Internet's Impact on University Students in the 21st Century

This essay explores the multifaceted impact of the internet on university students in the 21st century. It begins with an introduction that highlights the internet's global connectivity and its integration into daily life, particularly for students. The main body of the essay offers a comparative analysis...Read More

Individual Essay

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Comparison and contrasting between positive and negative aspects of internet.........................1
Challenges and measures of security and privacy.......................................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Internet is a global system which interconnects different computer devices and help
people to interact with other individuals who are miles away from them. Currently internet is
converted in the basic requirements of individuals as they have become familiar to it as it helps
them to share their social life with others and get results of all their searches. It is a worldwide
network of computers which can communicate with each other (Bashir, Mahmood and Shafique,
2016). This report is mainly based upon a topic “ The impact of the Internet on university
students in the 21st century”. In order to enhance knowledge regarding it various other elements
are analysed in this essay which covers comparison and contrasting between positive and
negative aspects of internet. Apart from thus challenges and measures of security and privacy
which should be focused by individuals are also covered under this report.
MAIN BODY
Comparison and contrasting between positive and negative aspects of internet
Currently internet is basic requirement of everyone as people are becoming addicted to it.
It leave impact upon university students in the 21st century. It has been seen from last few
decades that an invention bring changes in humanity and standard of living of humans. In history
one of the biggest invention is internet which provided various benefits as well as drawbacks to
individuals. There are various types of websites which are used with the help of it which bring
people close to each other. These are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snap-chat, Pinterest etc.
Young people are mainly addicted to all of them as they think that using such social media
reflect their good status. Internet was invented in starting of year 1983 by Robert E. Kahn and
Vint Cerf. It is leaving positive as well as negative impacts upon students who are studying in
university. It is mainly considered as a medium of communication in which individuals can
interact with other who are miles away from them. If it is used properly then there are various
favourable impacts of it (Garrison, 2016).
Internet helps to increase accessibility as it has made education much more easy as
compare to the medium which was used by people decades ago. Now students can use google
and find answers for any type of query. There are various types of websites which are mainly
made for students where they can get study material from world's famous universities in order to
enhance their knowledge. With the help of it students can achieve their career goals. Search
1

engines are considered as the best information providers which helps individuals who are
studying in university to complete their projects which are provided to them by their lecturers.
Internet is also very beneficial for them to find job according to their interest with the help of
different types of job portals (Landy and Conte, 2016). Here, they can upload their resume and
apply for the jobs in different companies. With the help of internet students, scientists, professors
etc. exchange their ideas with others in order to share their knowledge with others. It also help to
take action against adverse consequences which have taken place or may take place in future and
result negatively. If teachers have to make announcements then they post information in the
group with the help of internet and aware students regarding activities which are going to be
conducted within the college campus. Sometimes individuals work from home while studying in
order to arrange monetary resources for their study and other daily life activities. It is a beneficial
source which helps students to be independent (Positive and negative aspects of internet, 2019).
There are various negative aspects of internet such as now students have become addicted
to it and they want to be active of social media websites all the time and share their social life. It
is not a good thought to share personal information with other for students as it can harm them.
There are various sites where they can get illegal and inappropriate material which is not good
for them. Internet is making life easy but also ruining it because due to its addiction they are not
able to focus on their studies and achieve what they want in future. There are various types of
hacking websites which are used by hackers in order to gather information of individuals and
misuse it for their own benefits. Different types of games are played online and students who are
studying in university are becoming addicted to them it results in robbing away their precious
time which should be used by them for something productive. Nowadays obesity in college
students is increasing massively as they do not conduct any outdoor activity which is not good
for their health (Kelly and Kamp, 2014).
Challenges and measures of security and privacy
I am a college student and I also use internet but is also vital for me as well to take
security and privacy measures in to considerations while using it. There are various negative
aspects of internet such as hacking and over addiction. When I will be using internet I will make
sure that I am not sharing my personal information on such websites where I should not register
my self. In order to deal with all these issues only relevant websites are going to be used by me
in future so that I can save myself from negative implications of internet. In current era students
2

like are highly addicted to online games. Spending time on internet is good but wasting precious
time on it is not good. For security and privacy purpose I have planned to use only safe websites
and make sure not to upload any kind of information which should not be shared with others.
In my personal computer I have spyware protection software which prevent viruses and
spyware. With the help of it I keep my data safe and save it from destroying or hacking. In order
to complete my college projects I take help of internet to gather information from different
websites for all the websites where I have register my self I keep my password safe. Currently
hackers send phishing emails and if individuals open such types of mails then all the data which
is stored in their computer will be visible to the hacker and they can misuse it (Haight, Quan-
Haase and Corbett, 2014). In order to avoid this type of situation I avoid to open such mails
which are not important to me. Sometimes information is also stolen by hackers with the help of
public wifi so I always prefers to be wise about wifi use and make sure that the information
which is being sent by me through mail or message is protected or not. I never save my password
in my own laptop because automatic logins may also cause issues in future if the laptop is used
by others or it is stolen. Whenever I sign in to a website I read all the privacy terms and policies
in order to make sure that there is no negative clause regarding usage of my information (Griffin
and Care, 2014).
It is very important for me and other students like me to use safety measure to deal with
Internet's safety and privacy issues. If they are not able to use such measures then it may result
negatively for them because their private information could be used by hackers for criminal or
illegal activities. It will be harmful for them hence, they should make sure that the website or the
internet network which is being used by them is secure or not (Rust and Golombok, 2014).
CONCLUSION
From the above project report it has been concluded that internet is basic requirement of
each and every individual as they are addicted to it. Students who are studying in university are
using it massively which leave negative as well as positive impacts upon them. Favourable
implications of internet for students are: it helps them to find answers for all their queries,
enhance knowledge, complete project etc. On the other hand there are various negative aspects of
it such as their personal information could be misused by hackers, they are wasting their time on
online games etc. While using internet individuals are required to use safety and privacy features
in order to ignore adverse effects of internet.
3

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Bashir, S., Mahmood, K. and Shafique, F., 2016. Internet use among university students: a
survey in University of the Punjab, Lahore. Pakistan Journal of Information
Management & Libraries (PJIM&L). 9(1).
Garrison, D. R., 2016. E-learning in the 21st century: A community of inquiry framework for
research and practice. Routledge.
Kelly, P. and Kamp, A., 2014. A critical youth studies for the 21st century. Brill.
Haight, M., Quan-Haase, A. and Corbett, B. A., 2014. Revisiting the digital divide in Canada:
The impact of demographic factors on access to the internet, level of online activity, and
social networking site usage. Information, Communication & Society. 17(4). pp.503-
519.
Griffin, P. and Care, E. eds., 2014. Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills: Methods and
approach. Springer.
Rust, J. and Golombok, S., 2014. Modern psychometrics: The science of psychological
assessment. Routledge.
Landy, F. J. and Conte, J. M., 2016. Work in the 21st century, Binder ready version: An
introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
Online
Positive and negative aspects of internet. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://websitesecurity.knoji.com/list-of-10-positive-and-negative-effects-of-the-
internet/>
4