I guess in years to come we will soon witness e-births and e-cremations. (Pun intended!)
Nevertheless, not long before, all of these 'e-activities' were taken up in person physically instead of just logging in, typing a few words, clicking a few buttons and then eventually logging out, sitting back and watching the 'e' do its work. It's indeed phenomenally magical. But its equally unorthodox, unconventional and lackluster, to say the least.The internet today is replete with various sites of its own kind. From Facebook, the mother of all social networking sites, to Twitter, from Instagram to Flickr, from Flipkart to E-bay, there is a litany of such examples to follow.
Undoubtedly, internet has not only made life more easy and comfortable, but it has also helped people in staying more connected and bolstered the feeling of social oneness among them.So far, so good.
But what internet has also done in the course is often forgotten : it has rendered some vulnerability to every individual using the internet.Looking at the trends today, it is easy to conclude that the people, particularly youngsters, are addicted to the social networking sites of the likes of FB, Twitter etc.This has two-pronged effect - one, their sense of friendship and knowing people is contracting to the internet community only. Youngsters prefer to make friends over the internet and some 'out-of-mind' characters even go on to as far as dating someone they have known only over the internet. No sane soul in this world would support that idea but then there are always exceptions.
Two, the information shared or rather broadcasted on these social networking sites makes an individual's personal credentials and private information easily accessible to people.This facilitates unwanted people and intruders to peep into one's life and transgress one's privacy. No level of security can avoid such incidents because more often than not, sooner or later , there always is a glitch that can be exploited and taken advantage of to access one's personal information.
If we talk of organized Cyber-crime then the situation is even worse.The biggest and the most dangerous cases of frauds and heists have been perpetuated over the internet. Cases of money laundering involving huge amounts of cash are littered all over the web. Recently, several of the banks operating in India declared a cumulative loss of close to 6,600 crores because of cyber money laundering in the periods of Jan-Aug, 2012. Further a survey by Norton claims
one out of three internet users is a victim of cyber-fraud. The numbers are undoubtedly alarming and uneasing. Yet, people take this with reckless attitude and do not adhere to the rules of online banking strictly. Their nonchalant disposition is one of the reasons for rampant cases of cyber-frauds.
Optimists believe that a person is equally likely of being a target of an actual robbery and getting mugged of physical cash. But what they fail to realize is this - Cyber frauds are pretty more likely to be the mode of crime in this world of ever-increasing tech-saviness. Add to it that the perpetrators of these crimes are difficult to nab, given the sophisticated nature of the crime.
So the point to be driven home is this - the comforts and facilities that this 'e' age has showered upon us, offered just at the click of a button, should be used to the fullest. But it shouldn't be made a habit and a necessity, because sometimes the conventional way out is the best and the safest way out.
Pseudonym : h!v
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