Midterm Essay #2

Computer literacy is important for three reasons. First, an increasing number of jobs require at least some skill with a computer. It could be anything from a web developer to a police officer. Granted, there are some jobs that do not require such skills. However, one does not necessarily need for the computer to be central to whatever his or her job may be. Computer literacy may be required to a limited extent. People could use them for tasks as simple as exchanging email and submitting reports.

Another reason that it pays to be a computer user is profit. There are people out there, people like Kevin Rose, who made their fortunes on the internet. On a smaller and slightly less glamorous scale, money can be made in online commerce. Sites like eBay can be used to buy and sell items, maybe even for a profit. Services like Google's AdSense allow you to easily make money off of advertising on your site. In a much more tech-savvy way, a person could produce and distribute their own software. If a developer can think of a program, there is probably a market for it.

The third reason it pays to be computer literate is to stay informed. So much useful information is available on the internet, older media cannot possibly keep up in variety or volume. If the television networks are not reporting on a given event, there is a good chance that that event is being reported somewhere on the internet. Since the internet does not respect borders, it is very easy to get information from sources all over the world. It can often help to get an international perspective on an event and conventional media outlets here in the United States may not provide that extra perspective.