Blog Project

            As the Internet continues to shape are lives more and more each coming year, there are things people must be aware of in order to not only have a safe experience but also the best experience they can while using this new source of media. In its short life span the Internet has already played a big role in the lives of many people, both positively and negatively, so taking a look at what it has done so far can give you an idea of where it’s heading.  The following list has ten of the most important things people must be aware of while using the Internet.

1.     The Internet and Research

The Internet is quite possibly the biggest tool being used right now when it comes to research.  An overwhelming majority of students, 85 percent in fact, first turn to the Internet when faced with a research based assignment in class (Internet Has Changed the Way Student’s Do Today’s Research). Today’s search engines, like Google, are much faster than running to the library and looking through textbooks.  But instead of many schools fearing this some, like Bexley High School are adapting and getting eBook versions of their textbooks for their students (Internet Has Changed the Way Student’s Do Today’s Research).

2.     Misinformation

Although the Internet can help with studies, if a student isn’t careful it cold also ruin their research. Common sites like Wikipedia, where everyone can edit material get a bad name for being inaccurate at times.  The important thing to focus on when doing online research is to always check your sources. There are also a high number of unreliable or fake websites to be found. One instance of this is the amount of parodies there are for whitehouse.gov. There is whitehouse.com, whitehouse.net, whitehouse.org, and none of them are at all affiliated with the real white house itself (Piper, Better Read That Again; Web Hoaxes and Misinformation). This great amount of misinformation can cause alarm when it comes to other things people are searching for like health information.  There are around 50 million people who use the Internet to find out health information and more than 70,000 different websites all with varying answers (Cline/Haynes, Consumer Health Information Seeking on the Internet; the State of the Art).

3.     The News

The Internet has changed the way people get their news on a daily basis. Instead of having to wait until the local news channel came on in the evening, people can constantly get updates on unfolding stories at any point in the day. This keeps people informed and makes it easier for more people to get the information they need to know. Another development that has come out of the Internet in regards to the news is “citizen journalism.” This is when anyone at anytime can break the news, not just a professional journalist. This helps get rid of biased editors or important stories not getting the coverage they need. According to YouTube, 7,000 hours of news footage is uploaded daily (Browne, Citizen Journalism in 2012). Over 40,000 hours of footage of Hurricane Sandy was uploaded to the site during the time it struck the east coast (Browne, Citizen Journalism in 2012).

4.     Twitter

Newcomers to social media sites might not know much about Twitter but it has an impressive track record and has proven to be one of the most important websites created yet. With around 645,750,000 users daily, it provides the average person with a greater voice than before (Twitter Statistics). Twitter has also been important in the development of citizen journalism. The first big story that started on Twitter was the plane crash in the Hudson River. A man on his way to work witnessed the crash, took a picture, and posted it to Twitter. Soon after his initial tweet it was retweeted so many times that eventually mainstream news channels caught on (Lodico, Hudson River Plane Crash Demonstrates Power of Twitter).

5.     Online Petitions

The Internet has found several ways to close the gap between the people and the government. One of the ways the Internet has done this is through online petitions.  The website Change.org allows people to start their own petitions and makes it a lot easier for other people to hear about and sign the petitions they believe in. A good amount of these petitions have passed as well. One of the most important ones is a petition to fight the discrimination of homosexuals in The Boy Scouts of America. Lucien Tessier made the petition after his brother was no longer allowed in the scouts after coming out but after many signatures he was allowed back into the troop and earned eagle scout status soon after (Tessier, Petition / Boy Scouts: Vote to End Your Anti-Gay Policy so My Brother Can Earn His Eagle Award).

6.     E-mail

E-mails are extremely important for being part of the newly emerging Internet community. It is a quick and easy way for people to connect with those who live far away, and it’s free! It’s especially important for businesses and how they can connect with their customers. You can put yourself on a online mailing list to get coupons and it saves money for the business and paper. Businesses consistently list e-mail as their number one best marketing tool (Grahl, Four Reasons Why Your Email List is Your Most Important Asset).

7.     Skype

Skype is a web-caming website that allows people to see each other and talk to each other live when they are both in separate locations. People use it for business conferences, lectures in school, or just staying connected with friends and family who live far away. There are some amazing stories that have come out people using Skype. One interesting one is about a man in Bulgaria who was not allowed to be in the room with his wife as she gave birth to their new child. In order to get around the issue she Skyped him and he was able to meet his newborn earlier than he would have without the website (Larson, Man Meets Newborn Son on Skype – While in Taxi). In one day Skype users spend 2 billion minutes on the website talking with others (Steele, Thanks For Making Skype Part of Your Daily Lives—7 Billion Minutes a Day).

8.     A Waste of Time

It’s easy for people to get a-little lost on the Internet. People often spend a lot of time on websites like YouTube or Facebook, and other sites, and often when they’re not supposed to. 29% of employees are wasting one to two hours away on the Internet while at work (Connor, Who Wastes the Most Time at Work?). Workplaces are always trying to find new ways to implement Internet policies to prevent their workers from wasting their time.

9.     Online Predators

With all of the new social networking websites it can be easy for people to find a lot of information about anyone they want to. This is especially true when it comes to online predators. Around 65% of online predators found out the location of their victims homes from social networking websites (Predator Statistics). Some very disturbing stories have come out this. Elliot McDermott was a 19 year-old man who found information about three girls online and used that information to talk to them and eventually rape them. The police soon caught him, but what he has done has impacted the girl’s lives greatly (Internet Predator, 19, who raped girls is ‘ever parents worst nightmare). Things like this can be prevented by careful use of these websites.

10. Cyber-bullying

Over half of adolescents that are on social networking sites have experienced some type of cyber-bullying (Cyber-Bullying Statistics). Social websites give bullies new ways to hurt the feelings of others and sometime easier ways too. They also can help people hide their true identity giving them more confidence to make fun of other people. New laws and plans have been coming out to make changes to this. Stories like the one Tyler Clementi scare parents from allowing their children accounts on these websites. Someone secretly filmed him having sex with someone and they put it on a live stream online without him knowing. After more bullying soon after he jumped off a bridge to end his life. (Tyler Clementi, 1992 – 2010). Hopefully soon there will be a solution to this problem, which seems to get more and more difficult as time goes on.

The Internet has a lot to offer but one needs to know a lot about it before having a truly great experience on it. Knowing the good and the bad help you understand how you want to use the Internet and how it can work into your daily life.