The Benefits and Risks of Consuming Contents Online

BY ANA MARIE SUAREZ

Ever since the development of the technological era, most people depend on technologies which seem helpful for their everyday life. And since there is a wide accessibility of information online, searching on the web is the easiest way to get information. One thing is for sure, people want to get what they want the fastest way and we can’t deny that fact. There are times when we are bombarded with different tasks plus we are meeting lots of deadlines and to multitask is difficult to do especially when you have so much going on inside your mind. One example are students who, with just a tap on their mobile phones, search right away what their assignments are. On the other hand, traditional media are replaced with the digitally available ones. News articles, books, and even your favorite comic strip are available online. Since people think that it is time consuming to go to the library to find books or don’t have the urge to buy newspapers on streets, they just prefer to just sit down with a cup of coffee and access the internet instead. Perhaps, the internet is an easy reach for opportunities, learnings, discovery about certain things, entertainment, getting connected most especially and knowing the latest trend. With lots of information posted, shared, or created online, it would lead to the awareness of the people about issues regarding their environment.

However, consuming contents online may be beneficial to man but are these information we access online credible? One of the major concerns in digital media is the widespread of fake information. What keeps people more interested online are the trends. They tend to share what they think would make them ‘in’ with the crowd which sometimes leads to sharing of fake information. People have the power to create content online, may they be experts or not. Even without the expertise about a topic or an issue, everyone can contribute something they want to contribute to the digital world. What problem that I see regarding this issue is that people forget to be critical thinkers. As long as they already obtain the information they want, that’s it, even without delving into the credibility of information taken from which website they access the information from. Another risk of consuming contents online is that it could possibly affect the perspectives of a person on the different dimensions of their life may it be personal, social or health. For me, the exaggerated view of ‘beautiful wonderful things’ about one’s life dropped online is a downside of the digital world. It brings comparisons about one’s self to the other which would lead to mental health problems like anxiety and depression among the users, especially for the teenagers who do not still know the bigger, more cruel side of the real world.

Looking at the bigger picture, the aspects of consuming contents online vary depending on how a person perceive the information accessed. And also, on how well the user uses the information from the web. It is important to take note that to be an information, media and technology literate, one knows how to properly access, evaluate and analyze information from the internet.