Pros and Cons of the Internet
... Its brainchild, the internet, is such a valuable tool to commerce and the arts that many cannot live without. With the internet, the next biggest provider of information after printed media, it is not surprising the users of the internet will exceed 650 million by the year 2003. However, in the midst of its usefulness and its popularity, the internet does bring with it negative effects. In the financial aspect, the Internet is a windfall to numerous businessmen. With E-commerce spending crossing US$1 trillion mark in 2003, the internet can be hailed as the goldmine of tomorrow. Moreover, with this easy access to the internet and the prospect of E-banking, business transactions could be done effortlessly and successfully with just the click of a button. ... An example would be the sale of Singapore’s orchids worldwide through the use of the internet as an advertising tool. Online stock investment is now also prevalent due to the internet. ... Hence, it can be said that the internet does bring about financial growth and overall economical growth. ... In the economical aspect, the internet is a great economic equaliser - allowing regional offices in say India to be perfectly synchronised with the headquarters in America. The internet is also the diving force behind globalisation and is accelerating it. Outsourcing of jobs like the setting up of regional centres India would not be possible without the instantaneous communication the internet confers. ... Tech-savvy countries like the United States and Western European Countries dominate the majority of the world’s internet bandwidth and usage, making their technological-equipped industries more competitive over the industries of third world nations. ... Hence it would be logical to conclude that the internet in effect perpetuates a financial hegemony over third world nations, resulting in growth of host countries at the expense of third world nations.