Internet: The New Drug of Choice
Internet! The New Drug of Choice
It is difficult in these modern times to find anyone who doesn’t use the Internet. I am not speaking of North Americans (but mainly N. Americans), but the rest of the world is quickly catching up. China already has more users than Canada and the US put together. According to Internet World Stats (2012), China has 538 million online frequenters and 82.5% of the Korean population use the Internet. Korea’s penetration rate is third with England leading the way at 84% and Germany at 83%. Canada doesn’t have a big enough population to make a dent in the number of people using the Internet, but 81% of Canadians do use it, which was a higher penetration percentage than the US at 78.3%. Currently only 41% of China is using the Internet, once their economy improves and more people get connected, China is likely to take over the Internet. North Americans might need to start learning Chinese to get their daily news.
With so many people online I started to wonder; is it safe for us to be using the Internet? Before I delve deeper I wanted to point out that because I am also a frequent Internet user, this question also pertains to me, so I decided that it only made sense to write this report in the first person. When I decided to start researching about if the Internet is safe for us, it seemed to me that the best place to research about the Internet would be online. I typed in web browser “Is the Internet bad for us?” and “Does the Internet make us crazy?” I was shocked at the number of results that popped up. It took some sifting through to find what I needed. It seems that the biggest concern about the Internet is “online addiction”. Some people might think it is the pornography or some of the other content or even the technology itself, but these only factor into the big picture of addiction. After a little research I realized that my true question wasn’t “is the Internet bad for us”, but the real questions are “why is Internet
It is difficult in these modern times to find anyone who doesn’t use the Internet. I am not speaking of North Americans (but mainly N. Americans), but the rest of the world is quickly catching up. China already has more users than Canada and the US put together. According to Internet World Stats (2012), China has 538 million online frequenters and 82.5% of the Korean population use the Internet. Korea’s penetration rate is third with England leading the way at 84% and Germany at 83%. Canada doesn’t have a big enough population to make a dent in the number of people using the Internet, but 81% of Canadians do use it, which was a higher penetration percentage than the US at 78.3%. Currently only 41% of China is using the Internet, once their economy improves and more people get connected, China is likely to take over the Internet. North Americans might need to start learning Chinese to get their daily news.
With so many people online I started to wonder; is it safe for us to be using the Internet? Before I delve deeper I wanted to point out that because I am also a frequent Internet user, this question also pertains to me, so I decided that it only made sense to write this report in the first person. When I decided to start researching about if the Internet is safe for us, it seemed to me that the best place to research about the Internet would be online. I typed in web browser “Is the Internet bad for us?” and “Does the Internet make us crazy?” I was shocked at the number of results that popped up. It took some sifting through to find what I needed. It seems that the biggest concern about the Internet is “online addiction”. Some people might think it is the pornography or some of the other content or even the technology itself, but these only factor into the big picture of addiction. After a little research I realized that my true question wasn’t “is the Internet bad for us”, but the real questions are “why is Internet
References: Doi, H., (Oct. 17, 2012) Online gaming addictions growing more serious. Daily Yomuiri Online. Retrieved November 10, 2012 from website: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T121016001977.htm Dokoupil, T., (July 9, 2012)