How safe is it, really?

It's human nature to fear what we do not understand and new technology is one of those things. From soccer moms decrying the use of Mxit to politicians complaining about violent games, cyberspace is no exception. Many people fail to harness its true power as a communications tool.

You have to wonder whether their concerns are legitimate — does the internet really have a negative influence on our youth? The case of 13-year-old Megan Meier seems to reinforce the notion that the internet is a seedy place. A woman posing as a boy named Josh befriended the teenager and all seemed well. After six weeks, the tone of the messages changed. "Josh" sent harsh messages, such as "The world would be a better place without you." Megan Meier committed suicide.

Megan Meier was just the most publicised case; with reports of predators using the internet to defraud and harm people, there are many risks to using it. For paedophiles, the internet provides the perfect tool for deceit and exploitation.

However, it must be noted that the internet has also seen a crackdown on paedophiles. Take for example the case of Canadian teacher Christopher Neil. The 33-year-old was caught after Interpol experts managed to reconstruct digitally "swirled" photographs of him molesting young boys.

Are we becoming increasingly isolated?

So, has the internet drawn us closer together or has it simply distanced us from the real world? Making a call and surfing the net has definitely reduced the amount of time we physically see our friends and family.

Webcams and social networking sites have given us the opportunity to communicate with our loved ones in distant places, but more often than not we are reduced to sitting on the outside, looking in.

We seem to be content to read and watch what other people are up to — our own real-life version of Big Brother. From checking out your crush's blog, to watching what other people are up to, we unwittingly become cyber-world voyeurs.

Nowadays, people are probably more likely to leave a Facebook message than visit the person to deliver it. A rambling message meaning nothing can easily be sent to someone on the other side of the world. The fact that we are so wired has resulted in us compulsively checking our phones and computers every few minutes, leaving people with no time to do the things that really matter.

Activities like going out for a cup of coffee, visiting a friend's house or even hanging around at the local park have been forsaken for watching a pirated movie at home, playing 'FIFA 09' or logging in to your instant messenger for hours on end. And to think that Phidippides ran 26 miles to deliver a message...

In the end, whether the internet has made the world a bigger or smaller place is irrelevant. This invention is here to stay, so make the most of it.