Communication over the Internet.

Communication over the Internet has drastically improved over the last few years, in such a way that we are now able to complete tasks on our phones/tablets away from homes just as well as we can with a Wi-Fi connection in our homes. Despite this however there are also some bad as well as good points about our communication over the Internet which could threaten to change our opinion about this new and ‘exciting’ technology such as the introduction of 3G and 4G on our devices. So, for every good point about communication over the Internet there is most likely always a bad point that also comes along with it.

Good:

Talk to people from anywhere, to anywhere across the globe instantly- Phone and computer applications such as those on the IPhone and Android devices include; Skype, Face Time and Google Hangout. These applications and accessories enable people to video conference and message someone from the other side of the globe almost instantly and comes at no or little cost what so ever. This makes staying in touch with loved ones and friends much easier and user friendly. The down side to this however is that even though 3G is supposed to be the ‘next  big thing’, trying to complete these tasks using only 3G is often extremely hard and so people tend to only do these things when they are at home and have a stable WI-FI connection which defeats the object. Even the introduction of 4G has not been the success that was expected, as to be able to get this you have to be in one of the few select towns/cities where 4G is available, which is very rare. I suggest just sticking to the every day text message, its quick and uncomplicated.

Instant messaging- Instant messaging, in my opinion is still one of the best ways to communicate with people over the internet as it does not require all the new fancy gadgets to be able to do it but in fact you can do it with only the basics, so why is there the need for all of these new gadgets?

Easy to look up information- Looking up information is accessible and easy to anyone by using; Google, Yahoo, Bing or any other desired website, these websites mean that finding out information is almost instant.

Shopping- The amount of sites that you can purchase items on are endless, but one that is most popular is Amazon, on Amazon you can buy almost any item that you desire and is quick and easy. Also most websites are far cheaper than the high street shops and so more and more people are opting to not go shopping in towns anymore but instead making their purchases online for a much cheaper price.

Bank transactions- Recently there has been new software available which allows bank account holders to access their accounts online and manage their money, and as more and more people are completing this act, transferring money from one account to another has also become more popular as it is far faster and less hassle is involved.

Social Media- Since the launch of Facebook and Twitter, the amount of account holders has rocketed in the past few years so that the number is now in the billions. These websites are great to keep in touch with friends and family where otherwise you would not be able to contact them, and is completely free. However, as most people now have an account more people are spending too much time on their computers which makes them less sociable in some cases.

Downloading files- This act is instant, and you can download music and videos straight onto your phone and laptop and will stay there for as long as you wish.

YouTube/TV Platforms- These websites enable people to watch music videos and catch up with programmes they may have missed on websites such as the BBC and ITV catch up sites. They are free to anybody to watch, however on YouTube the amount of adverts has increased rapidly and this can become very annoying to some people and they do not like it.

Internet dating- Internet Dating is now and extremely popular way of people finding their ‘other halves’ without the hassle of going out, and so for a little fee, a lot of people join these sites in a hope that they will find the person they desire and as these sites now have apps they can go onto their accounts at almost any time.

Bad:

Phishing- Phishing is something that a lot of people have fallen for and continue to fall for, as banks and other organisations have adapted they now use E-Mail and text messaging to contact their customers, and so the less internet savvy people will fall for bogus E-Mails that tell them to submit their account details onto a website so that they will have their money stolen from them.

Cyber bullying- As society has changed and more people are on social sites a lot more people are being bullied and picked on, on sites such as Facebook and Ask.fm where people anonymously post horrible comments to people.

Cat fishing-Pretending to be someone else- Some people believe they are talking to a loved one, friend or a new friend and believe them to be someone they think but actually you never know if it is actually who they claim to be and so a lot of times people claim to be someone when they are actually not who they say at all.
Piracy- Often people believe that downloading music and films off of the Internet is a good idea because they are on ‘good and approved’ websites, when actually this is just as illegal as stealing from a shop and means that profits for artists and actors go down as less people are buying their product legitimately.  
Your location can be easily found- It is easy for people to have software where they can track someone by their phone.
Computer viruses- These can be on any website that somebody accesses and can ultimately break your computer or phone to the point where you can’t fix it.  

So what do you think, is communication over the Internet good or bad?