Is the internet an 'out-of-control monster?"

The World Wide Web is now 30 years old, with millions of websites and growing. But without it, the Internet would not be as global as it is now.

I don't think the internet is an 'out of control monster' but I can see why people would think that. It has scarily become a major part of our lives, and the way society is now is so different to when I was a child.

I first started using computers when I was 8 years old, and I would spend hours on our family one until my eyes would hurt. I would wake up early on the weekend just to catch a few more sneaky hours before my parents threw me off or my brother wanted a go. I had a Facebook account (when I wasn't supposed to) and other social media, and I started speaking to loads of 'strangers' who I met on virtual gaming websites, some of which are still very good friends to this day who I have met up with! Some would argue I was exposed to the Internet too young, but if anything, it's given me years of experience and I now love everything to do with tech, social media and digital content.

It can be a scary place. So many things could have gone wrong as a young child on the Internet, but back then it wasn't as developed as it is now. I'm glad that I'm not a 8 year old right now in 2020. Things are so different.

Would I give up the internet in exchange for 1 million? Definitely not! I would be bored out of my brains, and that means I wouldn't be able to do what I love or work in my dream job. Although 1 million would probably mean I'd never need to work again, I wouldn't be able to communicate with my friends who live in different countries, I wouldn't be able to stream my favourite movies and TV shows on Netflix and Disney+.

If the web had not been invented, it's hard to say whether life would be worse or if it would be improved. Let's compare:

Improved

• People would be forced to socialise and meet in person, which I think is healthier than hiding behind a screen all the time.
• There would be no toxic social media influencers, trying to get you to look and dress a certain way and make you feel bad about yourself. This is something I feel strongly about because if someone looks 100% perfect on Instagram, it's normally a lie thanks to Photoshop. People would be more confident with themselves, instead of feeling insecure by constantly seeing this stuff everywhere.
• We would be all-around healthier. The Internet can be addicting and being able to think freely without a keyboard warrior attacking you online because they don't agree with your opinion is just messed up.

Worse

• I and a lot of others would never have met our close online friends. Sometimes I think they're even more trustworthy than the friends I see every day.
• The internet has allowed us to be a modern society, we rely on the Internet for lots of jobs these days because it allows us to do things in more advanced ways. If the internet wasn't around, we would all still be working in offices or other boring jobs.
• The internet has helped lots of extraordinary things happen that wouldn't be possible without it. It's hard to imagine a world without all the things we have right now. We're lucky.

I think giving the rest of the world access to the Internet would definitely improve their lives. It would allow them to feel included with the rest of the world, and really feel part of something. Right now they have absolutely no idea what's going on with the rest of the world, they're completely isolated and aren't informed about major events that's happening.