Is the Internet an essential need or just a luxury object?

Hi I would like to know your opinion on a topic that i have to debate for school:

Topic: Internet is an object of luxury that we can do without

My position: Opposition (means that Internet is really important/essential in our life)

What do you think about it and if you've got some arguments for my position, that will be greatly appreciated because it is kinda hard to find some for my position ^^

EDIT: Yay I finally passed the debate ! Thank you all for your help ! I think we should let this discussion continue since it does concern us all

#456238

internet is somewhat a luxury, somewhat a necessity. Its a luxury of having not to run to the library everytime you need information, a infinite key to everything you might need to know, and connects you to the rest of the world. Without the Internet countless things would be non existant and basically... the whole world would probaly come crashing down. About 10% - 15% of North America still doesnt have a computer in their household. I remember, the first time i got a computer (August 2000) with internet, i was amazed at the things i could do and see on it.

So yea..my argument is...its essential.

#456241

Kind of a lopsided topic, because by definition, it is a luxury. But so are 90% of the things that we do and use on a daily basis.

My opposition argument:

The internet is pioneering the world to be a global community. We no longer can just communicate with people next door, people across the street, or people across town. Now we can communicate with people across borders, across vast oceans, and across language barriers. In every aspect of living, a tiny difference in one location could end up having a dramatic effect somewhere around the globe. The internet (and other technologies built off of it) makes it possible to relay this information quickly.

If you were to also be living in a remote destination, the internet also makes it simple to communicate with relatives, friends, and obtain information without any of it around you.

Also, it probably would be wise to think of what the affirmation would say and try to debunk that in your argument.

I hope that helps somewhat.

#456244

Luxury:

a material object, service, etc., conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity. Free or habitual indulgence in or enjoyment of comforts and pleasures in addition to those necessary for a reasonable standard of well-being

Necessity:

an imperative requirement or need for something

The internet (if I remember correctly) was start in 1969 connecting four major US colleges. And over the past 38 years has become as "necessity" work or play (the two factors in life) both revolve around the internet: Plane tickets, shopping, banking, txt documents, excel, presentations, vacation, movie tickets, research, school, online schools, ect.. As wizard stated 90% of everything we use is a luxury so the standard for what Luxury is lowers almost yearly. I personally think the internet its self isn't Luxury... I think hi-speed internet is a Luxury.

#456249

the internet was first design to actually allow the goverment to communicate in the event that phone lines were down. Like in the act of a war. The idea was to have the internet spidered out so much that an attack would not interrupt service. And it's still used for that purpose. To use civilians it s a luxury, but to the goverment, it's very much needed.

#456257

the internet was first design to actually allow the goverment to communicate in the event that phone lines were down.

that makes no sense. you have heard of dial-up, right?

#456293

that makes no sense. you have heard of dial-up, right?

Ha ha ha, good point. @Boog: I highly doubt cable internet was around in those days.

I suspect that it was developed as a military tool, however not as an emergency backup communications tool.

#456307

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet#Crea...of_the_Internet

Read up folks. I leaned the creation of the internet 10 years ago. It's sad all these teen-e-bopers don't know a single thing about the internet.

#456310

The USSR launches Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite. In response,the United States forms the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) within theDepartment of Defense (DoD) to establish US lead in science and technology applicable to the military.

...

RAND Paul Baran, of the RAND Corporation (a government agency), was commissioned by the U.S. Air Force to do a study on how it could maintain its command and control over its missiles and bombers, after a nuclear attack. This was to be a military research network that could survive a nuclear strike, decentralized so that if any locations (cities) in the U.S. were attacked, the military could still have control of nuclear arms for a counter-attack.

...

The physical network was constructed in 1969, linking four nodes: University of California at Los Angeles, SRI (in Stanford), University of California at Santa Barbara, and University of Utah. The network was wired together via 50 Kbps circuits.

I was kind of right.

#456311

Fire is a luxury that we can do without as well.

Descending from the trees was a bad idea after all - it only lead to the development of a too large brain for such a silly monkey.

I would write a gloss oozing with sarcasm if I was you.

#456915

The first thing I do after re-formatting my computer (wiping its hard disk) is connect to the internet.

Why?

I need to install updates, get the most recent software, get the software I didnt back up, download fixes, patches and ... well to me I just find it an important part of installation, that my computer be connected to the world of computers... the internet is a relatively free resource, and simply the world's largest source of information and software.

I mean, take for example- 'open office', i can acquire that software (spreadsheet, word processor, presentation software) for free off the internet! without the internet I would need to buy Microsoft office, and boy is it expensive!

Also take for example- that piece of hardware that just doesnt install right and is screwing up.

Are you going to talk to some lousy korean tech support department?.... or, are you going to download the latest driver from the website? checkout google? read some related forums?

the internet is simply the best tech support.

So my arguement is that it is a necessity, and is growing as such all the time. without it a computer's function is near obsolete. The internet allows us to share information such as photos, music, video and information, fast and effectively.

Before the internet became available, we still had photos, music and video BUT what was the point of having it on the computer?

we may as well have used traditional cameras, walkmans, and vhs cassettes.

thus the internet is a neccessity for the computer not to become obsolete to other technologies.

#456918

I get what you guys want to say and i approve these arguments

But..

What about all the African kids who live in poverty, they still can live without Internet, i even doubt that they are aware of the existence of computer and Internet (I mean no offense here, i'm not being racist) but what i mean is that, for us, living in rich country, we can afford what we need but for the guys in Africa, they absolutely don't need Internet and they still can live happily.

How about the civilizations that went through the millenniums, they didn't have Internet at their disposition and they still owned the world.

I really don't know what to say for these points

#457514

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet#Crea...of_the_Internet

Read up folks. I leaned the creation of the internet 10 years ago. It's sad all these teen-e-bopers don't know a single thing about the internet.

I'm presuming that if I were to read between the lines, or squint really REALLY hard, I'd be able to see that it would be in case the phone lines were down... right?

I just don't see it. Sorry.

#457516

because it is kinda hard to find some for my position

..the 'internet' isn't just about the medium over which content is delivered... dial-up or power lines... maybe if you consider it from the perspective of a protocol you could possibly agree that one of the reasons for it's implementation as such was for reliability/adaptability in the face of the medium.

hha.. i agree with herd

#457590

i've been using the internet since the early 90's..

i no longer consider it that much a luxury as theres so much crap on it now.

but a large amout of good stuff too.

#457727

Well all I can say is that we carried on with life without it before, same goes for cars and telephones. But it is integrated into nearly ever aspect of our lives today, online banking, working from different locations, email etc. It increases productivity by an enormous amount. I say it is essential

#457778

The internet is not essential, nor is it a luxury. It is merely a step up in human social evolution, one which brings both benefits and consequences. It is an alteration to the way we interact with humans, to the way we live our lives. These changes are both positive and negative, because while the internet brings us together as a species, it detaches our emotions and intentions and removes all intimacy in communication, both in our immediate personal lives and in our relations over great distances.

The internet is a bane and a boon to our society; it is a change, nothing more.

#457781

What gnomexp said. It's good to have and all, and it has its + and -'s.

#457797

The internet its self isn't Luxury... Hi-speed internet is a Luxury.

#457801

I think the way the internet has evolved has made it more a necessity than anything these days. It was first a great luxury in that it was a limited albeit resourceful place to exchange ideas worldwide without even getting off your chair. Over time, it grew and grew to more ends of the world and into more peoples' hands, and almost like a bacterial virus (I know, bad negative analogy, just try to think of it positively) it grew at such an exponential rate that it became a necessity for anyone who wanted to be a member of current society. My thoughts, in a nutshell.

#457802

we may as well have used traditional cameras, walkmans, and vhs cassettes.

thus the internet is a neccessity for the computer not to become obsolete to other technologies.

In the good ol' days, you could woo the ladies with a mixtape. Ever since the internet, women have become so much more demanding. We're losing an artform here, and I blame the internet.

#457803

I get what you guys want to say and i approve these arguments

But..

What about all the African kids who live in poverty, they still can live without Internet, i even doubt that they are aware of the existence of computer and Internet (I mean no offense here, i'm not being racist) but what i mean is that, for us, living in rich country, we can afford what we need but for the guys in Africa, they absolutely don't need Internet and they still can live happily.

How about the civilizations that went through the millenniums, they didn't have Internet at their disposition and they still owned the world.

I really don't know what to say for these points

true... but lets not forget many of the kids living in africa are dying.

I find it a little stupid that theres a big push to have one laptop per child in these developing countries when they dont even have enough food to feed thier family.

not due to lack of the internet though... due to a general lack of infastructure.

you have to ask yourself though, in western society- where would we be if suddenly the internet dissappeared.

not just for our personal use either... MONEY MONEY MONEY!

ATM's and banks all rely on the internet. And so do most businesses... eftpos and pretty much all businesses rely on it on a daily basis to make a profit.

if it suddenly went there would be an economic collapse.

not only that... but I think it would also affect like... umm traffic systems? maybe.... i dunno.

think outside the square of personal internet use.

many automated systems rely on the internet.

In the good ol' days, you could woo the ladies with a mixtape. Ever since the internet, women have become so much more demanding. We're losing an artform here, and I blame the internet.

ROFL...

now we wow them with our iPods silly!... and where would we be without the itunes store (or *cough* bittorrent)

#457809

The majority of credit systems are either phone driven or backscalable to phone systems. Credit card readers, ones that are still around, frequently verify numbers and transactions by phone service.

True, modern systems rely heavily and exclusively on internet connections, but most if not all are able to be reverted by about a decade in technology, to dialup and basic phone connections.

#457821

the internet is absolutely a luxury...the way electricity is. or the automobile. or penicillin. or two kidneys.

#457859

^ You forgot the 2 testicles XD

I agree. It's a luxury/service, don't forget you're paying for it, just like you pay for your car/gas/bus fare, medicine and home.

#457865