Over the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of Internet beggers (primarily begging through blogs and other websites). These people litter their sidebars with graphical buttons linked to their Paypal® account, often with some sort of notation about how your donations go towards supporting their endeavours on the Internet. Frequently accompanied by various advertisements (note: although common, this doesn’t mean all ad-powered bloggers are beggers) and sponsered posts paid for by such services as “PayPerPost”.

The majority of these people when questioned, will quite flippantly discuss their hatred for walking past beggars on the street or show disregard for the homeless asking for spare change, yet feel it okay to present themselves in a similar manner on the Internet. Does being another nameless/faceless Internet person make it alright to scream “broke”? Should we have to support fellow bloggers who want lifes luxuries — further education, holidays, big TVs, etc — but are too lazy to get a real job to purchase these for themselves?

Internet begging is not just a harmless pastime for teenagers looking to increase their pocket money — there are some, the likes of Karyn Bosnak, who use the Internet as a means to either support serious shopping habits or get themselves out of self-inflicted debt. This boils my blood — annoys me right down to the bone — knowing that there are some out there with so little self-respect that they take the lazy way out of their problems. What makes these beggers entitled to the kind of money that could feed tens of starving kids in Third World countries; because they couldn’t control their finances?

I daresay that the majority of people that I come across would find they had much more money if they unhooked their computer from the mains. Not only would this reduce the cost of their electricity bill, but would mean that they could disconnect their Internet connection (another saving) and get some fresh air. By not renewing their web hosting and countless “pay me cash .com” domain names, they would find a few extra pounds (or cents) in their purse.

If you’re so broke that it dictates your life and puts you in a position where you have to make a prat of yourself on the Internet, do what they used to do in the “old days” when they couldn’t afford to feed themselves: eat less and work more. Instead of running up the bills with games consoles, fancy electrical equipment, free laptops and your latest iPod, get out the good old jigsaws, play cards, talk to your friends and family, and spend less time plugged into the Internet. Of course, there is an even better alternative: get a bloody job! A real one, that involves getting off your lazy arse. Stop kidding yourself into thinking you’re going to make a life-long, sustainable fortune on the Internet.

(Last updated: 13th June 2007)