I found this week’s reading to be very insightful. I agreed with some of the points brought up within the first few pages of reading. I particularly liked the point he made about digital technology being biased towards depersonalization. I like that he pointed out that people need to be mindful of their anonymity and taking responsibility for what one says or does online. I think most of the reason people like being online is because of the level of anonymity they can achieve. I feel like people forget how much this ability is both cool and a pretty scary concept. So scary that there is an entire series based on catching people who use the depersonalization of the internet, not to be anonymous but to lie about who they really are. As Rushkoff pointed out studies show that younger generations are less likely to apologize online when being caught being mean. Studies show that 43% of teens report being bullied online and 1 in 4 have occurrences more than once, most of these kids will not report this activity to an adult. In 2007 there was a case of a young girl who hanged herself after being cyberbullied by a young boy she met on Myspace, later it was discovered that the boy was not really a boy but the mother of one of her previous friends who was upset over a falling out. This story always stuck out to me.
Something, D. (2018). Dosomething.org. Retrieved from www.dosomething.org: www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying
I agree with your point that the media can be used for evil purposes and has desensitized out youth from violence. Both physical and emotional. But ultimately this can also be attributed to the degree of parental involvement in a child's life. Parent's need to be aware of their child's day-to-day life and how people (or people on the internet) are treating their children.
ReplyDeleteI like how you bring up cyberbullying when talking about online anonymity. If there is one evil thing that came from online anonymity, I would say that is probably it. I often wonder how different the internet would be if not for the dissociation of self that Rushkoff refers to.
ReplyDeleteThe story that stood out to you and that you shared gave a good perspective and application of what the text was discussing so good job! Also liked how you pointed out the aspect of people not just being anonymous but also fake
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