The Benefits of the Internet for Young People!

If I was asked what it is like to live in today's world, a few words would spring to mind: stressful, emotional, exhausting. With the pressure of exams and making decisions for the future sometimes it can feel overwhelming.

All of this may seem very negative, but that's just me being dramatic. When I look at the positives of being a teenager they largely outweigh the negatives. Freedom of speech, No rent(!), the ability to express ourselves like I am doing now, the services available to us that gives us the chance to be heard, just like Yuppa!!

Nowadays the internet allows us to access the World Wide Web, where young people can express their views, on matters such as The 8th Amendment or the #MeToo Campaign. We can express our opinions alongside adults, which is absolutely revolutionary, it has never been done before on such a large scale, it is Technological Revolution.

Social media opens everybody to instant communication with people all across the globe. Connecting us like never before. With this comes instant gratification and exposure, and the pressures that comes with it. Along with instant communication the internet provides access to news stories quicker than they can be filmed for TV, giving us an opportunity to be more informed and aware of the events that shape the world than previous generations could have imagined. The internet has also played a major role in changing Ireland, almost beyond recognition, into a much more culturally diverse place to live. With the ability to broadcast jobs and a better standard of life Ireland has become a hub of diversity and learning.

The Internet today has become as natural as breathing, How many times a day do you Google something? "Google it" has become a phrase we say almost as much as we say "Hello". The internet gives us access to all the knowledge known to mankind, not only that but it is a haven for anyone with a hobby!! This includes everyone; you need to know how to cook an egg? Oh! I know, Just "Google it". Your parents are coming and you need to find the quickest way to clean everything just "GOOGLE IT!"

As humans we tend to focus on the negatives but not everything is perfect. The internet is still a pretty scary place, but what's anything without a little bit of fear?

-Matty Colgan, lead writer.