Internet has been one of the most influential and successful innovation done by the humankind. Since its invention has been used globally for communication, business, entertainment and learning. In fact, it would be okwey to say that internet moves the world. Internet has simplified life in almost every aspect. In schools, it has made learning an enjoyable experience to the students. This essay will discuss the ways in which it’s censorship by the American government will affect the education system.
How is the internet censorship detrimental to the education system in America? The censorship of internet services by the government is bound to have some underlying negative effects to the education system. Internet has made learning a very enjoyable phenomenon to the students. Its censorship may spell doom to all the students who use it in their daily learning process, as it will deem learning to be a very boring activity to them. This will in turn put many children who used it out of school. Censoring the internet creates boredom and more people will devalue the value that academics have on the growth of America. Instead of more people joining schools, there might be even a higher number of dropouts and student enrollment. This will have negative effects, as more incidences of crime will increase.
Internet has made learning in America very easy. Some colleges and universities in America offer online courses to students and people all over the globe. This would not have been possible without the internet services. This is because students need to be connected to the internet to undertake their courses. If the government puts in measures to censor the internet the number of students studying online will decline significantly. This will have negative effects in the system, as there will not be many learned people in the society as the government would have wished. The people who study online do give revenue to the government and the censorship on effect means that the government is also losing.
The government should not interfere with the student’s right to information. Through censoring the internet, it means that the government would be in violation of the student’s right to information. This is not good for the education as there will be students who are not informed. This will render America as a country of mis-informed students who cannot compete effectively with students from other countries. This will mean America has students finishing college but who are not globally competitive and parents might decide to educate their children elsewhere other than in the American education system.
In todays, education system the learning process comprises exchange of ideas by students globally. This is made possible by this service as a student in America can exchange materials with a student in Great Britain or Germany and vice versa. This happens using internet services like e-mail and the social media. Censorship means that the government would close some of these sites and the American students would be unable to access materials from other parts of the world. The education system would go down, as education is exchange of ideas and locking the students from this important aspect means, they will be lagging behind in education system while the rest of the world’s students is progressing.
Implementing internet censors will slow down innovations in the academic field in America. Internet censoring develops a force that hinders creativity. There is a lot of useful information found on the internet, and once censorship measures are applied in the academic system, Americans will be limited to information. The internet has been identified as the key resource center by innovators who use it in their daily affairs. The purpose of education is to equip students with the ability to evaluate different information sources and use it to make a well-researched judgment. Censoring the internet will mean that America will lag behind in innovations as one key tool has been cut out.
Internet offers what is in digital terms known as e library. This access of books and information in the internet is a major driving force in education standards in the world. Censoring of even these e libraries means what is accessible is only what the government wants the students to know. This is in contradiction with the democratic rights of students to information. Global issues not only in academic are being shaped by the internet and censoring it brings more harm than good to academic users in America. Putting censor measures does not give children an opportunity to develop their ideas children and other students need to be given a chance to develop their beliefs. An example is that of HIV/AIDs, censoring the internet will leave students and all academic stakeholders in America wondering how sex leads to this disease. The internet has provided numerous information on such topics that people find difficult to talk about. These sites are the only reliable sources of information that teach students the effects of engaging in sexual immorality. Censoring such sites creates curiosity rather than avoidance of the issues, this urge to know what is censored can cause significant harm to the students and the education system.
Censoring the internet will only prevent children in America from having the knowledge of the immoral behaviors. With books and even magazines containing the censored information, the blame of what the government seems to be censoring, cannot be solely put on the internet. Children will grow up with misguided information. At one stage in life, students will need to know about some of the topics and issues that are censored in the internet and they will find it challenging since they will not have any idea about these topics. This will affect the education system in that the students may opt to experiment those things. This would have been avoided if the government does not censor the information but instead teach and guide students on these matters.
The internet is the only way that people approve other people’s way of life. Internet gives information about other people in the society from different backgrounds. Since some of these things may not be taught within the confines of a classroom, it offers the best way for students to learn. This helps the students to understand and relate with people from different backgrounds. With the government, censoring the internet information like this one may not reach the students and there may be disharmony in the education system, as the students do not want to relate with people from a different background or ethnicity. Unlike politics and culture that have their own walls of division, the internet does not discriminate. It is not based on culture, traditions, race or political trends. Use of the internet has united people and made the world a global village where information flows fast. The government will have created a wall by introducing censoring policies on the internet. It will actually create disunity.
Conclusion
After thorough research, this paper gives a comprehensive analysis on why internet censoring in America should not be effected. An open and uncensored internet is the only way to promote quality knowledge. There are other measures that can be introduced such as parental control on the internet but censoring does not offer a solution. Education is all about knowledge and developing logical judgments, this is the only way that quality education can be offered in an ever-changing world.
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