This is my first official blogpost and I am looking forward to it. I have been asked to answer the following question: Is the internet helping or hurting?
In the simplest terms, the internet is probably one of the single greatest inventions man has ever come up with. It allows us to view essentially any sort of information on anything we want in a matter of moments. Did I forget to mention that its also ALL available to you at anytime of the day and on demand? The amount of information at your disposal is basically incalculable. However, there are some major problems with the internet that have us wondering, "Is the Internet Helping or Hurting?"
One might argue that the internet has helped us in many crucial ways. It has brought us loads of entertainment whether it comes from videos, images, video games, social networking and I could go on. However, recently there have been many aspects of the internet that have become extremely unappealing. For one, social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace have left us wondering whether it is even safe to be members of these sites. False identities and Cyber Bullying are just some of the things that will assuredly not have you interested in being involved with these sites. Creating a false identity for oneself is both unintelligent and downright wrong. Although some may claim that they can be whoever they want online, how do they really know that? The fact of the matter is that you are who you are, and what you post online isn't really the truth. Cyber bullying is surely one extremely dangerous aspect of the internet. It has caused some horrific things to happen to certain people. Suicides, deaths and the ruining of lives are just some things that can result from simply typing out a message to someone on a computer and sending it to them via the internet.
Lastly, a complete lack of privacy is something that is truly immoral and unsafe. Imagine someone happened to post a photo of you that depicted you vomiting into a toilet because you had a few too many drinks. Then, you go and apply for a new job, and lets say that it's your dream job. The interview goes well and you think that you've nailed it. However, you are not hired because they went and did a background check on you and found this photo of you severely inebriated, which completely changed their mind about hiring you.
Lastly, a complete lack of privacy is something that is truly immoral and unsafe. Imagine someone happened to post a photo of you that depicted you vomiting into a toilet because you had a few too many drinks. Then, you go and apply for a new job, and lets say that it's your dream job. The interview goes well and you think that you've nailed it. However, you are not hired because they went and did a background check on you and found this photo of you severely inebriated, which completely changed their mind about hiring you.
In conclusion, I strongly believe the internet is hurting us. There are many good aspects of the world wide web. However, is it all truly worth it if most of our personal information is out in the open waiting for anyone to get their filthy hand on it? Absolutely not. Which is why we must realize that we all must be extremely careful with what we post online whether it be a Youtube video, a picture to Facebook, or your address on Myspace. I have seen some rather embarrassing things on some of my peers online that I would surely not want associated with my name. As Kurt Cobain Once Said: " I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not."We must realize that it is better to be oneself than to be someone who we are not.
Hope you enjoyed this,
-Mason
I really enjoyed your blog, Moose. Your points were very solid and you backed them up quite well. The only thing I'd have to say is that you should have separated your middle big paragraph into 2 or even 3, because it changes topic at some point and it seems like it just completely came out of nowhere. :p
ReplyDeletefrank these problems will be fixed shortly.. thanks for your feedback man..
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMason, good points, and I agree with everything you said! I would just like to point out that at the beginning of your post, I thought you were going towards the "the web is helping" side, and then the idea changes. I would suggest to you to make sure that your first paragraph doesn't over advertise the opposing argument.
ReplyDeleteAlso, something else that struck me, was that you said that creating a false identity for yourself is "downright wrong". If we take the example of autumn edows from the video we watched, do you really think that it is absolutely wrong to explore your personality on an online forum? This is not by any means a critizsm, I'm just interested.
steph thanks for the feedback its appreciated just working out some minor flaws and whatnot. i do agree with what you said about my first paragraph. A very good call ;)
ReplyDeleteMason, I really enjoyed reading your blog and even though we have different point of views about the internet, I think you brought up some very good points.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when you say "you are who you are, and what you post online isn't really the truth", do you really believe that that is the case? Don't you think that people would most likely be themselves online compared to who they are in the real world? Just a thought because I brought up the same point, but in the opposite perspective so I found it to be very interesting!
Overall, great blog! :)
Mason, though I strongly believe that the internet really helps us as a society rather than hurts us, I do have to admit that you made greats points. Your post really got me thinking about the downfalls of having the internet constantly at our disposal. Though I did find one thing that i did not completely agree with: "you are who you are and what you post online isn't really the truth." but is it possible that people make up alter egos for there online profiles? Online people are given the chance to be the real people that they've always wanted to be, so maybe what they post online is the truth, there just too scared to say it out loud in reality...
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up great and valid points about the internet. It was pointed out in class that whatever is posted on the internet will stay there and that really does have a lot of effect on our private life. The example you used to show this was perfect. I don't agree with your view of the internet because I think that everything in life has to be balanced and as long as the internet usage is well balanced then there is no problem with it, but well written blog and the way you write is entertaining.
ReplyDelete