Survey Report

Research

Pros and Cons of Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging has become a great way to communicate with one another in real time. Nowadays almost all teenagers have an IM account, and their favourite pastime is to obviously Instant Message. Although it has been such a big hit, some parents feel that it is an invasion to ones privacy and some may not like it when other people know you are online, and start sending you messages that are of no importance, or as we otherwise know it, spam.

Although this is true, most IM programs have many features that can help you prevent this from happening. For example, you can block people from knowing that you are online, or you can set your status to ‘appear offline’ so that people would not know that you are online.

Pros

  1. It is efficient, as the other person sees your message almost immediately and is able to reply you at once, instead of the traditional method of emails, which is slow and painstaking.
  2. We are able to easily capture our conversations, and store them for later reference.
  3. IM is very cheap and, saves us the cost of having to pay for expensive phone bills.
  4. We are also able to have conversations with more that just two people at the same time.

Cons

  1. It is a distraction, as due to the convenience of being able to talk for free to whoever we wanted, it would keep us from doing our daily duties or work.
  2. The Instant Messaging software can be hacked, and confidential information could be leaked.
  3. As mentioned above, spam can also be a huge problem, although now its more toward emails, it could affect IM soon.

Whenever we are using Instant Messaging, we should take into consideration the basic safety rules that must be observed. We should not give out our phone numbers, bank pin numbers, or any information that can be used to identify you. Whenever filling up a form on the net, you must always ask for your parents consent. You should never give out any information on IM as hackers could put this information to bad uses.

When using IM there are some safety rules that we should follow:

  1. Use a password that is not easy to guess, for example a random jumble up of numbers and letters. Do not use obvious passwords like your date of birth, or NRIC number. Also you should change your password every now and then so that in the case that someone knows your password, he/she will not be able to access your account.
  2. Do not make available your IP address, as with this information, hackers will be able to track your location. You should read a guide of your IM software to find out how to protect your IP address, and keep it hidden from others.
  3. If someone is annoying you, use the blocking function, as well as the function that will make you ‘invisible' to everyone to make sure that that person does not disturb you. But if the person continues to try and disturb you, you should inform your parents immediately, so that they can carry out the necessary actions.
  4. Also, you should not share files over IM, especially those that contain personal information that can be put to bad uses, and you should also not send any sensitive material over the net, as we cannot be sure that this information will be safe, being passed over the net.

Whenever using IM we must be conscious of our surroundings. You should never talk too strangers on the net, as you never know someone might be out there to do you harm. If ever the case occurs, and you were to meet someone online, that you do not know, do not give out any personal details to this person and at no time should you agree to meet up with this person anywhere at anytime.

Many parents have complained that Instant Messaging is addictive, and that their children spend too much time on it. Most people ask what would be the ideal period of time for which one could Instant Message. Well actually there is no fixed time for which you have to use IM.

It depends on the user and the purpose for which he/she is using IM. For example, if he/she is using it for work, then he/she would have to be continually online, so as to converse with his/her friends. But if you were using it for leisure purposes, say just to talk to your friends, then it is not very advisable to spend too long on IM. And no matter how long we may use IM, or computers for that matter, we must not forget to take a 5 minute break every forty-five minutes.

Use of Instant Messaging

The use of Instant Messaging has become more and more widespread, particularly in teenagers. Out of all internet users, about 42% of them use Instant Messaging, and about 75% of teenagers use Instant Messaging.

Teenagers use Instant Messaging mainly to expand and connect with their social network, and for the ease of communication over a long distance. With Instant Messaging getting more widespread, more teenagers are using it, and the growth rate is at about 9%, also, more of the younger generation are using Instant Messaging each year.

About twice as many teenage girls use Instant Messaging as boys. However, the time spent on Instant Messaging on both genders is almost the same, at about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Majority of teenagers are active users of Instant Messaging, using it for more than an hour per session. More teenagers are also using Instant Messaging than email, because they can communicate in real time with their friends, as though they were talking to each other.

Instant Messaging is also used for educational purposes among teenagers. It is sometimes used for class discussions and among work groups, since more than two people can take part in an Instant message conversation. It has also been used to conduct lessons/lectures over video conversations. However, not many schools have used Instant Messaging as part of their curriculum.

©The Probl(IM)s Group 2008