THE INTERNET AND THE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

THE INTERNET AND THE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

The Internet is responsible for the wide dissemination of information all over the world. It is perhaps the greatest invention of the 20th century and gives great power to its users.
The Internet has its own culture, its own way of communicating. No law enforcement, no national boundaries as well as free access to every kind of information known to mankind. It has become familiar to many children all over the world. Some of them use the Internet everyday. Parents need to be in close touch with their kids as they explore the Internet. Moreover, teachers need to help students use it appropriately and safely.

Kids and teenagers need to learn to be responsible for their own behaviour on the Internet with guidance from their families and communities. It's not at all uncommon for them to know more about the Internet and computers than their parents or teachers. If that's the case in your home or classroom, don't despair. You can use this as an opportunity to turn the tables by having your child teach you a thing or two about the Internet. Get your children to talk to you about what's good and what is not really good about their Internet experience.

Just as adults need to help kids stay safe, they also need to learn not to overreact when they find out a child or a teenager has been surfing inappropriate material or strayed from a rule. Don't blame or punish your kids if they tell you about an uncomfortable on line encounter. Your best strategy is to work with them, so you both can learn from what happened and figure out how to keep it from happening again.

Adolescents and young adults have become the largest segment of the world population with Internet access. For that reason, the threat posed by drug-related activities occurring on the Internet is quite serious.

But the Internet has so far served as a very valuable tool to bring mankind closer together and to remove some of the barriers inherent in the "real" world. It has had a great impact on those countries that have adopted its use and provides some kind of measure of the gap between first world and third world countries.