Human Rights and Social Skills Essay

Chairperson adjudicators, ladies and Gentlemen, welcome. The motion before the house this evening is that the internet does more harm than good, as a social media using teenager, the stereotypical opinion I would have on this matter would be that this statement is false, however ladies and gentleman, I am not a stereotypical teenager and I am of the opinion that the internet does indeed do more harm than good. The year is 2014, and the internet has seemingly taken over the world, the majority of the population of the world would claim that they wouldn’t be able to survive without the internet; in their eyes the internet can do no wrong. Ladies and gentlemen I’m afraid to inform you that they couldn’t be more delusional. In today’s society social skills are cast aside, and the internet is the main priority for most people. In my school for example at break times, the dining hall is as quite as funeral with young people’s heads stuck in iPhone and com puters. The sound of a good conversation is seldom found. Sadly ladies and gentlemen, this is the effect that the internet has had on our generation. I worry for some of my class mates when they decide to go to a job interview, they will stand no chance as the internet has deprived them of essential social skills required to succeed in the workplace, and in life. Secondly, in life we are blessed with certain rights, the right to water and the right to free speech and so on. But there is one right that he internet has clinched away from us, and this is the right of privacy. You don’t have to look back decades to see an incident of personal invasion through the internet. Just this year numerous celebrities computers were hacked and personal pictures and information was stolen. It sickens me to think we live in a world where we can’t have privacy. Internet hackings have sadly become all too common on the news and in the public domain. Banking for example, was once considered a safe and innocent act. Alas, its reputation has been tarnished by internet hackers. I myself have been affect by this as my own personal bank account has been hacked. I have never used the internet in the same way after that incident. It might seem farfetched ladies and gentlemen, and you might feel safe, but I warn you, the internet is not a safe place, and in my opinion it has done more harm than good to the lives of innocent people. Lastly, the internet hasn’t just harmed the lives of my age group; oh no it has negative effects on much more age categories as well. For example the  elderly and the very young. These groups of people are being all too easily led into a false sense of hope by internet scams. Deals on life assurance, fun seemingly ‘free’ online games are just some of the many examples of how the internet exploits these people. Too many countless innocent people have been left out of pocket after falling f or these internet scams. My mind is cast back to last year when a child in Dublin spent 347 euro on in- game purchases on the popular internet game candy crush. Unknowing to the child she consistently purchased in game accessories and bonuses to the total of 347 euros. I’d say her father was none too pleased and wanted to crush something other than candy! This is just one of thousands of examples of how people are exploited on the internet every day, thus proving that it does more harm than good. Alas ladies and gentlemen, I believe there is hope, if better safety sanctions and regulations are used I do believe the internet can become a helpful and beneficial resource for everyone to use. But until that day comes, I am positive that the internet does cause more harm than good . Thank you.