The Use of Computers

“Critics often argue that the use of computers is reducing levels of literacy.” Can you imagine life without computers? They are surely a great invention of all times. Along the years, it has proved to be an excellent helping hand in most activities. Yet, have the changes they brought about really been for the better? To begin with, the benefits of computers cannot be denied. On the one hand, they save valuable time and space. Time consuming tasks, such as checking bank accounts, can now be done in a matter of minutes and large amounts of information are stored on tiny disks. In addition, with immediate access to the internet, they allow us to explore the world from the comfort of our homes. They provide us information about everything we can think of and they are also great communicationtools. By using instant messaging or emails we can communicate to anyone in the world we want at any time. Finally, computers provide entertainment, for instance in the form of amusing games. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages with the computer age, related especially to the negative effects they have on people. They easily become dependent on them. How often do we hear of youngsters spending all their free time in front of the computer, isolating themselves from other people their age? Computers damage proper communication. Using instant messaging and emailing has a bad influence on our ability to write correctly. Because of our rush to communicate more things in less time, we miss some letters or we express incorrectly and, in time, we forget the spelling of some words. When having to do a certain homework, students, instead of doing research in several books, they search the entire homework on the internet, which doesn’t give them the chance to improve their knowledge and creativity, but reduces their levels of literacy. Computers also offer the young people a world full of relaxation, fun, far away from the reality and this takes away from them the sense of