The pros and cons of E-business from a consumer's perspective

There are various disadvantages to buying goods online. At the same time, a consumer can suffer from this experience. Here I shall examine these and see if the positives outweigh the negatives, or vice-versa.

An advantage the internet has that physical shops cannot compete with is the sheer variety of goods it offers. No matter how big they are, shops and retailers have limits to the amount of stock they can hold. Online, the products at the consumers' fingertips are limitless.

Another plus is the information that can be provided digitally in regard to these products. The person trying to sell you the product can only tell you so much, and may use propaganda to make you but underwhelming goods. With the internet, you can discover the reliability of these products from numerous sources.

Another plus point is accessibility. When shopping online, sites such as Amazon can keep a record of your buying history and recommend products that may be useful or enjoyable to you.

The online shopping community can also be a place to get verdicts and recommendations, both for products you are seeking and others you may not be familiar with. It is a great way to find new friends who have similar interests to you.

Buying things online is also hugely convenient. No longer does one have to drive large distances and spend ages looking for what you want. Now a great variety of products can be bought from one's laptop, no longer needing to leave the house. Furthermore, items can be found for a cheaper price than they would be in a shop.

There are several downsides to this, however. Buying objects online requires giving one's personal details and credit card information. If their systems are hacked, your funds may be at great risk. Another disadvantage of this is that giving such details can make consumers very nervous and feeling vulnerable.

An advantage of physically buying something is that the consumer knows that their purchase has no chance of getting lost. This is not the case when buying things online, which can sometimes prove unreliable.

Overall, buying online can prove very helpful when all goes to plan.

My experiences in DKIT so far

Studying at Dundalk Institute of Technology has been nothing but a benefit for me. I had previously studied journalism in Griffith College, Dublin. But while I'm proud of that accomplishment, it hasn't really gotten me anywhere.

Before I started this course, I had no job and was bored to death most of the time. When I heard about this course, I immediately set about trying to get a place on it. I was delighted upon being told that I was something of a perfect candidate.

Not only would this course give me something to do, it would teach me a host of new skills. I learned so much about journalism in Dublin, but I needed to adapt to the media of the modern world. Newspapers are dying and the Internet is the future, and the more I know about that the better off I'll be.

While some things have taken me a while to get used to, I have really benefited from this course. Even though it only runs two evenings a week, it covers so much material and I now have a greater understanding of the world of media than I had before. Colin, John and Seamus really know how to make it accessible, so I really have to give credit where credit is due.

The most interesting part of doing this course has been the people I've met. They come from various walks of life and have numerous levels of experience when it comes to this topic. A lot of them put absolutely everything into their work and seeing them at it never fails to impress me.

My exposure to media

I have always had a fascination with popular culture. It's the reason I became a journalist in the first place. Though I don't get paid writing for Pulp Interest, it allows me to follow my passion of giving my opinion on music, films, books, TV series etc.

I access these forms of media through services such as Netflix and Spotify, and I visit the cinema and read quite often.

I always want to stay up to date with various types of news, and I do this online, on the television and by reading newspapers.

I also have accounts on various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Google+, which connects me to my friends and people I am a fan of. I even have apps for these of my phone so that I can access them when I am out and about.

Overall, I would say I am very exposed to media.