Some people say that the Internet is the greatest invention ever. However, for adolescents its one of the worst things ever created. Most of the homework a teacher assigns involves the use of the computer and Internet. There are many helpful websites that can be used to complete assignments, but at the same time there are many more websites that just distract students completely. They can distract students regardless if they are using the computer or not.

For instance, a new website was recently found on the Internet by a couple Cherry Hill East students, Facebook. This is a website that allows you to be friends with anyone you want to be. You can send your friends messages, post things on to their “wall” and poke them. Companies and everybody else are able to look at your information and know everything about you without ever talking to you. I tried to apply this website in real life and it just really distracted me. In period six lunch I “poked” various “friends” of mine and they didn’t poke me back. Which resulted in me receiving a white card, which said, “Student repeatedly attempts to injure students by poking them”. Also, I consider my teachers my friends in a way. So I decided to write on their “wall”. They did not “like” this at all, they “posted” my name on the Saturday school list. Facebook distracted me from doing my homework on the Internet, but Facebook now gave me all this time do homework in detention.

Another interesting website, that has surfaced about three years ago is Progress Book [ www.parentaccess.chclc.org ].  This was definitely designed by teachers in order to torture students. The worst part is that your parents know your grades before you do.

“Tyler, how’d your test go?”

“It went all right, it was really hard mom?”

“So what is this I see, a 60/100?”

“ Oh… Oh no, my teacher hit the wrong key, its supposed to be a 50/100”

I can tell when my mom has checked progress book, because she will constantly reminding me of the homework I am supposed to be doing. Also, she questions why I received a certain grade on everything. This site also just distracts kids even more. We take a test on Monday, then we check progress book right after school, and twelve more times before then dinner, then sixteen more times before we go to sleep.  And then wake up in the middle of night only three times to check progress book. When really, the teacher will not put up the grade until a week later! But since Progress Book distracted you, you didn’t complete your homework for that class.

The Internet is just a huge distraction, if you copy the information from it, its plagiarism. If we read Sparknotes instead of the real book, that is not allowed. Therefore, it leaves the Internet with no real use in our lives besides, looking up funny videos of babies biting people.