I believe the net should be monitored so certain materials are not able to be posted or viewed by children. Certain materials such as hate literature, pornography and explosives should be closely monitored. Hate literature is nothing more then people putting people down and all it can accomplish is increased tension between classes, violence and increase the “hate” population. Pornography is both useless and degrading to humans and children who are becoming a steadily growing population on the net might find some of this “unfit” material and be permanently affected by it for the rest of there lives.
The Internet is like nothing we’ve ever know before. In this new medium, information goes back and forth at the speed of light and almost anybody who wants access can have it for next to nothing. Because of this global availability it has an effect on people like no other communication device has ever had before. It allows people to share information with a happy or hostile audience and in this privilege sharing comes a important argument, who decides what information I can share.
In my opinion the net is a tool like any other, only this tool is much more powerful than any such tool before it, even television. Because the net is a tool it can be used for a good or bad purpose, it all depends on who uses the tool. Yet one should have the option to restrict this powerful tool to ones personal preference, so I would have to support the production of programs which could let a user set a standard that would allow ones self to view only what he/she finds acceptable. Another aspect of this argument is perspective. What might be interesting literature to one might be disgusting insults to another. Because of this we should always keep in mind that there is whole world of opinions out there and if you try to restrict all of them, you are fighting a helpless battle. So rather than complain about a Nazi home hate page, just turn the other cheek and surf else where.
Although everyone takes privacy in normal life for granted, trying to get the same level of privacy on the Internet (or even on your own computer) is a little less accepted, and sometimes a bit more complicated. While the general attitude is hard to change, many ways exist to enhance your privacy online. Cookie, webpage's ad-banner, and even some adware/spyware softwares would stole your personal information and recorded your sufing habit. The majority of people aged 30 and over suffer significant ignorance of how personal information may be released online. It is important to know, for example, that a person who clicks on a link and requests a Web page is giving out a numeric code (known as an IP address) to identify his or her computer to another computer (a server). Younger, computer-literate generations already laugh at older people’s ignorance and fear of how information moves online.
The key to protecting privacy is knowing how to protect personal information. Participation in online culture is just like participation in any culture. It comes with responsibilities. Individuals who are concerned about their online privacy are obliged to learn how they share personal information online, and to take actions to protect personal information online. Businesses that collect personal information have a corresponding obligation – if they want to succeed – to inform consumers about their information practices and make sure that users are comfortable with them. Businesses and consumers are in the process of developing cultural understandings about how personal information shared online may be used. This is the only way to have a diverse, robust online culture, where each consumer maintains the level of privacy he or she wants and deserves.
Information does have value and, for people outside the mainstream, there may be high costs for declining to participate in the information economy. For example, someone who is uncomfortable sharing his or her address or credit card number will not be able to enjoy the convenience of shopping online. Individuals are entitled to make these choices. As wonderful and exciting as the Internet is, not everyone needs to use it to enjoy a fulfilling life.
Today, tools such as electronic mail, newsgroups, chat, and even Internet phone are providing supplemental ways to communicate with people around the world. Because of most of my families and relatives I contact frequently who live far away, I find that sending electronic mail to each other will be much more economical than using the telephone. Also, I will use the internet to have online conferencing with my families and friends weekly. Online conference is the best alternative way to commuicate others instead of using telephone because we do not only talk to each other but also seeing each other live in front of web cam.
Age
Increases in computer and Internet use have occurred across the entire age distribution. Computer and Internet use are strongly associated with the age of the individual. Children and teenagers were the most likely to be computer users. Computer use is also relatively high—about 70 percent in 2001—among people in their prime workforce years (generally people in their 20s to their 50s). Those above this age range are less likely to be computer users.
Rates of Internet use show a similar pattern that holds true for each year of data. Internet use rates climb steadily as age increases for children through young adults, level off at relatively high rates for people between ages 26 and 55, and then fall among people at higher ages.
Education
Education also factors into computer and Internet use. The higher a person’s level of education, the more likely he or she will be a computer or Internet user. Adults (age 25 and above) with education beyond college were the most likely to be both computer and Internet users each year of the survey. Those with Bachelor’s degrees trailed close behind. At the opposite end of the spectrum are those adults whose highest level of education is less than high school. In September 2001, the computer use rate for the latter was 17.0 percent and the Internet use rate was 12.8.
Internet use has grown rapidly among those with lower levels of educational attainment. Internet use for adults with a Bachelor’s degree and adults with and education level beyond a Bachelor’s degree grew at annual rates of 13 and 9 percent, respectively from December 1998 to September 2001. Internet use among those with only a high school diploma grew at an annual rate of 30 percent over the same period.
Race
Differences in computer and Internet use across these broad race and Hispanic origin categories persist. In each survey, Whites and Asian American and Pacific Islanders have had higher rates of both computer and Internet use than Blacks and Hispanics. In September 2001, the computer use rates were highest for Asian American and Pacific Islanders (71.2 percent) and Whites (70.0 percent). Among Blacks, 55.7 percent were computer users. Almost half of Hispanics (48.8 percent) were computer users. During the same year, Internet use among Whites and Asian American and Pacific Islanders hovered around 60 percent, while Internet use rates for Blacks (39.8 percent) and Hispanics (31.6 percent) trailed behind.
On the other hand, Internet use has increased across all race and groups and growth in Internet use rates was faster for Blacks and Hispanics than for Whites and Asian American and Pacific Islanders. From December 1998 to September 2001, Internet use among Blacks grew at an annual rate of 31 percent. Internet use among Hispanics grew at an annual rate of 26 percent. Internet use continued to grow among Asian American and Pacific Islanders (21 percent), and Whites (19 percent), although not so rapidly as for Blacks and Hispanics. Although not so dramatic, Blacks and Hispanics also have had somewhat faster growth in computer use than Whites and Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
Growth in Internet use rates for Blacks and Hispanics also accelerated in the 2000 to 2001 period. Between August 2000 and September 2001, growth in Hispanic Internet use increased to 30 percent from the 24 percent annual rate of growth from December 1998 to August 2000. Growth in Internet use among Blacks increased to a 33 percent annual rate between August 2000 and September 2001, from the 30 percent annual rate of growth between December 1998 and August 2000. Growth rates among Whites and Asian American and Pacific Islanders were comparable during both periods.