Happy Birthday, World Wide Web!

By Jude Nazeer

CAIRO, March 14 (SEE)— The "World Wide Web" invention is now 30! A revolution that has changed our lives for the better and for the worse. And speaking of which, let me showcase some of this little rascal’s cons and pros.

Let’s start with the pros, shall we!

It was like “The Dark Ages” before internet existed. I wonder how people managed in the pre-digital era?! Internet is a huge time saver. Imagine the amount of time spent in libraries for college research or to send a letter to work or relatives. Now with a click you get to send letters, which previously took from 7 to 10 “working days” to be delivered through the post office.

It is an excellent tool for finding information and knowledge from every part of the world. Instead of spending days looking for information from tens of books in libraries, you have an actual access to thousands and thousands of digital libraries from all over the world. A portable encyclopedia ready for your use all day and night. Isn’t it amazing!

Internet is also perceived as an entertainment tool. It can be used as a means of communication that allows us to stay in touch with our friends and relatives around the world. It also provides access to innovative services such as HDTV, teleconferencing, virtual tours, and more. It promotes a new form of commerce: electronic commerce. The Internet user has access to many services such as reservations, electronic administrations, electronic banks, etc.

In addition, the Internet has changed the notion of exchange and work if we only mention the advent of teleworking —perfect for all of you potato couches out there. Now you can do your job while relaxing on the sofa with your favorite crackers and a glass of wine... Or “karkadé”, just saying!

One advantage worth mentioning is shopping. In the digital age it is no longer necessary to shop at stores because the stores come to us! You can say goodbye to queues in front of fitting rooms and cashiers. Plus, it is possible to find the entire collection of brands on their sites while physical stores usually only offer a product assortment of each collection and sometimes some sizes are missing. In addition, you can have access to the whole collection of the same brand and discover pieces that are not found in your country. If you cannot cook and looking for someone to teach you, non c'è problema, because now you can learn online! So instead of perusing the famous “Abla Nazira” cooking manual for the perfect Mossaka, you can find a PLETHORA of recipes with just one click. From Thai to Italian, all for your special delight.

Now that we’ve talked about some of the internet’s pros, allow me to shed the light on some of the problems that the Internet brings to modern society.

We can state with absolute certainty that the biggest problems with the internet stem not from the technology itself but from the wrong use that can be made of it. Incorrect use of the Internet can also damage ordinary people who use it in good faith, not through fault but through simple ignorance, naivety, or little familiarity with navigation.

The excessive obsession for the continuous use of social networks, chat, e-mail, web surfing is harmful for human relationships and for one's health. Besides depression and dissatisfaction with the real world, internet addiction drives people away from human relationships to favor virtual ones.

Dependent internet users spend most of their time on the net, they lose themselves in the virtual world depriving themselves of what is instead the real social aspect of the real world. A virtual bubble they trapped themselves inside instead of actually living their lives. Something is wrong!

Moreover, the phenomenon of Cyberbullying is one of the most dangerous phenomena currently present on the internet. There are many cases where the cyberbullying has contributed significantly to the suicide of a big number of people. It has become so dangerous to the point of requiring special laws in every part of the world.

The violations of privacy that occur when third parties spread photos, videos, or strictly personal information of other people online without their consent for the sole purpose of ridiculing and mortifying the victims. Sick much.

The notorious Barayez once said “El 3eb fel nezam.” And the man actually had a point! You see, in the pre-internet era, videotapes were in the lead. Those things were “precious”! Remember “Film Thaqafi”? Then the Satellite manifested, and Hotbird took over. However, with the birth of the internet, the “system” changed.

Adult content is very popular and widespread. The SimilarWeb report indicates that 3 of the most visited Internet sites in the world are linked to porn and two of these are approaching the numbers of sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Google.

But with pleasure comes pain. As you click on each video, viruses and trojans sneak right through your computer and harm the operation system. The more frequent you visit those sites, the easier malware halts your computer and prevents it from running properly. This could cause your computer to crash.