The Internet plays a major role in our everyday life. Who can remember the days before we had the Internet? Now, even school assignments require online research, young children are going on to the World Wide Web, how can anyone survive without them? I admit, there are still people out there who have never seen or heard of Internet, but of the majority of us, Internet has become a necessity, do you not agree?

It has brought the world to us, and brought us to the world.

With the help of Internet, people are no longer ignorant of many things, ranging from news to illnesses. Questions on a wide range of topics can be answered simply by keying the query into a search engine. The answers returned are often more than what we had asked for. Providing details that are often given only by professionals. A wealth of knowledge is there waiting to be discovered.

Besides information, how many of us are actually hocked on online chatrooms or message systems such MSN, Skype, Yahoo and the like? Several companies have banned the use of MSN and even blocked out the program on company computers. The reason is simple, people spend more time chatting with their friends than they spend doing their work. Besides the time taken to send and read messages, the toggling between windows increases error in the work produced, thus reducing efficiency.

It is, however, because of such messaging programs that Internet has brought friends from around the world closer. Nowadays, I can hardly tell which country my friends are now in because I can chat with them like we are on the same piece of land. Snail mail are soon becoming a thing of the past, communication through the Internet is not only fast but it is cost effective.

Other than information and communication, Internet is often used for blogging. Many people are now turning to blogging during their free time. Personal information, the most intimate moments are shared with friends who may be too far to be reached by phone, or too many to be spoken to individually. Others share information even to strangers, exposing themselves to the unknown. Blogs are also used to express opinions, things that cannot be shared openly in the press. The plight of the oppressed had been brought to light because of the Internet.

In all, we cannot live without the Internet in today's world, but life without the Internet had once been a simple and better one, was it not?

Learn more about this author, Eliza Koh.
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