I think this week’s articles all touch on an idea that is very important when it comes to the internet and social media. That idea is that these tools can be a steroid or a drug. If they are used as tools then they hold unbelievable potential. A potential to connect people from miles away and build knowledge with the ease of sharing information. This being said they can also be used in the wrong way. There is plenty of research in the articles to support this. So, the question isn’t using the internet and social media but what are you using it for? This is the distinction between the two. Many people use social media to launch their career and some even make their entire living on social media. Google does not make us stupid, it gives us the opportunity to be lazy.
The Future of Reputation
The internet is a very public sphere. To connect with almost anyone we want seems to cost us personal information. Without this information you can not be found. To most people it is in their control. If you don’t want someone to know where you live, don’t post it online. There are exceptions to this however. In the case of the lady and her dog that pooped on the subway. Her privacy was invaded by people when the video of her was viral and she gained a level of notoriety. This is interesting because growing up with the internet we were taught not to put anything up that we didn’t want people to see. Now it seems that it is almost out of our hands. The rule now is don’t do anything you don’t want people to see. Was it wrong of her to not pick up after her dog? Yes, but if she had known the backlash that she would face, she would have done anything to clean up that floor. Being in the google generation our information is not as private as we think. I know just from placing at state in wrestling anyone can find out my height, weight, high school and college from one google search. This is information that I never consented to being posted and while it seems like innocent information to give out the idea that I was never consulted by Track Wrestling is concerning to me. It is interesting to me that the article explores the idea that in todays age a lack of privacy is the only way to restrict free speech. I’m not sure if I agree with this or not but it is defiantly an interesting idea.