Blog Project

There are a lot of dangers and benefits to having access to the internet and social media. The more aware you are of what can happen on the internet the safer you can be when using it. Also, when you have a better understanding of what the internet has to offer you can apply this information in order to use it in a way that benefits you more as a person. Below are 5 things that you should be aware of when logging on online.

1. Cyber Bullying

a. Cyber bullying has become a very big issue in the technologically advanced generation because more people have access to the internet. The problem is that the internet has made it a lot easier for bullies to harass their victims. Since most people are connected 24/7, the bullying doesn't stop and for most students it makes them feel like there is going to be no end to the suffering. One of the most negative things that occurs from cyber bullying is suicide. For most teens still in their formative years, this seems to be the only escape from their problems and society should be aware of this in order to hopefully prevent it in as many future cases as possible.
Another effect of cyber bullying is that is mostly starts at school then moves to the internet, but students who are bullied don't want to face these malicious kids in school so they start skipping and don't attend class. So not only is the problem effecting their mental state but also their learning. Because of this action, students do not feel comfortable around their peers and parents or any adults should recognize the signs, if any, in order to take action in helping these students through rough times.
Although cyber bullying is a very negative event, a positive of the situation can be that when students do open up to their parents or an adult in their life it creates an open relationship where they feel more comfortable. When a victim of bullying has someone to confide in, they feel more safe and less alone so they are less likely to harm themselves. Also a united front can stop the bullying from progressing further (HRF, 2014).

b. The Ryan Halligan Case is a good example of how someone was made fun of because of accusations made by a peer that weren't entirely true. From the beginning, Ryan was viewed at as a target for bullying because of his speech and language issues. Ryan was later targeted after being accused of being homosexual by a peer that was allegedly a friend of his. The bullying continued when a girl led Ryan on romantically as a joke, when Halligan got word of this he had enough and hung himself (No Bullying, 2014). In Ryan's case the ones teasing him saw him as a target because he was already vulnerable and because of them continuously attacking him, he took his own life in order to escape his problems.

c. According to the Health Research Funding, one in every three kids has been threatened online. Which also is related to the fact that about 3 million kids skip school in one month because they are afraid on the bullies waiting for them at school. Of the kids that are cyber bullied, one of five students contemplated suicide and about one in ten teens actually attempt it (HRF,2014). These statistics are a very large population of teens and it is scary to think that these numbers could be increasing as time goes on if we as a society don't try to raise awareness and take preventative action.

2. Personal Information

a. Providing too much personal information online can be an issue for everybody, sometimes we don't realize that anybody can view what we post online. Even though your profile may be private, others can see information through mutual friends, get to your page through portal sites or even hack into your profile in order to get information they want. Once someone gets their hands on your information, you are then a prime target for identity theft. From one online shopping transaction, a hacker is able to get your address, credit card number and a lot of other personal information then in return pretend to be you and use your card information. Because of this you should always use caution when buying things online and make sure to use reliable and well known sites.
Besides identity theft, providing too much information online could also target your house to be robbed. A lot of actions you do online can attach your location without you even realizing that the information is out there. Photos will sometimes give location, Facebook statuses can check you in at certain places and just out of your own negligence you can say something like going out of town and people will know that they can attack then (Webroot, 2014).
Another problem with personal information is that it can ruin your reputation online. If you tend to post pictures of you at clubs, partying and drinking, your friends online are witnessing it as well as potential employers or elders in your family. Certain people in your life may not realize what you do in your spare time and the way you portray yourself online can sometimes damage the image people have of you (O'Neill, 2012). In the end, just be cautious of what you are posting and think before you give information away.

b. In March of 2013, A teenage girl was murdered in her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The authorities and her family were shocked as to why the event occurred but know why someone targeted her. Earlier in the day, the teenage girl tweeted that she was home alone because everybody else had left, this is what made her a target for anybody who wanted to commit the crime. The family has a clear idea of who the killer could have been but even if they find out who did it, it cannot bring their daughter back (NewsOn6, 2013).

c. On Facebook alone, 1 of 4 users tend tag their location when posting each month. Also, the top four pieces of information people are more likely to share online are their birthday, the schools they attend or have attended, their family members, and their hometowns. As for the people who have experienced problems with this, about 13% of users have ad their identity stolen and of the hiring managers that check applicants online profiles, 78% weren't pleased to find postings related to illegal activities (O'Neill, 2012).

3.Professional Networking

a. Using the internet to professional connections is one of the main benefits of using the internet. A positive effect of networking online is that with so many users connected, you are able to reach a wider range of potential colleagues or employers than if you used the old door to door method. By a simple post you can get the message out there that you are looking for a job or if a recruiter happens to stumble upon the posting, they can seek you out as a candidate for their company. Using online resources during a job search can also be useful in order to search out the company you are interested in. Most companies have a website or at least people have reviewed they company online and you are now able to learn about a company by just simply doing an internet search. This better informs you of what the company is about and you can make a judgement on whether or not you want to be associated with that type of organization.
Besides making connections and finding a job, the internet is important when you are trying to start your own business. When networking professionally online, you will be able to advertise your new business, yourself and the products or services you have to offer to the public. You can even be the one that recruits workers using the internet and hopefully from all of the positive resources of the internet your business can grow.
However, a downside of using the internet to network is that it can be difficult and tiring trying to keep up with all the professional social media profiles you create. With so many networking sites available like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc, it is hard to keep track of what connections you've made on what sites and who to write back when. It's a long and exhausting process in order to search out jobs online. Some people don't see the worth in doing all this work so they tend to give up and it just hurts a potential employee from finding work (NetTemps,2014).

b. Using the internet to network is pretty simple but when needing to be professional about it in order to start a career and use a credible site, it can sometimes be difficult. There are many different sites that are just for online networking for professional fields such as Biznik, Ecademy, Fast Pitch, Focus, PartnerUp, Perfect Business, Upspring and Ziggs. These are all ways to share knowledge and meet contacts in different professional settings (Sitepoint, 2012). Another popular professional network that has gained attention in the past couple of years is LinkedIn. Any of these sites can be very useful when starting up a professional career.

c. If you just look at LinkedIn, there are 332 million users and of those users, a CEO has about 930 professional connections through the site (DMR, 2014). Those are pretty good odds that if you were to join LinkedIn you would be able to connect with a CEO at any major company around the world, which increases your chances of being successful in the professional world.

4. Censorship

a. Censorship is the control of information and it usually involves all forms of media. In this case, censorship on the internet can sometimes be a problem.  It is hard to monitor what people can see when there are so many postings online. The fact that anybody can post anything at any time means that there is an overwhelming amount of information that posted every second. So it is nearly impossible to filter through all of the offensive postings that should be censored. But censorship is a touchy subject because some people think that there isn't enough of it and others think there is too much. Some people view censorship as a way for the government to control us which is a negative effect. If the government had full control over what we can view online then it turns into more of a dictatorship and we lose some of our freedom.
A negative effect of censorship is the fact that these filtering systems used to prevent the bad content can sometimes sweep up some of the good sites just by a few of the key elements. One little thing can be flagged and cause the site to be blocked when it was a useful source of information. The fact that useful information is missing is a downside to the censoring of the internet.
But with the amount of censoring that does occur the government is able to help prevent content from being stolen online the best way they can. In order to protect musicians, actors, directors, etc. from having their content stolen online, the government puts blocks on pirating movies and trying to download music for free. Although that haven't been able to completely been able to prevent it, they have helped the issue tremendously (Gaille, 2013).

b. An example of extreme censorship of the internet is how china censors its online users. A political scientist, Gary King recruited 350,000 people in studies to figure out effective ways to censor the internet to prevent protests or people revolting against the government. In the first study, about 1,400 Chinese webpages were shut down and about 11 million posts that had to deal with just about anything and everything were extensively investigated to make sure they fit the criteria in order to be seen online. The second study was when King's team was undercover to make fake profiles to check for censoring that way. Overall China's way of censoring the internet is effective but it requires a lot of work in order to keep it up (The Atlantic, 2013).

c. According to USA Today, North Korea has the strictest internet censorship with only 4% of their population having internet access and in Saudi Arabia almost 400,000 sites have been blocked from the public which includes most information about the government (USA Today,2014). From these statistics, it is important that we as Americans consider what we want to do about the issue at hand and come up with a solution to find a happy medium for our society.

5. Addiction 

a. Although some people deny it, The internet is a very addictive resource. The internet is a very valuable resource where you can access any information at almost any time which is very helpful sometimes and is a positive effect. It is convenient to have so much knowledge at our finger tips. For research, communication or just about anything else that requires information, the internet has been a life saver for awhile now. But just like anything that is easily accessible, we tend to abuse it sometimes. Being addicted to the internet is a lot more popular than most people think. People who are constantly logged on tend to check out of the non technology world. They become consumed in everything to do with the internet and tend to have personal issues or break downs when they are not able to access the internet. It can be considered a disease and it also can cause anxiety when they are then put in face to face situations. They forget what it's like to be in the real world compared to their online lives.
Another negative of being addicted to the internet is that because most likely they aren't using the internet for educational things, people don't learn much from the time they are online. The internet holds information that we can learn from but it also has pointless games that have no educational value. Children can spend hours on computer games that are available on social medias and end up wasting precious time. they loose focus on school and it then not only damages their social skills but their educational values as well.
And because of the above effects it leads to the third negative of addiction to the internet, suicide. The more time teens let the internet consume their lives the more likely they are to develop severe depression which then often leads to suicide (Technically Easy,2013). To prevent addiction from getting out of hand, parents should monitor how much time their kids spend on the internet and make sure they don't become too dependent on it to do everyday basic things.

b. Internet addiction can happen in many different ways and can effect many different age groups. One form of online addiction is online gambling and can be more damaging than real life gambling. Casinos close but when gamblers have access to gambling 24/7 via the internet, they don't know when to stop. This could lead to people losing everything they own to their addiction. Another form is online gaming, which usually effects teenagers who stay up at all hours of the day to play video games. They become addicted to leveling up and beating the game that they let games consume their time. Cyber sex can also be an addiction because there are many different chat rooms and outlets for people to get involved in those activities. The problem with the internet is that it provides people with access to bad habits 24/7 and can take over their lives (Feldman, 2008).

c. According to Tech Talk on CBS News, about 34% of teens have a secret online profile while 42% of teens clear their internet history after every time they use the computer. These are red flags for teens that are in denial about their online addictions (Technically Easy, 2013). These statistics aren't in a high, overwhelming range but should be monitored and prevented in order to reduce these numbers so it won't become worse in the future.


Works Cited

Health Research Funding. (2014). Pros and Cons of Cyberbullying. http://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-cyber-bullying/

No Bullying. com. (2014). Six Unforgetable Cyberbullying Cases. http://nobullying.com/six-unforgettable-cyber-bullying-cases/

Webroot. (2004-2014). Online Identity Theft. http://www.webroot.com/us/en/home/resources/articles/pc-security/malware-identity-theft

NetTemps. (1995-2014). Crossroads Jobseeker News. Pros and Cons of Social Networking for Job Search. http://www.net-temps.com/careerdev/crossroads/index.htm?op=view&id=5102&newsletter_id=1196&archive=1#axzz3JaPoyN48

News On 6. (2013). Family Of North Tulsa Teenage Girl Devastated By Her Stabbing Death. http://www.newson6.com/story/21445401/family-of-north-tulsa-teenage-girl

Technically Easy. (2013). Internet Addiction- Pros and Cons. http://technicallyeasy.net/2013/05/internet-addiction-pros-and-cons/

Barbara Feldman. (2008). Examples of Internet Addiction Disorders. http://www.surfnetkids.com/tech/1382/examples-of-interent-addiction-disorders/

Sitepoint. (2012). 20 Social Networking Sites for Business Professionals. http://www.sitepoint.com/social-networking-sites-for-business/

DMR. Digital Market Ramblings. (2014). By the Numbers: 120 Amazing LinkedIn Statistics. http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-a-few-important-linkedin-stats/

Brandon Gaille. (2013). The Pros and Cons of Internet Censorship. http://brandongaille.com/the-pros-and-cons-internet-censorship/

The Atlantic. (2013). How Internet Censorship Actually Works in China. http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/10/how-internet-censorship-actually-works-in-china/280188/

USA Today. (2014). Top 10 Internet-censored Countries. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/05/top-ten-internet-censors/5222385/

Life Away From Home

For the first eighteen years of my life I grew up in the small town of Hannibal, outside of Oswego, NY. I didn't exactly fit in with the rest of the "country folk" that made up my town with their tractor pulls, mud bogs and country music. I knew from the start that I did not want to stay at home for college, and somehow in the search for colleges, I found Schenectady County Community College. I liked the choice of housing across the campus and I had already decided that community college was the best option in order to save money. I think it was the best choice for me in order to save money and test the waters while still getting the away from home experience.
For my first year at college, I stayed in the College Suites right across campus and that was quite an interesting experience. Although it was the main reason why I picked this college, I later found out that looks can be very deceiving but I stuck it out for two semesters. The first semester was hard, I had to get over the shock of not knowing where anything was or not having a familiar face anywhere near me. I definitely experienced homesickness and some stress eating which I luckily got over once I started making friends. Making friends wasn't really as hard as I thought it would be since the people in my building were going through similar things with being away from home. Since moving away, I have made friends from all over New York and have had opportunities to see places I never would've if I just stayed home like my high school friends did.
Since I was the only person in my circle of friends growing up to move away for college, I previously prepared myself for how different it would be when I left. Now over a year later, I don't really speak to the people I did in high school which people may think of as a bad thing but I prefer to see the positive. Yes I have distanced myself from my life in Oswego, however I have made a life here that I am proud of. I've over come obstacles from homesickness to crazy psychotic roommates but it has been worth it to be out on my own and  meet people that I've become so close to.
The person that has really been my best friend from day one is my roommate, Mary. We were assigned roommates at the College Suites with two other girls and through multiple incidents with the other two, Mary and I have been able to survive our crazy college adventure together. This semester we decided to get away from school associated housing and we are renting an apartment in downtown Albany in the heart of the college ghetto which has been crazy so far. We are a lot alike and very laid back, but still take school seriously which is why we get along so well. We have made a lot of memories from our road trips to each others hometowns, going to Boston for a Lady Gaga concert, the Drake vs Lil Wayne concert, Turning Stone Casino, etc. There has been so many things that have happened in the past year that we've become best friends, which is definitely not always the case with roommates but when you have a good roommate it makes college a lot more fun. There's also the benefit of hanging out with their friends and meeting your own friends. That's whats probably been the best thing about moving away, is that now I live in an area with such a variety of different people and personalities, I have been able to make a wider variety of friends than in my little hometown.

Blog Prompt Assignment #2

I believe that we as humans deserve to view whatever content we want online, within reason ofcourse. I feel that as though certain videos do have some sort of value to them even if some users find them to be offensive. Take the video of James Foley being brutally beheaded, I personally haven't seen the video but until I got the details from others who had viewed it, I didn't realize that it was as gruesome as it was. I know this may seem like an arguement to have it banned, but I think that for people who want to see it, they should be able to know whats really going on in the world and to understand how cruel society can be. Hopefully the more educated people are, the more will be done to stop things like that from happening again or reduce the risk. It does violate YouTube's user policy of not being able to submit material that is offensive, obscene and pornopgraphic, however I feel that there are other things that YouTube could do besides taking the video down, maybe if they had like a material rating like how they do with movies and something like the beheading video would obviously be rated as "R". Something along those lines would keep it still somewhat sensored but still open for people who want to stay informed.
I feel like the public would be more educated if we watched the events happen, we would be able to process it and it would make it more real which hopefully would spark a reaction so justice can be served. Another example of a video that has been taken down would be " Three Guys, One Hammer", which is a video of three teenagers from Ukraine who went on a brutual murdering spree in 2007, and video taped some of the incidents.  They ended up with almost around 30 victims from the event, and were eventually caught and prosecuted, now being referred to as the Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs (Ronn,2011). Even though they were caught, doesn't mean that the public no longer has to worry about something like this happening again. The world can be a scary place and we as humans deserve a right to make judgements for ourselves how involved in society we want to be. I do not support the acts occuring in these videos but I'd rather be informed about events like this and be scared, then pretend the world is a peaceful place. There are articles available with the information but to be honest, most people what news the quick and fast way which is why most people tune in on TV so the internet is just another outlet for news to be easily accessible rather than searching through articles. YouTube is meant for people to stay connected from all over, which should include breaking news of good and bad events in the world.



Works Cited
Ronn. 2011. Shocking Story- The Truth Behind 3 Guys, One Hammer.
http://getshocked.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/hello-world/

Blog Prompt Assignment #1

The internet is something that everybody uses and most people are connected all hours of the day and I believe it's all because the internet is a very useful tool that has helped out society for the better. The obvious reasoning is how much being connected has improved our communication and networking.

The article we previously read by the Federal Communications Commission about the history of the internet discusses the obstacles people used to face just in order to send a message to another person. Today due to the internet we are able to communicate not only on a bigger scale but in a much faster way. The internet allows us to contact people within seconds via email, instant messenger or even a video chat. It also lets us talk to people all over the world, we can make more connections with different cultures and people in alot less time. This makes our lives easier, to have so many people around that are available just by a click of a button. We are able to keep in touch with family or friends that are on opposite sides of the world. Some people are even fortunate enough to apply to job positions in other countries over the internet and for some people make life changing dreams become reality because of this tool that was created to make our lives easier.

Pooling together knowledge which is also referred to as  "collective intelligence" is what Henry Jenkins and Mark Deuze mention in their editoral about Convergence Culture. Collective knowledge is when people are putting their ideas, opinions and knowledge out there like on the internet and learn from each other. This helps society become more open minded and can make them more understanding of a different perspective they haven't already considered. The internet is the main location for collective knowledge to take place because there are different outlets like blogging and having someone comment, or being involved in a discussion in a chat room. Things like that are what really help our society grow and learn from eachother alot easier than if the internet didn't exist.

The last point I'd like to make about how the internet is a good influence is how it's not just ourselves who benefit from frequent internet use, alot of causes set up charities that typically get the most funding online. On the webpage called "Reason Digital", it talks about how charities have used the internet in order to communicate with supporters and receive funding. Some charities have accounts set up during specific times to collect funding, it makes it easier to donate to these causes and it also allows more people to come in contact with the organization and what they are about. Charities have become more easily accessible and it has made coming in contact with members of the orgainzation a little bit easier. Just by posting online or on their website, a charity can promote events to a bigger audience and potentially gain a bigger following.

These are all benefits to having the internet available to us. It makes our lives easier and has greatly improved society but like all things, it's just how the tool is being used that makes it either a good or bad influence. These three main points I made are things I truly believe are important in society nowadays but I do think that not everybody has these intentions when they get online. However, I believe it's better to focus on the positive rather than the negative.

Mini Assignment #2

Hey everyone! My name is Amanda St. Onge and I think blogging can help improve my writing skills and  also be an outlet to express myself online, and with feedback and comments from other people, blogs can help be more open minded to different views on the same topics.