In the modern world, it is possible to shop, work and communicate via the Internet and live without any face-to-face contact with others. Is it a positive or negative development?

Some people nowadays consider that it is feasible to use the Internet for shopping, work and communication without any direct interaction with others. I personally believe that it has both benefits and drawbacks.

There are two fundamental advantages of using the Internet related to this issue. Firstly, It is effortless to use the Internet to contact someone in the globe, especially those who live in remote areas, because this service eliminates the inconvenience of distance. By clicking the mouse or touching on the screen, we could have a conversation via the Internet. For example, because of busy work in Canada, my aunt could not return to Vietnam regularly to visit relatives, so she uses communication tools such as Skype or Viber to contact us when possible. Secondly, online interaction is more flexible compared with the traditional one, because it significantly reduces travel time on a daily basis. For instance, we can go shopping or book a movie ticket while working at the office.

Despite the benefits mentioned above, I believe that online communication brings several disadvantages. Using the Internet continuously could constrain the development of social skills such as critical thinking or presentation skill. This is because, it is difficult to perform body language or personality through the Internet. Furthermore, when being over-reliant on this service, we gradually no longer communicate directly with others, then resulting in an indifferent society. For example, when entering a milk tea shop, it is easy to recognize groups of young people just starring the smartphone screen without interacting with each other.

In conclusion, I argue that depending on the Internet has both beneficial and detrimental effects