The internet is the greatest invention of our age, but has it really improved our lives?

There’s no denying the internet is very convenient. Using the internet, you can do so many things without getting out of the house. You can do everything from online shopping, catering or even hiring maids. Furthermore, work that has to be done can be completed altogether in one go instead of having to go back and forth wasting precious time. It's said time never comes back and so we must use it wisely.

Also, a recent study at the University of Maryland asked students to live without technology for a whole day. Students claim that it was very tough as being in university you need the internet for doing school work. In fact, research is one of the greatest benefits of the internet.

Despite the advantages, the internet also creates a lot of different problems.

For one, it takes up a lot of our time so that we sometimes lose track of our daily routine. People will spend hours on facebook chatting to friends instead of studying. It’s not only students, either – adults find themselves spending less time with their family and friends, instead constantly responding to e-mails. According to an article in Friday magazine, people nowadays disconnect themselves from the world just to get behind the screen. Critics say you can develop mental health issues, and the more time we spend sitting in front of the screen, the more likely we are to gain weight.

Also, while the internet is a great tool for doing research, many people copy and paste chunks of work straight from the internet into their work without learning much at all. This is known as plagiarism and it is against the law. In addition to plagiarism, too many children are exposed to websites, images and information that is not appropriate for them.

When used the right way, the internet can be an invaluable resource, providing quick communication, convenience and information about every topic you can imagine. Used the wrong way, it can isolate us from real people, encourage us to be lazy and expose us to things we’d be better off not seeing.

So has the internet improved our lives? Really, it’s up to you.

Areeba Sadiq, age 13