Internet: A homophilic bubble?

Every story, every argument, just like a coin, has two sides. In order two fully understand something we must be able to see every aspect of it. This is one of the best parts of the internet, it allows us to see every aspect, every side of an enlargement...or does it?

Nowadays when we want to know something we can just "Google it". It's a simple enough affair: we type our inquire, we get our links, which hopefully answers our question, and that's it. What some people doesn't know is that the links we get are usually tailored to our browsing habits. No two people get the same results. This filtering prevents us from seeing what we need to see in order to fully understand what we want to understand. It stunts our growth as individuals by only showing us what it thinks what we want to see.

Not only that, but it uses this monitoring of our activities to shows us ads that "it" thinks we want to see. The Internet should be a tool used to expose us to a great range of information, instead it's used to reaffirm misconceptions we might have, as well as telling us what we might want to buy. It's functionality is being compromised for the sake of money.

Going back to the point of knowing both sides of an argument, some people say this homophilic effect might have some uses. However, the best way to form a more objective opinion about anything is exposing ourselves to all various perspectives and, only then, reach a more well-rounded conclusion. And the Internet should be a tool to allow us to do this, not hinder it. 

 

Not only teenagers can use the Internet effectively

As stated in a previous post, the Internet can be a powerful tool. How powerful? It can even win a presidential race!
Its no secret that Obama won its presidential race in grand part due to the vote of young people, but how did he reach to people that for the most part aren't very interested in politics? Well, for once he made effective use of social network sites to reach to this young audience. Not only that but his party hired young people, to manage all of his Web activities.
More than that he effectively capitalize one of the most important aspects of the Internet: its ability to communicate with thousands of people. Not only was his website easy to use, but it serve as a hub of sorts, where supporters could communicate with one another as well as organize meetings. While other candidates made use of Web resources, none had the accessibility of Obama's webpage.
His effective use of it symbolize the driving mentality of his campaign, that of change. By using the Internet effectively, not only did he close the gap between himself and the people, but demonstrated that politics, as well as America, was long due for change and he was the one to bring about it.

Issues About Growing Up Online

Every generation has its set of "problems" that parents have to deal with. These vary from generation to generation, but the rise of the internet, and the kids raised in it, have created one of the biggest generation gap.

One of the biggest concerns for parents is the security of their children, which is why most parents want to know, much to their kids dismay, the activities they engage in, the people they associate with, among others. While this is nothing new, for most parents the Internet is. Most parents aren't Internet-savvy, which is something kids take advantage of in order to hide their activities from parents. In the Internet, kids can interact with all their friends, plan activities and the like, without their parents' supervision. Since there is no regulation, parents fear what their kids can do. Some parents also fear that this drives a wedge between them and their kids, since most spend most of their time in the Internet.

This leads to another problem, in which kids can behave in one way in front of their parents, while another way in the Internet; they're essentially living a double life. This is helped by the animosity that the Internet gives us. In it we can express how we really are, but not necessarily who we are. Some have taken advantage of this to engage in cyber-bullying, which have, sadly, claimed the life of some of its victims.

One of the biggest concerns for parents, though, is the presence of predators. With the rise of social network sites, predators have an easier time to get to know their victims better. That being said, most kids are smart enough to spot danger and how to avoid these people. Of course this doesn't prevent their parents to worry since the media is quick to point out the few instances where these predators succeed in catching their prey.

All said and done, the fact is that the Internet is here to stay, and the best way for parents to protect their kids is not to shield them from it, but to educate themselves in how to use it, since it can be a powerful tool, as demonstrated by their own kids.