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Cyber Communication:Progress or Problem
Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem.

Imagine you are an innocent 15-year-old girl, and you post something on the internet. Later you decide to take it off because the wrong people have seen it. You will not be able to, because once something is on the internet it is never coming off. Many have questioned the vast expansion of the cyber communication world. They have pondered whether it is an asset to communication, or eroding our culture. Sure, there are many benefits to having all the answers at your fingertips, but cyber communication may also creates a cluster of complications, impossible to reverse. Using cyber communication can cause embarrassment, it can be addicting, and the wrong people may get too much personal information, not to mention the phenomenon cyber bullying can take place. However, in the long run, cyber communication definitely creates a somewhat improvement in the process of communicating. First of all, cyber communication can cause someone a great deal of embarrassment. Imagine the entire world being able to witness something you wouldn’t even let your own family be aware of. I don’t know about you, but personally, that would just about ruin my life. In July of 2008, a young Ohio woman hanged herself after a nude photo meant only for her boyfriend’s eyes, were sent around as an email. The girls at her high school constantly harassed her and called her derogatory names, which sent her into a deep depression causing her to take her own life. Unfortunately, these stories aren’t entirely uncommon. Everyday, teens just like you and I go through this in a constant, never ending battle of humility and embarrassment, while preserving and maintaining our positive sense of being. Imagine that battle being played out in full view of the cyber world. On the positive side, when used responsibly, using cyber communication can be a great way to advertise businesses, or anything worth sharing. It opens so many new doors for companies, and without it this society wouldn’t be where it’s at today. Additionally, you can easily put too much of your personal information on the Internet using cyber communication. There are Internet stalkers everywhere you look, from chat rooms to social networking sites such as Facebook. Such people have many hidden intentions, among the most dangerous being, luring innocent minors in and kidnapping them for their own selfish needs. Federal authorities estimated there were 500,000 to 750,000 predators online daily last year. Stalkers find their victims in chat rooms, message forums, online blogs, and very frequently in the social networking websites. An example of internet stalking is, a few years ago, a 13-year-old girl met a man on the Internet, whom she believed to be a child near her age. He was actually a 47-year-old man posing as a teen, and as such, was able to get the personal information that led him to her home. A month after their meeting, the man kidnapped her from her home. The man was identified through his Internet messages and authorities traced him. He shot himself as the officers entered his home, and sadly, they found the young girl dead from a gunshot wound. Further evidence led authorities to believe that the 13-year-old girl was not his first and only victim. This is not to argue that all internet networking is dangerous. On the positive side, many celebrities and important business people have been discovered using the Internet. Thanks to cyber communication, these people are set for life. Moreover, cyber communication can be addicting. I’ll admit that I am addicted to Facebook, but fortunately I am not as profoundly addicted as others may be. There are an abounding number of people so severely addicted to the Internet, that they have basically traded life for cyberspace. In China, 2 million Internet users have admitted they are addicted to cyberspace. 15% are under the age of 18. This means 300,000 of China ’s adolescence are Internet addicts. I once saw a television special about teenage computer addict. In 2006, a 14-year-old boy named James was so immensely addicted to the Internet; he started getting reality mixed up with the cyber world. He would get exceedingly angry with his family trying to help him, and he became abusive towards the ones he loved the most. Thankfully, he received help from medical experts and was ordered to stay away from cyberspace without supervision. Sadly, others aren’t as lucky as James was. Some have become homeless due to losing their jobs for being addicted to the Internet, or even worse. Though cyber communication can be addicting, it can be a great thing. It is one of the best forms of entertainment we have, so when in need of something to do, the Internet can be a great alternative. Lastly, cyber communication is a notorious place for bullying. There is no one there to stop it, and the hurt and pain of the victim can be magnified a great deal. It can lead to depression or even suicide as we have seen, another example being the story of Megan Meyer. She was a 13 year old from Missouri, who struck up an online friendship on the popular social networking site MySpace, with a person she believed was a new boy in her hometown. In actuality, the “friend” was a group of individuals, including adults, who were intent on humiliating the poor girl because of a friendship with another child that had gone awry. Megan was very upset when she found out the truth, then later committed suicide once the friendship had terminated. The horrifying case stunned the community and caused state government officials to pass some of the harshest cyber bullying laws in the country. As you can see, cyber bullying is no joke. It is a very serious offense and needs to stop. Though cyber bullying is one of the negatives of cyber communication, another positive is that it gives people a chance to connect and reconnect with people. My mom recently started chatting with an old friend from high school on Facebook, and now they have renewed their friendship. Ultimately, using cyber communication can cause embarrassment, it can be addicting, and the wrong people may get too much personal information, not to mention the phenomenon of cyber bullying can take place. But in the long run, cyber communication definitely creates an improvement in the process of communicating. It doesn’t matter who you are, cyber communication will always be a part of your life, whether you like it or not, but in the end, you always need to be careful what you post on the Internet, because you have no clue who just might see it.