Some people believe today that everyone has a right to access to the Internet and that governments should provide this access for free. Other people believe that access to the internet is not a right and should be paid for like other services. Discuss both these views and give your opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

The Internet has changed the way we perceive day to day activities. It has affected major walks of life and given entertainment a new perspective. Majority of the western countries have digitally revolutionised and everybody has access to the internet while in other parts of the world it is still considered as a luxury. It is often argued that governments should be responsible for ensuring that everyone can get access to the internet. I personally do not believe that it is the government’s responsibility to provide free internet access to everyone as it is quite an unreasonable demand. In this essay, I will support my opinion with examples. In many growing economies, the government has several major problems to tackle like hunger, poverty, infrastructure and healthcare etc. In my opinion, equating these issues with the need of access to the internet is quite illogical, however, the government can instead digitalise public institutions such as libraries, colleges, community centres etc and provide free internet access to everyone. Various studies have shown that the majority of people the internet for entertainment rather than educational purposes. For instance, social media platform such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc is the most commonly visited sites as compared to educational websites, which are rarely browsed. Furthermore, setting up internet facilities requires expensive equipment which will put the additional burden and pressurised government. Hence, I believe the government should spend this money to eradicate poverty. In the end, I would like to conclude that even though providing internet access in some parts of the world will be a step in the right direction, certainly, it's not the need of the hour. According to me, providing basic facilities such as food, sanitation, clean drinking water etc are of much more impoimportantshould be dealt at first.