Dangers of the Internet: Blog 4

The internet is no doubt one of the greatest things that has happened to our society. It brings us news and information fast and is at the tip of our fingers. It also comes along with all of the social media sites that let us connect with people we can't see on a daily basis, and sometimes even meet new people. Using these sites for meeting new people can be intriguing, but you need to be aware of the dangers that come along with putting yourself and your personal information on the Internet for everyone to see. There are many dangers that come along with meeting people online, but I feel that the most dangerous thing that can happen is someone pretending to be someone that they are not. 

The Internet is like an open book. Anyone can do and/or be anything/anyone they please. This is a scary concept to me! Unless you actually know the person and can physically see them at your leisure, then you don't know if that person is really who they are portraying themselves to be. The most common term for this nowadays is "cat fishing", and sadly enough, it is actually a very common thing to happen. Even if you aren't in the actual conversation part of the situation, you can still be affected the picture you is used, or any of your personal information is used on someone else's profile. 

The question is, how can this be prevented? In my personal opinion is says no way of being prevented. There are some people out there with sick and twisted minds that think this kind of thing is acceptable to do. So no, I don't think it's totally preventable. There are ways, however, to protect yourself from these kinds of situations, and red flag that you should watch out for. 

If you feel like this situation is happening to you do some detective work! Google image is your best friend in these kinds of situations. Look them up and see what pops up! You could also look at their Facebook friend count. The lower the number, the fishier the situation. You could also look at the pictures on Facebook. If there are no tags, something is definitely up. Some other red flags could be they make excuses when you want to see them/talk via phone, Skype,  FaceTime, etc. these are just a few examples of how to look out for yourself. Always be extra safe and chatting online! 

Works cited:

O'Donnell, Andy. "How to Avoid Getting Catfished Online." About.com. 2014. Web. April 2014. 

More than just a "small potato"?

Anyone who's anyone now a days knows all the big name social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. Because of these big social media sites, we tend to overlook some of the sites that aren't in the spotlight 24/7. These sites are known as the Internets "smaller potatoes". This would include sites such as MySpace, Reddit, Digg, and many other sites that have been pushed to the side. The question that remains is should these sites be more than a "small potato", or should they just be forgotten all together? I feel as if Digg should be more than just a "small potato". 

Digg is a social media site that once was very popular, but then got pushed to the side by Reddit and then all the other social media sites that followed that. Now, I know that Digg and Reddit are VERY similar, but I feel that Digg should definitely get more attention than it does now. The site is full of news stories that I seem to find very interesting. You're probably wondering, "Why is she picking Digg over Reddit?" Fair question! My reasons are as followed: 

1) It has a professional feel to it. When you go to the site, there isn't a bunch of goofy and silly stories. Of course, there are probably one or two not so serious ones on there, but it's mainly factual information. It's a good site to go to if you want solid information on a topic. 

2) It's eye appealing, which kind of goes along with the professional feel it has. The site is very clear cut, which makes it easy to look through the stories to pick and choose the ones that are the most appealing to you. It also had less ads on the side, and not as many subcategories, which can get confusing and make the site look messy and not put together. 

3) Lastly, it's easy to share the stories you read with other social media sites. After you're done reading an article, there's a tab bar in the bottom in which you can link up with the bigger name social media sites. You don't see that on Reddit! This would have to be the most appealing feature to me. I know that after I read an interesting article, I like to share it with my Facebook friends. This is the feature that won me over, by far! 

In conclusion, I definitely feel as if Digg should be used more than it already is. It had good, solid information that's worth sharing! Digg isn't a "small potato" in my book! 

BLOG PROJECT

​Social media is one of the most popular things to do when you’re on the internet. You have everything from Facebook, to Twitter, to YouTube, to so much more! So with all the new social media, should there be things that users of the websites should be aware of? Is social media a positive or a negative thing?

 

THE POSITIVES

1)

The spread of information is faster than any other form of media. Most people I know, including myself, use social media to find out about breaking news stories and to keep up on up to date news. I mainly find fascinating stories through links that people have posted on Facebook. According to one website, over 50% of people learn about breaking news stories through social media, which makes social networking sites one of the top news source for 27.8% of Americans.

2)

It allows people to stay connected. This is actually personal to me. I know this is the sole reason for me to be on all the social sites that I am a part of. Since we moved from Georgia, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram help me keep in touch with all the friends that I had to leave behind. It seems like I’m not the only one that feel that way either. Studies show that 70% of adults and 88% of teenagers said that social media helped them stay in touch with people that they couldn’t see on a daily basis. I feel like this is one of the most beneficial things about any social media site

3)

The older generation feels more connected.Studies show that from 2008 to 2010, the rate of older generations on social media jumped from 4% to 16%, which if you think about it, is a lot! Most older people I feel don’t get the hype of social media and think that it’s not for them, and that’s fine! The older generation that have signed up, though, have been said to be happier, and that it was an easier way to stay connected with their friends and family that might live far away in which they can’t easily visit.

4)

It helps people who are socially isolated or shy connect with people. I feel like this statement is actually very true. It’s easy to impress people through a screen, which is why the statistics show that 20% of teens feel less shy, 28% feel more outgoing, and 20% feel more confident.

5)

It offers teachers a platform for collaboration and communication with their students outside of class. This is true for mainly every school today. In some way or form, students have a way to connect with their teachers and professors outside of class. In the United States, over 80% of colleges and universities use social media, in which 50% use it for teaching and 30% use it to communicate with students outside of the classroom.

 

 

THE NEGATIVES

1)

Students pay less attention in school because if social media sites. This is true, especially for the modern day student. With all the new technology and smart phones, students can access social media sites quickly and easily. They can get it at the tip of their fingertips all throughout the day. Studies show that students who used forms of social media while studying scored 20% lower on tests, and had an average GPA of 3.06, compared to students who didn’t use it while studying and scored better on tests and had an average GPA of 3.82.

2)

People spend less time face to face. With everyone on social media sites and it being easilyaccessible through modern day technology, everyone’snoses are always buried in their phones. People aren’t paying attention to the world around them and the people who are around to share moments and experiences with, and it’s all because we don’t want to miss someone’s latest status update, or our favorite celebrities tweet. In January 2012, the students at the Center for Digital Future at the USC Annenburg School did a study. From 2000 to 2011, the amount of people using social media sites instead of being face to face with people skyrocketed from 8% to 34%. They also did a study that showed 32% of teens were on social media sites or were texting during meals, which absolutely wouldn’t fly in my house. That statistic shocked me.

3)

Cyberbullying. This is probably one of the most common downfall of all the social media sites. Sadly, it happens on every form of social media, and has grown as the years have gone by. The statistics show that 49.5% of teens were victims of cyberbullying and 33.7% of teens admitted to committing the bullying behaviors. As of June 2012, 800,000 minors were harassed and/or cyberbullied on Facebook. Sadly enough, that number has definitely risen over the past two years.

4)

Social networks can harm an employee’s productivity. I feel like it’s a 50/50 thing about how bosses feel about their employees using social networking sites, or just being on your phone in general, at work. In my case, my boss doesn’t mind us being on our phones throughout the day, which is definitely a downfall. When you’re at work, I feel like that should be the only thing you are worried about at that time. Studies show that 51% of adults use their social media at work.

5)

Social media is a waste of time. Which is very, very true. It’s also very distracting when you’re trying to do any kind of work and be productive. 4%, which I feel like is a very low percentage, of 8-18 years olds spend at least 54 minutes a day on social media. Also, studies show that if one sees that they have a Facebook message, or a mention in a tweet, it takes them 20-25 minutes to return to the original task. In some cases, 30% of people took 2 or more hours to return to the original task.

So, is social media a good thing or a bad thing? I feel like it’s neither a good nor a bad thing. It’s somewhere in-between.

WORKS CITED. 

"Are Social Networking Sites Good for our Society?". Social Networking. ProCon.org. December 2012. March 2014. 

Is the Internet good or bad?

The use of the internet has skyrocketed over the past couple of years. People use It every day for their jobs, school work, and as a place to interact with friends and family that live near and far. Since it is such a widely used source, there’s a big debate on whether the rise in technology is a positive or a negative thing. I believe that it’s a good mix of both good and bad.

One positive that I see is it is a faster way of communication. It is the greatest and largest form of communication that we have in the world today. We can communicate with people that are different cities, states, and even different countries with a click of a button. And it’s not just one form that you can do this in. You can communicate through email, instant messaging, video chatting and many more. The possibilities are endless.

With that being said, it brings me to another positive thing about Internet, which is all the social media sites and ways to stay in contact with people. It’s going to sound cliché since I’m a teenage girl, but I honestly don’t know what I would do without sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all the other popular social media sites. Those sites, plus my phone of course, are really the only way that I can keep in touch with my friends, family, and boyfriend who live in Georgia. If I didn’t have those sites to keep me updated on their lives I would be totally lost!

One of the last advantages I see is that the internet is the abundant source of information that you can find. You can literally find anything under the sun (and beyond!) right under your fingertips. Granted that this can be classified as a grey are with people having mixed feelings about whether it’s a positive or a negative thing, but I find it fascinating all the information you can find.

 

On to the negatives! According to buzzle.com, one of the biggest problems that people are facing with the internet are people’s riffs between the real world and the social media world that they have on the computer. This can fall under the categories of depression, obesity, and social isolation. People can become so consumed with a gaming world, or constantly checking their Facebook to see what their friends are doing that it ruins their REAL social lives. As Jeremy Glass stated in his article We Can’t Get Lost Anymore, “We can’t jump off bridges anymore because our IPhone will get ruined. We can’t take skinny dips in the ocean, because there’s no service on the beach and adventures aren’t real unless they’re on Instagram. Technology has doomed the spontaneity of adventure and we’re helping destroy it every time we Google, check-in, and hashtag.” We’re losing touch with actual human being and not enjoying what’s in front of us because our noses are always buried in our phones.

Another definite negative would have to be the content that children can access now a days. All that parents can do is put parental controls and blocks on certain websites, but they usually don’t work that well. The age appropriate content on the internet has become a major issue over the years with the rise in technology.

One last disadvantage of the internet would have to be the content provided. Sure the Internet can give you information about literally anything that you want to know, but how do you know when the information you’re reading is right and when it’s wrong? This is a major downfall of the Internet. Literally anyone can write something on a website and it sounds totally believable. You just have to be careful and aware about the content that you are reading and try to see if you can find out who wrote the information on the site.

Mini Assignment #2!

I chose this background because I feel like it describes my personality and things that I like. I love the beach and anything with a beach-y vibe, and I LOVE anything Volkswagen. What I hope to gain from this class is to learn more about social media and the affects it has on society. :)

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