969, during the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, when the US Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was solving the problem of connecting computers located far from each other using telephone lines to exchange information in the event of a nuclear conflict.

The first system linked 4 computerlocated in different parts of the United States, and a year later the network began its full functioning. From year to year it improved, became wider, gradually turning from military and completely classified to accessible to many users. So, by 2016, the number of users reached 3 billion people.

Undoubtedly, the World Wide Web serves as an endless useful information resource and can be considered one of the main achievements of mankind. The Internet allows people to search and transmit information at high speed to solve from the most mundane to the most important tasks.

The use of the Internet is great in the development and training of a person: modern technologies make it possible to master whole layers of information, up to receiving an education or even mastering a profession online. And you can also work remotely: both privately, providing, for example, skype consultations, and organizing the work of large projects with the participation of remote employees, which the Internet will also help find.

Thanks to the Internet, people have received incredible communication opportunities. One of its most powerful properties was the "blurring of boundaries" - live communication at a great distance has now become commonplace.

More interesting facts about the benefits and dangers of the Internet - in the video:

Is the internet harmful

Despite all its benefits and range of possibilities, the Internet can cause serious harm to health and cause many negative consequences.

Impact on the psyche

Web surfing. The influence of the World Wide Web on the human psyche is clearly seen, first of all, in the search for information. Technologies are built in such a way that, with the help of hyperlinks, keep the Internet user on sites for as long as possible, drawing their attention to the chaotic reading of unnecessary information that distracts from the urgent tasks and goals of a person.

Such a need to receive quick information that does not require "chewing" forms the habit of consuming it superficially, automatically, which leads to information blockage.

At the same time, when the flow of information flows dies down, a person feels emptiness and seeks to replenish the resulting deficit. So there is the harm of addiction to the Internet.In 2017, the World Health Organization recognized the phenomenon of Internet addiction as a mental disorder, the consequences of which affect every tenth user.

The Internet can also easily replace real communication for a person, which actively affects his relationship with a real society. There is a separate phenomenon of SMS addiction, as a result of which a person begins to be afraid of real communication.

Gambling users also run the risk of falling for the harm of gambling addiction, which is fraught with serious consequences, including cases of suicide as a result of losing.

The possibilities of Internet services are so wide that they touch upon the most subtle weaknesses of human nature. including the passion for shopping. The availability to make quick purchases of inexpensive goods without leaving the couch develops oniomania, or shopaholism.

Effects on the nervous system

During active work in the network, the nervous system processes colossal amounts of information. Today, one Internet user daily passes through the brain such a large amount of information that it can harm the information overload of the nervous system, with the consequences of fatigue, insomnia, neuroses, apathy, and increased anxiety.

In the most serious cases, this can lead to the onset of chronic diseases of the nervous system, therefore, when spending time on the Internet, it is extremely important to structure it and periodically give yourself relaxing breaks.

Blurred vision

Spending a long time in front of the screen of a gadget, a person strains his vision several times more, and the point is not only in the small text in front of his eyes. The human eye is similar in properties to a camera. In order to make a clear frame consisting of flickering small dots, he needs to constantly change focus, which increases the consumption of the main pigment of vision - rhodopsin, which leads to myopia and other eye diseases.

Artists rarely have myopia, because they constantly look from the canvas to distant objects, which benefits the prevention of visual impairment.

This can also be learned when working with gadgets. The simplest exercise will be to change the focus of vision from a near to a distant object - this will be a useful prevention of the harm of myopia.

For people who spend a lot of time on the Internet, experts recommend purchasing useful "Computer glasses», Which have built-in special filters that bring the color parameters of the screen closer to the spectral sensitivity of the eyes.

Effect on the musculoskeletal system

The constant stay on the Internet in a static position in front of the computer entails harm to metabolic processes in the body. The intervertebral discs lose their natural properties of mobility and are more susceptible to deformation, which leads to the rapid development of osteochondrosis or intervertebral hernia.

Prolonged work at the PC can also lead to impaired transmission of nerve impulses from the fingertips to the brain due to impaired sensory properties of nerve endings and the occurrence of persistent muscle cramps in the hands and forearm.

Severe overstrain of the tendon-ligamentous apparatus, the muscles of the hands and forearm leads to harm to the development of tunnel syndrome - pinching of a nerve in the wrist canal may even require surgical intervention.

The benefits and harms of the Internet for children

There is an active debate about the benefits and harms of the Internet for children, in which supporters of modern technologies argue about the value of the Internet for the beneficial development of a child, while skeptics see only the harm of the effects of the temptations of the network.

The useful properties of the Internet for the younger generation include:

• An inexhaustible resource of useful and informative information and the development of skills to navigate correctly in it. Thanks to the Internet, you can develop a child's curiosity and teach him search algorithms;
• The Internet can become a useful "trainer" of memory and attention, logical thinking of a child;
• Educational games on the Internet, with the correct "dosage" and selection, have the ability to be of great benefit in expanding erudition and horizons, learning foreign languages ​​- since the Internet contains many useful materials on all the necessary subjects of knowledge - for any age.

At the same time, it is important to remember about cases when the Internet can become harmful to a child's health:

A long stay in front of a computer screen reduces the physical activity necessary for development, forms the wrong properties of posture, and deterioration of vision. To avoid such consequences, parents should take seriously the issue of organizing a place at the computer. You need to adjust the height of your chair to keep your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent at right angles. The arms, bent at the elbows, should also lie on the table at a right angle.

To prevent eye diseases and deterioration of vision, while working at the computer, the child needs to take regular breaks, as well as periodically do exercises for the eyes.

Impact on the psyche. It is the responsibility of an adult to keep track of what a small child is viewing on the Internet: this will prevent the risks of encountering information harmful to mental development, for example, of a violent nature, for which he, due to his age, will not be ready.

Impact on socialization. The properties of a long stay in the gaming reality of the Internet can affect the harm of replacing real communication, which it needs for social development. Therefore, it is so important to control the frequency and time of using electronic devices: from 3 to 5 years, these should be short intervals, a few minutes a day, and by 7 years the time can be increased to half an hour.

The benefits and harms of the Internet for schoolchildren

Opinions about the benefits and dangers of the Internet for schoolchildren differ greatly among both parents and teachers.

Despite all the controversy, it cannot be denied that the Internet is an excellent assistant in educational matters. With its help, the child can easily find the information he needs, analyze in more detail an incomprehensible topic, or find the keys to solving certain problems.

Educational resources of the Internet will be useful in the development of attention, memory, imagination, as well as associative, logical thinking of the child, will help to greatly simplify the learning process.

In connection with the increase in the time of using the Internet behind a computer screen, it is important to maintain conditions for the prevention of disorders of the load on the spine and vision. Time should be controlled within one and a half to two hours, with regular breaks.

Staying in front of a screen for a long time can also cause endocrine disruption, increased blood pressure, head and temporal pain, fatigue, and pain in muscles and joints of the body.

Why the Internet is dangerous for teenagers

• Sites related to sex and erotica. On the Internet, there are countless sites and resources that promote unhealthy sexual relationships. This can cause enormous harm to both the teenager's psyche and his normal sexual development;
• Sites that disseminate violent information, propaganda of drugs and other similar content can negatively affect the formation of value orientation: in this case, a live connection with a parent who has authority in the eyes of a teenager is important;
• Online games can form an addiction, the dangerous signals of which are: a child's long time spent on the Internet (more than 5 hours a day), depression, aggressive behavior, unwillingness to leave virtual reality into the real world;
• Gambling. Harm may lurk in the need of a teenager to be independent from parents: improperly formed, it can push to the addictive effect of online games on money;
• Social networks and online dating sites, which are useful for building identity, can also lead to social exclusion. At the same time, this may strongly indicate that in real life a child may have serious problems in terms of communication with their peers.

Tips for parents: how to keep your child safe on the Internet

If the child is still quite young, the easiest way is to control his "virtual walks" on the Internet using special parental controls. These can be both special applications and built-in browsers and plugins. With their help, you can block access to unwanted sites on the Internet, dangerous videos and photos, as well as receive electronic notifications when a child visits certain sites.

Modern phones and tablets also come with built-in parental control apps that can be easily found in the settings. Moreover, many manufacturers equip their products with special "pills" that are aimed at protecting children from harmful information on the Internet.

How to spend time on the Internet profitably

There are a huge number of options for how to make your time on the Internet as productive and rewarding as possible. The main thing is to find your optimal resource for your goals and interests.

One of the most enjoyable options for spending time on the Internet is communication: with the help of useful tools of social communication - blogs, chats, other social services - the communication deficit is filled

Studies show that the trend of replacing real relationships with online communication, characteristic of the 90s of the twentieth century, was replaced by a trend of strengthening real relationships using the Internet.

The Internet also helps to find your target audience of like-minded people, as a medium for a person's self-expression.

There are many useful resources on the Internet for self-study. Being at home, in front of a computer screen, a person can easily increase his level of erudition, learn a lot of new information, learn a foreign language and much more.

The most productive and rewarding option for spending time online can be work. The ability to work remotely using the Internet covers more and more areas: you can work for a company or become a freelancer with the ability to independently organize your time, without geo-referencing to the place of work, or open your business on the Internet. The network capabilities are truly unique for this.

Conclusion

There are many opinions about the benefits and harms of the Internet. Weighing all the pros and cons, everyone finds their own use case for this technology. However, only one thing is indisputable - the uniqueness of the Internet, which opens up practically unlimited possibilities for a person. The ability to choose only the most necessary and useful resources for oneself will help not to get lost in them.