Hey ladies (and guys, if any are reading this), my post for this week is going to be about what the internet is to me. I'm making this post because from what I've gathered so far in our class discussions, there doesn't appear to be much talk about anything other than facebook/myspace/twitter. I'm not trying to complain or antagonize anyone but I want to explain how there is much more out there than what we have discussed.
I know we're only a couple weeks into the class and still have a lot to talk about, much of which may be new to you, and that's fine (although I was surprised when several of our classmates didn't know what a blog was), so I'll share some of my thoughts.
A lot of people take the internet way too seriously, in my opinion. They treat social networking sites and forums as real life, and this is not really a good thing. I've seen a lot of horrifying things on the internet and lot of absurdly funny things too (and i dont mean on youtube). After that it's impossible to take anything on the internet truly seriously for me.
There are sites where people go to talk about the most random, entertaining, perverted, or informational topics. They have been described as "where the internet goes to die," and its members are basically hackers on steroids. These sites typically prefer to remain a secret although they are widely known. Its members are from all around the world, and they have, as a collective, an incredible amount of knowledge - Anything from weird facts you didn't know about Steve Jobs (Apple CEO), how to get a drink from a vending machine without paying, to hacking facebook accounts (it's easier than you think).
I know we haven't talked about it much yet but cyberbullying happens a lot on these sites, either to each other or to random people or websites (the church of Scientology for example). I hope we touch more on this during class, I don't want to talk too much about it here. But as these people typically just use the internet to goof around, they make fun of people who take it too seriously. I found some cynical images drawn by members of the site of facebook profile pics that you see all too often. It's sort of how "they" see you. Apologies for the language, hopefully as adults you aren't offended by 4-letter words. See if you have any like this and enjoy!
Edit: I censored some of the language...
I do think we talk a lot about social networking sites! But I feel like that is because we are all a part of facebook and so many of the issues are so relevant. But I would be very interested in learning more about what is out there on the internet!
ReplyDeleteI agree--we have mainly focused on social networking sites which just makes cyberbullying even more interesting to explore. Most of the time when I use the internet I either listen to music, do school work or get on Facebook. Although recently I've been exploring the internet more through this website my friend told me about,stumbleupon.com. First, you make an account and they give you a list of topics where you check the ones that interest you most. Then, you just click on the stumble! button and it takes you to a random website that matches your interests. I have found a variety of interesting sites such as good recipes, online games, cute animal pictures, interesting quotes, scenic pictures, health advice, workout ideas, even psychology videos and more! I had no idea much of this even existed and if it wasn't for this website I would never come across some of these useful sites. I wonder if there are more websites like stumble...
ReplyDeleteThose pictures are too funny! So true too though, which is kind of sad. haha! I'm also looking forward to talking about other things besides social networking sites in class! Damary--I love stumbleupon! haha! :)
ReplyDeleteI too feel the internet is taken way too seriously. Hence why I have deleted my face book. People see you on the internet and just believe everything they see before they even get to meet you. The pictures you added go directly to it. I see pictures like that and make assumptions about the people I see doing it. Not right but I do.
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