Is it exorbitantly cruel to keep fish in a fishbowl?

I’ve been daydreaming about keeping fish next year when I’m in college, but I’ll be in a little dorm and won’t exactly have the space/money for state of the art equipment. I was googling fish bowls yesterday, and depending on where you look, some people say that keeping ANY fish in a bowl is terribly cruel and shouldn’t be done. Others say it’s okay.

All I really want is some kind of aquatic snail, one or two very small fish (maybe guppies, cloud fish, or neon tetras) and maybe a ghost shrimp. Should I give it up until I can invest in a nice tank for them, or is using a bowl acceptable? Is there anything I can do (plants, etc.) to make their environment nicer?