Internet access is a privilege.

Introduction I would like to begin by thanking jamccartney for providing his main arguments. I will, however, refute these arguments without mercy. There were some good points made, but are ultimately not supported by sufficient evidence. My opponent utilized two sources, while I used seven. I used seven sources to prove how internet access is a privilege, while my opponent utilized only two in order to support his opinion, not at all forged upon fact. Rebuttals & Further ArgumentsIgnored PointsMy opponent has fully ignored certain aspects of internet usage. He simply states, "As I recently stated, we have entered the Information Age, which means our world is slowly being run by technology and the internet. You can make payments over the internet, some shops only work online, and computers like the Google Chromebook relies on the internet to do what it does. The world is slowly becoming connected by a global field that is important to living in society. Companies that don't use computers and the internet will not be successful. People that refuse to use computers and the internet will not be as successful as the people who do." I do acknowledge that the internet can be useful, but my opponent needs to acknowledge the very facts I placed before him. I showed how the internet is full of cyberbullying, pornography, and viruses, and can be used to hack and access classified information and data. I would like to share some additional facts about the internet, some of which I neglected to mention in the previous round. I apologize for that. Internetsafety101.org states, "Almost 93% of kids, ages 12-17, are online, and most exhibit a level of digital proficiency bewildering to those of us who want to protect them. Kids are feeling pressured to post provocative pictures, videos, and blog about their deepest personal experiences in a very public forum. Without guidance from parents and educators, few are thinking through the implications of their online actions. To make matters worse, many of the legal measures we need to protect kids on our virtual streets are unenforced or outdated, and law enforcement and prosecutorial efforts are often underfunded." Given the dangers of the internet, how and why should it be a right? I want this question to be answered clearly, efficiently, and accurately. My opponent attempted to answer this, but I am not satisfied. I want more. Many children and adolescents have had many bad things happen to them because they abused or were abused through the internet. It is most certainly not a right. It is a privilege. My opponent is unaware, however, that it is a privilege that can be earned very easily. The person must prove strength, trustworthiness, maturity, seriousness, integrity, and responsibility. These six things, I believe, are key to proper internet usage. A Personal Story When I was in the sixth grade and first obtained a Facebook account, I chatted with people I did not know, sent rude and perhaps even offensive messages to people, and did things without thinking. I was immature and irresponsible. Using the internet, I did certain things I am not particularly proud of - I did nothing illegal, of course - but why should I have had the right to use it, given the the things I have done? I should not have been allowed to simply use it. I should have earned it. A year later, in seventh grade, I changed. I matured. I saw the errors in my ways and utilized the internet responsibly. Instead of chatting with people I did not know, I researched information for projects, studied a new language, or played interactive educational games. Now, I am in the eighth grade, with only a few more weeks left until I am in high school. I am now writing this argument for this debate. I look back at my actions and I think, Why did I do those things? Why did I have the internet available? Why didn't I wait? If I had the maturity and responsibility of now at that time, I would have waited. PerspectiveYou cannot simply allow an individual to use the internet without him or her having proven responsibility and maturity. If you had a child, would you immediately allow him or her to utilize the internet? If yes, you would surely one day come in their room and catch them watching pornography or chatting with a pedophile. You would take away the computer or other device, or at least restrict them from using the internet for a certain amount of time. They have to earn the privilege again. If my opponent has any objection to these statements, I would like for him to address them in depth in his rebuttals. Pedophilia on the WebMy second source is written by M. E. Kabay, PhD, CISSP-ISSMP. He writes the following: "Children, parents and teachers face a new area of danger: the Internet. This course will review the dangers that people can meet on the Internet and then examine some of the technology that is helpful in preventing harm. Let's start with pedophiles. Pedophilia is defined as sexual arousal in response to contact with or images of prepubescent children. Some pedophiles misrepresent themselves as youngsters in chat rooms or via e-mail and trick children into forming friendships with what they believe are peers. In one notorious case, a 47-year-old man misrepresented himself as a 15 year-old boy in e-mail to a 12-year old girl in New Jersey. The victim's mother stumbled onto a package from her daughter to a man she didn't know because the child had put the wrong postage on it. On the video tape inside, she found that her little girl had been cavorting naked in front of the family video camera. In June 2000, child safety experts warned the U.S. congressional committee on child online protection that with the average of age of online users declining (children between the ages of two and seven are among the fastest growing user cohorts on the Internet), children increasingly are put at risk by their careless or ignorant online activities. The committee heard that 3,000 children were kidnapped in the U.S. last year after responding to online messages posted by their abductors. A recent survey of teenage girls found 12% had agreed to meet strangers who'd contacted them online." Jamccartney, there is even a slight chance that I am a pedophile. Of course, we both know each other outside of debate.org: On Skype, on Google, and in real life. If that weren't the case, you would not have a good reason to believe that I am a 14 year-old - currently, at least - that loves classical music and is multilingual. My profile says so. How do you truly know? You know because we are close friends, not only online, but also physically. The same cannot be said about other cases. Of course, if you are careful, only accept requests when there is a legitimate reason to trust them, send and receive messages with caution, and don't give in to the other party, you will be fine on the internet. However, that must be proven first. That is why it is a privilege. As a Punishment for a CrimeIn response to my question, my opponent says this: "My answer complicated. It depends on the situation. If s/he were in prison, my answer would be an automatic 'no'. However, if they were not in prison, living in society, my answer would be 'yes'. As I already mentioned, we are in the Information Age. The amount of internet usage in society is only going to increase drastically. Putting someone out in today's society and not giving them access to the world is a horrible thing to do, in my opinion. What can one do in society without that access? Not much. How can one turn their life around and become successful without that access? They cannot." As a matter of fact, the internet is not the only source of information. I acknowledge that we live in the Information Age, but there are dozens of other types of medias in existence, most notably television, newspapers, magazines, and the radio. Tell me, can a person use a television in order to cyberbully or distribute child pornography? No, most certainly not. This is accomplished using the internet. Please consider this. SummaryMy opponent has not sufficiently argued his case. He makes a few good points, such as the fact that we live in the Information Age, but his argument is overall flawed, unfounded, and pathetic. It ignored many key elements of this issue and misunderstands many of the actual facts.Also, his argument was rather short. I took my time and addressed the issues that matter. My opponent wrote a short, lousy argument, did not take his time, presented only two sources, presented his opinions without evidence, and generally did not perform well. I hope my opponent will do better and I look forward to his rebuttals. Works Cited1. http://www.internetsafety101.org...2. http://www.mekabay.com...