Internet communication, safe or not?

The internet. A better way to reach out or another haven in a materialist's world?



My Attempt At a Scholastic Social Report

While by "safe or not" I do not insinuate that internet communication is violently dangerous, is it really the healthiest form of communication? While the invention of phones provided people the opportunity to communicate between continents, internet communication has broadened that perspective. Very similar to phones, internet communication can reach just about anyone, but it is a more advanced form of communication that are often between strangers, in large chatrooms with any possible person at any time, and with people whom you cannot be confident as to their age, gender, or personal characteristics. The first point I would like to make is this, the fact that you can never be aware of who that person is. Although living behind the facade that that person is who he says he is has no real detrimental effects, once a person starts growing a serious attachment to this illusionary figure, it would seriously disappoint him/her if that person is not who he says he is. In either case, it is not really the best idea to chat and talk with someone whom you do not know. It often provokes paranoia and a huge desire for that person to be a perfection figure in your eyes. Once you realize that that person is not perfect, you end up disappointed once again. That brings me to my second point, it is just too easy to grow addicted to internet chatting. Although there is nothing wrong with an addiction to anything, internet chatting, once expanded to long hours, is extraordinarily comfortable and mind-numbing. It can throw off concentration of other things. Another way in which this addiction can have negative side effects is that it is just too easy to grow an affinity or infatuation with someone from the internet. After all, the person behind the screen is a person, and who is capable of humor, compliments, and warmth. People respond to these characteristics just like they do in real life. Once you seriously grow attached to that person's "warmth," you become addicted to a person who is nothing more than an illusionary image. While in life real, love disappointments can occur pervasively as well, there is at least a possible chance at correcting such disappointments since you know this person by heart, and can talk to that person face to face. If disappointed on the internet, all that friend has to do is refuse to speak to you and you end up disappointed with no real chance of ever doing anything about it.