With all the dangers, why buy online?

Online buying seems almost a natural extension of purchasing nowadays: get online statements, pay online, go green (no more paper bills), bank online, buy your food, get your dog a leash, etc. etc. etc.

But dangers are out there. Below is a link with an insane amount of statistics for identity theft, one of the most prevailent dangers out there:

http://www.spamlaws.com/id-theft-statistics.html

Here is an eye opener for why you don't want Spy/Ad Ware on your computer either:

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Dangers-of-Online-Shopping---What-You-Need-to-Know-to-Safely-Make-a-Purchase-Online&id=1574406

All interesting stuff, yet people still buy online, just like people still fly in airplanes even though it could crash. Ten years ago? Not so much. The vehicle for accepting online payments and protecting your information wasn't as strong. Online security is a major business today.

I think if you take this back a decade and compare it to today, you'll see that society more readily accepts the idea of purchasing online. It was a pioneering effort back in the 90s, cutting-edge technology to click a button and have something show up at your doorstep. Now it's rather commonplace, just about everything can be purchased and delievered from the convenience of your home.

Age has a lot to do with it too. Today's children/young adults have grown up with the idea that buying online is a normal, everyday practice. Older generations remember what it was like to pay with cash and walk into a store.

And I think the idea of the "dangers" of buying online is just a transfer of the "dangers" from buying in person. Instead of "dumpster diving" for credit card receipts or identifying information on people to "steal" their identity (big problem in the 80s and 90s) or even basic forgery that's been around forever, the underworld of getting something for now has transferred to the 'Net. An evolution of criminal activity. I think it makes the news because as with everything else online, it seems to be a lot easier to come up with metrics for identity theft than before.

So, buying online happens despite potential dangers because society more readily accepts it now, there are safeguards in effect to protect people and keep the honest people honest (hey we've got a police force, but people still rob the liquor store), and, quite honestly, could you imagine a life without online shopping?