In the present-day society, there emerges a new trend in economic activity—the sharing economy. By definition, the sharing economy refers to a peer-to-peer (P2P) based economic activity of acquiring, providing, or sharing access to goods and services, which is often facilitated by a community-based online platform.

As for whether such an economic model should be advocated, just as the saying goes, “The benevolent see benevolence and the wise see wisdom”. Advocates point out that the sharing economy fully utilizes redundant resources and is therefore beneficial; however, some adversaries argue that this economic form, mostly based on online platforms, may easily cause irreversible leakage of personal information. To my mind, the sharing economy does more good than harm.

The protection of private information, although it remains a major concern, will be properly addressed when stricter law and supervision are in place. Furthermore, this minor problem makes no difference when it comes to the positive changes the sharing economy has brought to our life.

For one thing, this type of economy makes the most of underused personal assets. According to data provided by the Brookings Institute, private vehicles go unused for 95% of their lifetime. In the sharing economy, these idle vehicles can be rented out when not in use.The car sharing app Didi is a case in point. When some passenger is in urgent need of a car ride, he can type in his destination via the app and soon his request will reach all registered drivers. Then the driver who happens to have a seat available in his car may accept the passenger’s request and go to pick him up. This is a win-win deal, where the driver makesmoney from his underused car and the passenger receives timely help.

For another, the sharing economy develops close relationships among people. In today’s networked world, connected online as they are, people seem to become less intimate with each other due to some decrease in the time they meet face to face. Good news is that the lack in face-to-face communication can be well supplemented on Airbnb, a room sharing website. It provides travellers with home-stays where they keep close contact with local residents. “The host showed us around in the evenings and introduced us to tasty local food. The guests in other rooms were from different countries such as Japan and Russia. We all befriended each other and spent a lot of happy time together”, said Vitto Zhong to China Daily.

Let’s embrace the sharing economy. Let’s welcome a sharing world.