Being
born in the decade when television was a novelty and was affordable only by the
boisterous affluent. 80's was a time when we as kids hoped to steal a glimpse
of the latest gossip magazine under the scrutinizing gaze of our parents.
Today's children have a lot more and equal exposure to the educationally good
and the morally illicit content.
Three
decades later I being a parent myself find it very hard to refrain my child
from the excessive exposure of internet. Initially internet was a blessing for
the every segment of the society, be it the scholars, the office goers, the
researchers, the home makers, the avid readers, the movie buffs, the sports
enthusiast or simply the ideal youth who found emails/apps to be a hassle free
and cost free way to communicate with their loved one or friends. Internet
still hasn't lost its sheen in our lives, instead it has penetrated very deep
into our lifestyles. It has changed the way we encounter and challenge a
problem. It has opened thousands of portal for the plethora of information that
we are not aware of. Whenever we encounter a question that we have no answer
to, we simply "Google it out". Gods greatest gift to man is the
inquisitive mind that has led to our development from a wild wander to the
modern man of today.
The
knowledge is much more easily available to the seekers. No longer have the
students had to stand in a long queue to hire a book from the library. Various
authors and their publication are easily available online. E library is the new
love for the book lovers. Not only books but also various research papers are
published online. Internet has paved way to bring the culturally diverse
country much closer. North Indians are crazy for Dosa/Idli and South Indians
crave for stuffed paranthas. The Eastern "Macher Jhol" and
"Prawn Malai curry" is relished by the entire country. The north
Indian don't shy away from try making rasam and sambhar at home; thanks to the
thousands of websites offering various recipes. International cuisine is also
slowly making its way into Indian kitchen.
Trade
has opened up on a grand scale and traders and weavers find internet the
fastest and the best way to sell their goods to a clientele pan India and
abroad. Tourism has increased many folds. The ease to book tickets and hotels
online has substantially reduced the stigma associated with International
travel. Hotel reviews are easily available now. Also, earlier the fear of
unknown destination kept people away from opting international destinations,
but now the ease with which we access the geographical, political, historical
and cultural information encourage us to travel.
E
governance is another blessing of the internet. Railway bookings, Online
passport application, Online Income tax filing, Online claim of Provident Fund
are a few among the many projects that have made the process much more
transparent and there is little chance of data loss that is locked in files;
that are eaten by termites every year.
Moving
ahead with the debate, a small incidence that shook my belief in the concept of
internet being a blessing for the mankind was when a two and a half year old
toddler while playing on the I -pad, randomly opens up "You Tube" and
types some gibberish in the search box, the website turns up adult content. The
more troublesome question that arises is how to segregate the good and bad data
for children.
Newspaper's
are full of stories of revenge porn, where ex-husbands or ex-lovers are
uploading intimate pictures and videos online. Some psychopath might hack into
the webcam and record anything and anytime they want. Who knows some pedophile
is lurking around my child's Facebook profile. Is the internet really safe? Not
only keeps this, stories about grievous crimes committed by unknown online
friends surfacing from time to time. Cyber bullying has ruined the lives of
thousands of teenagers and many more are still caught in it.
Elders
are equally vulnerable. Bank account details and credit card information can be
accessed by hacking into ones email account. Many big multinationals are at a
risk of losing data worth millions of dollars. Some big fake money making
rackets are being run online. Some ask you to submit certain amount of money in
lieu of a job offer, some make money by the number of clicks on the fake
advertisement posted by them. Technology is an integral part of our life today
and internet is the backbone supporting it. As an old saying in our country
goes "Anything in excess is bad", so is with Internet.