Today's Gambles, Tomorrow's Peril

The bait of the Devil, the snare that slowly destroys you

A question many teenagers stuck on the internet have is, "How can I make money online?"

Although it is a valid question that can be answered with more legal and safer ways, one of the answers tends to be very tempting, like a yellow glint deep inside a dark pit, but can actually be very detrimental not just today, but for their future.

What is it? Why is it dangerous?

Gambling is defined as an activity or a game of chance (rarely, skill) that allows players or bettors to earn money depending on the outcome. It is a very common action for all ages, young children betting on which spider will win, older people playing bingo, and casinos.

The danger comes from the beautiful lure of money and how accessible the internet makes it. Money talks. Money makes the world go round. The world operates off of money. It is something everyone wants. And when a lot of it can be won just by simply offering a little bit of your own cash and time on an easy-to-understand site, the appeal can be great.

However, as with every lure, the predator always awaits at the end of the line. The desire to win that big bag of green may cause people to invest more time and lose more money for the sake of getting the win, only to find themselves with less and less over a period of time until they eventually cannot even afford to buy basic needs. And even then, any new money gained either by work or winnings will be put back into gambling, creating a perpetual cycle of gaining and losing money.

Never take the first plunge.

Once you put in that first bit of cash into it, it'll be difficult to get back out. Even more so if you saw that you just barely won the prize on an online roulette. No matter how much you need the money or how much money you do have now, never do it. Only very few have been lucky enough to win on their first few tries. Many have tried hundreds of times, and a lot of them never even won a single time.

Gambling is never worth it, but the internet can mislead you into thinking it is. The first bit of money put into it will certainly not be the last, as the internet will surely remind you, from posts about people turning into millionaires overnight from one simple trick. A simple trick that can destroy your life if done too much.