Prompt #1

Hello fellow Doyle rangers! The Internet has really changed and impacted our society over the years, but especially now in 2014! The Internet is not only found in your computer but in your tablet and your phone! It seems that everywhere you go you can also be online. Due to the new technological advances with the Internet and it being available on practically any device there has been a new surge of reliance upon it. With our society so active and dependent on the inter-web were bound to run into some advantages and disadvantages, like anything in life. Some advantages of the internet that come to my mind are that it is convenient, it's a great way to stay connected, and it's a great promoter tool. How convenient is the Internet? It's super convenient! You need anything at anytime you whip out your phone or any other internet capable device and look it up, you can look up recipes, pictures, books, and anything else that interests you; with just a click of button, boom! You’re there! Easy, simple and fast, it's instant information. Another reason that the Internet is so convenient is because it’s open 24 hours; there is no closing of the Internet, no certain window of time. The Internet is available all the time 365 days of the year; you can access it anytime all the time. Besides the Internet being convenient it's also a great way to stay connected. Thanks to the Internet we have websites like Facebook and programs like Skype, oovoo, and FaceTime that allow people to stay connected. To get a little personal here, I am in a long distance relationship and its so nice to be able to just FaceTime my boyfriend when I want to see him, it makes distance a lot more bearable. Thanks to the Internet I have that capability. And the final advantage of the Internet is that it is a great promotion tool. Say you're in a band and you want to get your music out there, you can promote your bands music using the Internet! I mean look at Justin Bieber (not a fan) he was discovered through YouTube, lots of people are nowadays, by setting up accounts and promoting themselves through Facebook, twitter, instagram and even tumblr. The possibilities are endless thanks to the Internet, as Bill Gates said, " the internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/internet.html)

  Now it's time to focus on the dark side, by discussing some of the disadvantages of the Internet. Some disadvantages of the Internet are that it can be a distraction, what you put out online is out there forever, and you can't always trust the information you find on the Internet. I know and probably many young adults can agree, is that the Internet is a distraction. Doing homework by itself is very unappealing but add the Internet and it’s downright impossible. You have all these fun websites like pintrest or tumblr that are only a click away and dangerously addicting. With more homework being online it's hard not to just check your facebook or pintrest real quick, before you know it "real quick" turns into hours of being online and not getting any homework done. Another disadvantage of the Internet is how much information you share.  Don't get me wrong I really enjoy social media and it does have a lot of benefits, but sometimes sharing too much is a bad thing. Even with making accounts private, your pictures are still out there on the web. And anything you post can follow you through life. For example I feel bad for celebrities, because anything they've ever done good or bad is posted all over the place and it's not something that can just be deleted, it follows them through there careers, things that they may want to put to rest our out there online and will continue to be out there. I don't know how long ago Brittany Spears had her little mini meltdown and decided to shave her head and go all fencer with an umbrella, but it's STILL online. Nothing goes away on the Internet and that’s kind of scary. My final disadvantage of the Internet is that you can't always trust what you read on the Internet. Anyone is able to make a website and put out false information. For example credit card scammers have a field day on the Internet. Seemingly innocent websites where you would like to make a purchase can turn into you canceling all your credit cards because the website wasn't real and now some stranger has your credit card number and is going to town. As said in this article by Buzzle.com "The use of Internet for banking, social networking, or other services, often makes our personal information vulnerable to theft. There are no fail-proof ways to securing names, account numbers, addresses, photos, and credit card numbers from being stolen or misused by thieving websites and individuals."(http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-disadvantages-internet.html) The same thing goes for researching, you can't just trust any old website you find about FDR and think what you're reading is fact, especially if you know next to nothing about what you're researching. You need to find a trusted, safe, and updated website that is real and has the right information. People can put anything they want online and that in itself can be and issue. So that’s my Internet intrigue, tell me what you think!