Week 3

For as long as the Internet has been used for social purposes, I've been a part of it. From instant messaging in the earlier days, to Myspace in the first years of social media, I've had some place in the social aspect of Internet life. I've seen the limits of information policy, no matter how trivial it seemed (Myspace groups were fairly limited to the topic of the group, and if I recall correctly, swear words were either not permitted or severely frowned upon). Is this a bad thing? Probably not. It does limit the freedom of what one could do, but there were always options around it. Just as there are options today. No longer a Myspace society, we now content ourselves with Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. These social media sites are far more lax with their profanity policies, but there are still repercussions toward information that others do not want to see, or do not think is appropriate. Nudity on Facebook? Forget it. Want to talk positively about Christianity? Don't do it in the atheism section of Reddit. Am I saying that I do not think the Internet is a "supremely open and connecting system"? Quite the opposite. But just like the real world, there is a time and a place for everything. Passions and differences are celebrated on the Internet, far more than they are in our everyday lives.

I do, however, wonder if 'the age of knowledge' is detrimental to our society or a betterment. When you can find a niche space on the Internet for everything, you can start to feel self-important. I don't think it creates empathy, I think it hinders it. When all you see or know about is what you want to see or know about, there is a vast world of knowledge you aren't getting, and a large group of people outside of your bubble with different stories, and passions, that you aren't getting a chance to understand. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be different, or wanting to celebrate it. What is wrong, is to choose to extract oneself from situations in which diversity is the rule, not the exception. I do think the Internet can do that, and it does end up creating limitations where there are supposed to be none.

While reading "Wasting Time is New Divide in Digital Era" I thought of my job at the local public library, and the socioeconomic status of those people who use the computers. People who come to the library for computer use generally cannot afford to have a personal computer in their home; or, they may own a computer but lack Internet access. The article makes a good point about technology becoming a commodity for wasting time. How often do we find ourselves watching a television show while simultaneously surfing the Internet? It's not a good thing, to waste time. Especially with how much time we are wasting. Do I think it's a good idea to provide computer/Internet access to every person? Well, that's a tough question. Most kids actually need computer and Internet access for homework these days. But is it necessary? Should a student be penalized for not having those things? I'm conflicted with that argument, if only for the fact that I see how much time I waste, and I don't think it's a good thing, nor do I wish for others to waste as much time as I know I do. I'm hoping the time wasting is a phase, like technology will go through. But who knows....