第七类 网络

01 What websites are popular now?

1.1 淘宝

1.1.1 什么都能买到

The most popular website in my country is Taobao. It is the online shopping destination for most Chinese people, because it has everything you need. Whether you want to buy a book, or rent WIFI when traveling abroad, or get yourself a wedding dress, you can find it all on Taobao. In China, there's just nothing you can't buy on Taobao.

1.1.2 价格便宜

No other online or offline business can beat the prices on Taobao, because they don't have to pay shopfront rental costs, yet enjoy immense traffic due to the popularity of these platforms. Last time, I wanted to buy a coat in a physical store. The price was about 500 yuan. That was too expensive for me. I couldn't afford it. However, I found exactly the same coat on Taobao, and it was only half of the asking price.

1.2 维基百科

There's nothing more convenient than Wikipedia if you're looking for some quick information. There's no need to go scrolling through Google or Baidu anymore. Recently, I needed to write a paper about the peanut bug. However, there aren't many official sites with confirmed facts on it. Thanks to Wikipedia, which has articles on everything, I found the information I needed in a concise and easy way. The best thing is that there are references on the bottom of the page linked to Wikipedia, so I can have a deeper understanding of related issues and topics.

1.3 大众点评

Dazhongdianping is a very famous website in China. The site is like word-of-mouth for the digital world. You can easily search for nearby restaurants, read plenty of reviews, and even view great local deals and photos of places. Last year, I moved to a new city, Chengdu. I knew nobody there, so Dazhongdianping became one of my most valuable resources. I remember, once I wanted to find a restaurant that makes the best cheesecake, so I used Dazhongdianping to help me narrow things down according to distance, price and rating. And I found the best cheesecake ever! It was incredibly creamy and rich! So, you see it's just so easy to find hot places to go by using the app.

Dazhongdianping is my best friend, because I never have an absolute idea about what to eat for lunch or dinner. That's when I pull out my cell phone, open the Dazhongdianping app, and let it recommend restaurants for me. It is also a great way for foodies to find new delicious restaurants, since users can simply browse through the pictures of the ones that they are interested in. With the detailed reviews of other foodies, users can decide in seconds if that particular restaurant is worth going to. .

1.4 微博

1.4.1 了解时事

I love using Weibo very much, which is a Chinese microblogging website. For me, it's a great place to catch up on the latest news. For example, last winter, I followed @Beijingnews as a snowstorm raged on. I saw pictures, read first-hand information about conditions, and learned when it was safe to go out.

1.4.2 关注名人

I like Weibo, because I can use if to follow the people I like. presidential candidates, celebrities, artists, leaders and other prominent figures are very active on Weibo, and many of them engage with their followers on a regular basis. My favorite singer is Taylor Swift. I follow her on Weibo, and I very much enjoy reading her posts and seeing pictures of her daily life.

1.5 微信

1.5.1 聊天

I think chatting on WeChat with friends has become an essential thing for of every youth in China. I chat with my family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend on WeChat. When I feel bored, I scroll through my contact list and see who I want to talk to. Sometimes I would ask my friends out through WeChat, and it's just so convenient. If you are a lazy person like me, you will love WeChat, since you can just press and hold the“talk” button and talk directly into your phone. You can just say bye-bye to typing. And your friends can listen to the audio message anytime they want. They can also replay the audio as many times as they like.

1.5.2 朋友圈

WeChat Moments is a great way to check the recent status' of friends. Most of my classmates are busy studying and preparing for tests, doing research and experiments, and thus have no time to catch up with old friends by telephone. Moments provides busy people with an easy way to connect with others. I have this habit of opening up WeChat Moments every night before sleep, and browsing through the events that my friends posted. I can comment, give them a thumbs up, or just click their icon and start to chat with them individually. This is the perfect solution for busy people nowadays.

02 What is the disadvantage of using the Internet?

2.1 网购缺点

2.1.1 无法看到实物

I usually shop online, which saves me a lot of time, but the disadvantage is that I can't try items on to decide whether to buy them, and there is a chance that the clothes might not fit. Last time, I saw a model wearing a long coat on a magazine cover. She looked so cool in the coat that I bought the same one on the website. However, the coat turned out to be a disaster for me. I am just too short for it. Also, I don't have the opportunity to touch and feel items I am considering purchasing. However, with clothing, bedding, pillows, furniture, rugs and other textile-based merchandise, it can be hard to gauge quality without hands-on contact.

2.1.2 运费增加成本

There are hidden costs of online shopping, such as shipping charges. You'll get that product delivered to your home, but you might end up paying more for the shipping than the product's cost. Trust me. I hardly ever use my Coach Tote Bag, which I ordered online. The bag itself was about $100, but shipping and customs costs I paid made the bag more than $200. Also, if you don't like the item you have purchased, returning it for a refund can be costly too. Most online retailers do not refund shipping costs. So, it often costs you more money than you planned to spend if you need to exchange an item.

2.2 丧失思考过程

The Internet is both a blessing and a curse. It's certainly convenient to have the sum of all knowledge at our fingertips. The problem is that when it comes to research, we seldom question the credibility of the site or the information on the website. All we need to do is type a question in the search bar, hit Enter and read the first link that appears. For today's students, doing research has shifted from a relatively slow process of intellectual curiosity and discovery to a fast-paced, short-term exercise aimed at locating just enough information to complete an assignment. For instance, many students use Wikipedia as a reference resource, and it can be a very good starting point for beginning a search on any given topic. Unfortunately, the fact that anyone can edit the encyclopedia leaves the data suspect. Students may be reading information that is outdated or even incorrect, posted by someone who is not an expert in the field or by someone who is biased. So, we need the mindset of critical thinking on identifying proper sources when we are using the Internet.

2.3 浪费时间

Social media can be a great tool for finding information and working together, but it can also be incredibly distracting. It's easy to lose hours browsing through photos, tweets, and videos, which may reduce the amount of time spent on educational tasks. Last time, I was supposed to use the Internet to search for some resources for my midterm paper, but I somehow started checking my email and found out there would a big sale at Walmart next Monday. Then I began reading through Facebook posts and made some comments on my friends' newly posted pictures. I didn't realize how quickly hours went by. And due to the Internet, I wasted at least two hours without doing anything related to my paper. It's just so hard to resist those temptations, especially when they are only a click away on the desktop.

2.4 减少面对面沟通

People are social animals, and we need real communications with others. However, since the advent of the Internet, people have started to connect online, without the real interactions, such as the exchange of eye contact, and bodily contact like hugs, hand shake, or high-fives. My point is, there are things that can not be replaced by the pure text, audio, or video communication on the Internet. We have to go out more, and enjoy the real accompaniment of friends, families, and Mother Nature.