The Internet : Beneficial or Malicious?

Since the invention of the internet, the dissemination of information has been tremendously increased in speed. At the touch of the fingertip, literally, almost everyone who possesses technology can be fed with news and information from all around the world in mere seconds. They are also unfiltered and uncensored, adding to the novelty of technology and the internet when tinkering with.

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and so much more gain thousands of new users daily, all of them constantly hungry for more information. Despite that, all good things must always have a few or more side effects. Not all information are beneficial to the society, for instance, false gossips and degrading acts of people caught on video and uploaded online reveals a backwards society that disgustingly finds comfort in other people’s misfortunes.

For instance, upon watching a video on the internet of two men fighting with each other over a small accident on the road reminds one of two cavemen from the prehistoric ages. One even took out a baseball bat which, sadly, got in the hands of the other who then proceeded to bleed his head with it. The two also caused a massive traffic jam on that particular road apart from being at risk of getting hit by the vehicles there. After a closer inspection by the ‘cameraman’, both cars did not have a slightest scratch on it, making the embarrassing fight more humiliating and should not have happened.

Alas, the deed had been done, recorded and uploaded on the internet and thousands across the country and the world have already seen the video and made their own perception. Family, friends, colleagues and strangers have seen their true colours which destroy their image and reputation. People from other countries will see the country and its people as very uncivilized.

Despite that, the situation raises questions not on the two men but on the role of the internet and its users. Isn't it morally wrong for the ‘cameraman’ to record such events and put it up on the web, further humiliating the subjects and also the country to others? Are people journalists now, reporting events on the internet despite having no formal education on ethics? Is the internet now more malicious than beneficial? Sadly, there is only one answer to these questions: Yes.