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Advertisements for the Internet promise you a world of information,
entertainment, on-line shopping and e-mail services. However, the real world
of the Internet may not be as perfect as the advertisements suggest.
Using the Internet offers many advantages. For
example, all of the latest
information is available to you, in your home, at any hour of the day or
night. It is much faster and easier to surf the net in search of information
from all over the world than to travel to libraries in dozens of countries.
Also, on-line shopping makes it possible to search through catalogues to find
exactly what you want at the best price, saving both time and money. By
joining a newsgroup or chat group, you can share your hobbies and special
interests, and perhaps make friends all over the world. Finally, e-mail is
popular because it is faster than sending a letter and cheaper than a
telephone conversation.
On the other hand, the Internet has several disadvantages. Firstly, with so much information
available, finding what you want can take you hours. Multimedia web pages
with photographs, music and video are attractive, but they make downloading
slow and boring. What is more, there is too much advertising instead of real
information. As for Internet friendships, sitting at home in front of a
computer making 'chat friends' is not the same as actually meeting people.
In conclusion, the Internet obviously has both good and bad points.
Fortunately, the system is improving all the time, and any problems which
still exist can be solved. Whether we like it or not, the Internet is here to
stay, so we have to make the best possible use of it.
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