General Paper topic , Higher School Certificate - HSC – The Internet and new technologies– Good and Evil

The advent of the Internet is generally speaking considered as a boon for our society. The Internet is literally breaking the concepts of time and space thereby fostering greater mutual understanding between societies and peoples. The Internet also makes way for greater exchanges and can be a source of economic growth. It fosters innovation and knowledge sharing and permits distance learning through online universities. Costs of communication are slashed and multinationals can use the internet networks to manage their branches around the world and communicate with the outside world. The websites of companies has become one of the most effective means of corporate communication. In fact, the Internet can be claimed to be a new pillar in a democracy, and in itself has become a democratic though virtual world on a world scale.

These significant advantages of the Internet are nevertheless shadowed by a series of drawbacks that should be borne in mind. These are broken down as follows:-

1.       Sex and pornography

2.       Race and Religious divide and cultural misunderstanding

3.       Misleading information

4.       Information divide between the haves and have-nots

5.       Increased exposure and risk of information hacking

6.       Economic bust

7.       Increased risk of fraud

8.       Information overload