The internet, what was once a small computer network used by scientists and researchers, has become very popular over the years. Over 147 million people now use the internet worldwide and 79 million of them live in the United States (Corrections Today, 1999). Both computers and the internet are very accessible for the majority of society. The internet can be accessed at jobs, schools, and in homes for a very cheap price of $20 a month or even less for unlimited access to the internet. For most students, access to the internet is free so the majority of the users in the United States do not find themselves paying for internet service. The internet provides us with unlimited information and is a very popular form of communication for people throughout the world, especially in the U.S. The great thing about the internet is that all communication is instantaneous. The internet offers service 24 hours a day anywhere in the world, so anyone can have access to it anytime and anywhere. All someone needs to do is simply press a button and the amount of information that you can access is limitless. People communicate on the internet through chat rooms, e-mail, mailing lists, and mainly through web sites that people create. The possibilities are endless with the internet and they will continue to grow more and more as the amount of users increase.
The users of the internet range from little kids to teenagers and all the way up to the elderly. It does not matter how young or old you are, anyone has access to the internet. Another aspect of the internet is that there are no limitations set on the use and content of what can be found online. This is a positive feature but there is also a very negative side to it as well. The majority people use the internet for accessing information and communication, but there are two different types of users. The ones that just simply view stuff on the web and the ones who take part in creating web sites and expanding the internet itself.
