Internet Continued – April 8, 2014- Internet/World Wide Web (www) Trendso Remember, the internet is not an industry like other subjects we have discussed – the television industry, the radio industry. No one group owns it, and millions of people and companies have stock in it. o New technology – utopian vs. dystopian perspectives When new technology – here, the internet – is talked about, it is often referred to inone of two broad ways. Utopian or dystopian – the utopian perspective has to do with how society will benefit from new technology and be better off, while the dystopian perspective has to do with how new technology will negatively affect society and bring adverse consequences. - Utopian perspective – McLuhan and his “global village.” o McLuhan wrote that new technology might permit people to become increasingly involved with one another rather than separating them or beinga negative force in society. He was not specifically referring to the Internet,just new technologies in general. He postulated that something like a television show that everyone around the United States could watch would allow people to connect more easily with one another and have things in common. This possibility of connection, of people coming closer together, would create a thing that McLuhan called the global village – many people around the world could identify with each other as if they lived in a small village with many similarities. o McLuhan wrote these ideas in the 1960s, but they fell out of favor in the 1970s when television did not seem to have brought people together that much. However, in the 1990s, when the Internet was introduced, people went back and reinterpreted McLuhan’s writings and realized that they might apply very well to Internet technology. - Utopian perspective – virtual democracy o People would be able to be able to easily connect with politicians – their senators, representatives, even the president. People would be able to discuss political ideas online with a variety of other citizens. They might beable to watch town hall meetings and debates online – maybe even vote online one day. Democracy could become more easily accessible to everyone. o This has happened to some extent – politicians’ websites and Twitter accounts, President Obama’s weekly YouTube addresses. But, we cannot say for sure that new technologies have increased levels of democracy. - Utopian perspective – access to information o People would be able to obtain knowledge and facts that they had not been able to access easily before. o Could use Internet as opposed to encyclopedias, out-dated informationo If we subscribe to the maxim that information equals power, this has a hugeimpact on people’s abilities. - Dystopian perspective – issues with access/digital divideo Not everyone has equal access to technologies – the Internet, computers, smart phones, broadband access in the home, etc. Those who have less money, are of certain racial/ethnic backgrounds, live in more rural areas, donot have the ability to obtain these new technologies as easily as others do.o Hispanics, older people, people with less education, people who make less money, people who live in rural areas, even people with disabilities have less ease of access to technology. o Technology gap If accessing the Internet has become a vital part to living in our society, then those who do not have easy access to this information are not a fullpart of our society. This technology gap has led to an information/knowledge gap – people have less information, less access to knowledge. Those who have less access to technology have less of an understanding of what is currently happening in society. o These issues with the digital divide – between those who have access to technology/information and those who don’t – doesn’t unite members of society but rather separates them, drives them apart. - Dystopian perspective – 1st Amendment issues o Citizen journalists as a fourth estate Instead of relying on media outlets, normal citizens can provide their own information, their own checks on power. This might sound like a utopian perspective idea, BUT is all information that people provide true? How credible are common people? In an age where everyone can be a journalist online, do we believe what everyone contributes or not believe anything that has been contributed? What if someone just makes something up? How do we know which blogs, even which majormedia outlets with their new platforms online, are correct?o Freedom of expression New technology has aided our ability to express our opinions/ideas on amuch more global level. This might sound like a utopian perspective idea, BUT what about hate speech, which has also become more easily accessible and prevalent? We have seen a rise in cyber bullying, the useof social media to belittle other people. There has been an increase in groups like the KKK and NeoNazis in Europe being able to connect with each other and back each other’s ideas. What about the increase in the distribution of child pornography or preventing people who shouldn’t be seeing pornography from seeing it (i.e., children)?o User-generated content Singers (like Justin Bieber), good athletes who need scholarships, people who are good at other things, have been discovered through user-generated videos, posts, photos, online. This can be great for them,BUT what about happy slapping? This is the idea of doing something some people might think funny (violence, crimes) in order to post in online and try to become well-known and popular. While some might find this amusing, though, it can be very harmful and offensive to others. - For example, a few years ago, a gang of boys in Britain went around and filmed themselves beating up random bystanders for funto try to go viral when they posted these videos. They meant for it to be violently funny, like Jackass, but some of their victims ended up dying. o Internet Privacy issues Privacy of communication - Is e-mail private?o Yes…except if you’re using a state-supported communication tool. For example, if you send e-mails using FSU’s e-mail server, by law in the state of Florida, your e-mails would have to be released for someone who asked for them. If you connect to the Internet using FSU’s network, they have theright to track everything you do. - Are social media sites private?o Facebook changes its privacy rules
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