In debt to the internet

In todays day and age, the internet plays a vital role in everyday life whether it is personal, educational, or work related. I know that for myself, I utilize the internet and its resources for my own personal use, for my education, and at work. In fact, I use and rely on the internet everyday for all three categories. However, it was not always this way and is a quite recent change. I first accessed the internet in the 6th grade where I used it for school and social reasons. Since then, it has transformed and become a vital part of my day to day life. With this being said, I still agree with 3 of the 4 data that say "the internet is dangerous," "it's too expensive," and "its confusing and hard to negotiate." However, I do not think it is fair to say that "they are [not] missing anything." The statistics listed in PEW Internet and American Life, Who's not online, are shocking yet understandable. Shocking because with my dependecy on the internet, I imagined that everyone had the same issue. I also thought more people would have access to this everyday tool I use. On the other hand, I understand that internet is expensive and not everyone can afford it. Regardless, there are many ways to use the internet without paying for it such as WiFi zones and public libraries. I agree that the internet is dangerous as well. Mainly, it is dangerous when not used appropriately. The fact that there are possibilities of danger when using the internet does not stop me from using it because I use it with caution. Many may say that it is confusing and hard and again, I agree that this statement is true, but only to a certain extent. It takes practice but with practice, various possibilities are available for the user. Finally, I disagree with the statement "they are not missing anything." Of course, society got by prior to the internet, however, there are a number of options and possibilities provided by the internet that were not as readily available before. Regardless of literacy, the internet offers different modalities such as audio, video, images, and much more. For example, news websites offer video as well as textual information. Many are also missing out on social networking which plays a huge role in todays society. In my opinion, these reasons are enough to consider a non internet user "out of the loop."

One may be considered "well informed" without having access to the internet, however, I would consider those who have access and actually utilize this access, "better informed." This brings up another issue, the issue of internet as a public right. Since many people, such as myself, depend on the internet, I believe access to the internet should be a public right. With increased and growing technology, simple internet connection should be available to all. I am no technological genius, but I imagine that internet can be offered at a more reasonable price. Public writing and the public sphere are important aspects in our democracy. Today, the internet is an important contributor to the two. If public writing is part of our democracy and it is mainly written and read on internet platforms, it only makes sense to provide internet access for all of those involved in our democracy.

It is possible that social consequences may occur in the coming decades as a result of the "digital divide." Taking into consideration the race and ethnicity statistics, it appears as though white people have more access. This provides more information and opportunities to this race and puts the blacks and hispanics at a disadvantage. Our countries goal is to be one nation and equal. This problem prevents our country to living up to its own goals, standards, and expectations. Internet access should not be dependent on race, ethnicity, or money.