The Online World Essay

Submitted By Hench420
Words: 1406
Pages: 6

The online world Have online games and social networking sites really changed how people interact with each other?
Overuse of technology is having a negative impact on humans and their relationships. I have seen the online world get very popular with in the years of my existence. When I was a young child, I remember playing video games all the time. Video games and online games have really changed. Now it is possible to play with multiple people at a time over the internet and play the same game together. (563-572). And even play with people from all around the world. Video games are fun and are easy to get stuck on for hours, but I think there should be a limit. Since it is so easy to get stuck in a game, playing a game such as online poker can be very risky. It is very easy to lose lots of money quickly if people are not careful. Some participants were self-selected online poker players who completed an online survey. Results revealed that participants played an average of 16 h per week. Furthermore, 11.5% of the sample was classified as problem gamblers according to the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. (Dempsey, Hopely, Nicki). Since playing the games can last so long it can easily pull people away from family and the real world. This can lead to causing trouble in the house hold and maybe even the bank account.
Social networking sites are another way that the online world pulls people in. It is fine to be on a social networking site such as Facebook and be talking with family and friends, but that is not all that people have to deal with. A lot of people tend to write or post about anything and everything. It is potentially dangerous to let the world know so much about oneself. There are a lot of people in this world that wouldn’t mind to cause some trouble in an innocent individual’s life. And it would probably be in your best interest for those types of people to not know about one’s personal information. People are also leaving themselves open to cyber bullies. I do like the idea of being able to find long lost friends and being able to keep in touch with family easily, but it is not the same as speaking face to face in person. I think that it is a problem that nobody chooses to hang out with family and friends, and instead choose to sit at home and use online games and social networking sites to be interactive with friends and family. Instead of playing video games or going on Facebook, children could choose to play a game of basketball or football outside with some friends or even take a visit to grandma’s house. People think that it’s just easier, but sometimes easier isn’t better. Some things just aren’t meant to be done from a distance. This is not good; the world is just getting lazier and lazier. Online games and social networking sites are used so often that some people even considered to be addicted to it. (480-485). I can definitely see how people can get addicted to these things. For example, ever since my two younger sisters got a Facebook, it has pretty much taken over their lives. They act like if that’s all they care about and like they can’t live without it. Not everyone is like that, but if 2 out of 2 young girls in this household have issues with prolonged use of Facebook, then the rest of the world has to have a majority of people with issues of prolonged use of the internet, online games and even other technology.
Adam Gopnik’s article, “How the internet gets inside us” has a great example of how the internet has changed how people get information. “Why is she doing that?” “Why doesn’t she just Google it?” Said a couple of kids to their parents while watching harry potter and seeing Hermione Granger in the library, researching using library books. Kids are raised to rely on the internet for recourses and use the internet because it’s faster. You don’t have to read through a bunch of books for hours just to find a quick answer.