The Internet - Dirty Little Secrets!
The
Internet - Dirty Little Secrets!
(Thoughts on the Internet
and how it affects Social Interaction)
Jim Butcher
The
Internet also affectionately called the “web” presents itself as a blessings
and curse neatly packaged on your cell phones, net-books, laptops and desktops.
Modern American culture revolves watching You-tube, surf the net, and sending
emails. These things are essential and indispensable part of life as we know
it, but with power is responsibility. There is an old adage that says
“Knowledge is Power,” and another “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The Net
is place exploitation. It is a place of profiteering at the expense of the
unknowing public. This essay will extend my point of view on the
dangers associated with Internet and its influences on pop culture. Other topics include: Internet dating, Sexual
Predators, and Social networking.
Today the Internet has
revolutionized the world by connecting people at the blink of an eye. It has
brought lives closer in ways no one could have imagined and made it easy to
stay in touch and reconnect with old acquaintances through social networking
sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. But what is the price of this
connection? Identity theft, fraud, viruses, child predators, email scams,
invasion of privacy, mass expansion of pornography, misleading information, and
junk mail. The Internet is a playground
for predators, hackers, and con-artist. Viruses require firewalls, viruses
protection software (all other protection sold separately), and an external
hard drive to store confidential information. Hackers are stealing information
by sending program spiders to gather account data when you click on a website.
Foreign governments have created scams to drain your bank account dry like blood
thirsty vampires. These include: The
"Nigerian" Email Scam, Phishing, Work-at-Home Scams, Weight Loss
Claims, Foreign Lotteries, Cure-All Products, Check Overpayment Scams,
Pay-in-Advance Credit Offers, Debt Relief, Investment Schemes and even an IRS
scam.
The
net has also provided online dating. Per a survey conducted by the Online
Publishers Association (OPA) and comScore Networks, Americans spent $500+
Million in 2005 for online dating and personals. Online dating sites include
Yahoo! Personals, Match.com, and eHarmony. In general all of dating sites require
personal information, before you can search the service provider's database. There are a plethora of complications when
utilizing dating sites. For example, sites like the popular eHarmony site
expect individuals to subscribe "blind," which means that little or
no information is available to search or preview. Most sites also keep profiles
on for years after the person last logged in. This is a lame attempt to create
the appearance that there are more available members than there actually are. Both Yahoo Personals and Match.com have
complaints about "bait profiles", which are ads that have been placed
to attract new paying members (may not be actual daters). Spam sites for
prostitution, multi-level marketing, or other personals websites will set up
"fake" profiles. Even if the profile is legitimate many online dates
misrepresent themselves by telling 'white lies' about their height, weight,
age, or by using old and misleading photos.
This creates an inherent lack of trust with other members, even if the
profiles are real.
The
anonymity of the Internet creates a vial that allows trust and intimacy to
develop quickly. Predators take advantage of this anonymity to build
relationships with inexperienced people.
Predators find online dating sites especially attractive, because they
give them an endless supply of new targets. A study, from the University of
Texas Health Science Center, found that “there was a false degree of safety
assumed by women looking for love on the internet, exposing them to stalking,
fraud, and sexual violence”. Offline,
predators and pedophiles typically operate in isolation. However the net has
given them the opportunity to communicate freely and directly with each other
online. They use technology to train, encourage, and provides validation for
their sick behavior. Online they share their conquests, real or make-believe,
discuss ways to contact and lure potential victims, exchanging tips on
seduction techniques and even tools to avoid law enforcement.
The
most common means by which sexual predators contact victims is chat rooms,
instant messages and email. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association
in 2001, 89% of sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or instant
messages. Using Internet communication tools such as chat rooms, e-mail, and
instant messaging can put children and adults at risk of encountering online
predators. This is especially true for
teens using peer support online forums to deal with their problems. Predators look
at these places to locate vulnerable victims. They will say anything to
gradually seduce their targets through attention, affection, kindness, and even
gifts, and often devote considerable time, money, and energy to this effort.
Predators may also evaluate the people they meet online for future face-to-face
contact (SCARY). The following traits are what Predators look for in both
adults and children
•
new to online activity and unfamiliar with netiquette
•
aggressive computer users
•
the type to try new, edgy activities in life
•
actively seeking attention or affection
•
rebellious
•
isolated or lonely
•
curious
•
confused regarding sexual identity
•
easily tricked by adults
•
attracted by subcultures
Adolescents
are the most vulnerable age group because they are exploring their sexuality, rebelling
against parental control, and looking for relationships outside the family. The
anonymity of the net gives them more opportunity to take risks online without
fully comprehending the ramifications. They believe they are conscious of the
dangers of predators, but in reality, they are ignorant about online
relationships. Predators often use
pornography to sexually victimize people, supplying things such as web sites,
photos, and sexual e-mail messages as a way to open sexual discussions with
potential victims. They will even send airline tickets to entice teens to meet
them in person.
Social
networking is being saturated by corporate America and is being infiltrated by
businesses. For years the lines between business and informal communications
has become blurred. The newer social technologies such as “tweeting” have made
the line even blurrier. There have been disciplinary actions by businesses
based on Facebook comments and/or pictures. Also there are issue of privacy, confidentiality
and sensitive information. It is very difficult to see where the hunger for
real-time social comments will lead.
Like
the printing press to scribing, the internet has commercialized communication.
Today it is common to have 10 conversations at the same time via email and
text. It has been the catalyst of our ADD society. Even talking on the phone is
slowly disappearing. Before people would meet and create relationships for
business. Next the phone, made it easy to call a person and conduct business,
and now email and texting has made it unnecessary to even call an individual to
conduct business. The net is “Bigger, Better, & Faster” from Dial-up, to
DSL/ Cable, and T1 to T3 connection. Emailing proposes an interesting problem. How
do you convey emotions and meaning in the context of an email. Even emails are
getting shorter with emotion cons or acronyms like lol or WTF. Children have
even begun to speak in these acronyms.
For me there is nothing weirder than a child saying lol instead of
laughing. It just seems unnatural.
Emailing has taken out the personal interaction that was necessary when
communicating. Now if a girl wants to
break up with a guy she just sends him an email doing the act. Online dating or
Internet dating is a dating system which allows individuals, couples and groups
to make contact and communicate with each other over the Internet, usually with
the objective of developing a personal romantic or sexual relationship. Online
dating services usually provide unmoderated matchmaking over the Internet,
through the use of personal computers or cell phones.
References
Risk Factors for and Impact of Online Sexual
Solicitation of Youth (2006) Retrieved May 23, 2009, from
Journal of the
American Medical Association: Official Site Website: http://jama.ama-assn.org/
Retrieved May 23, 2009, from Privacy and Security Issues in Social
Networking Website:
http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/10/social-networking-security.html
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Retrieved May 23, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OnlineDating
Crossroads Readings in Social
Problems 2008 K.A.Tiemann (Ed).
Fear and dread
in Cyberspace (p.456-458). Pearson Custom
Publishing:
Boston, MA.
Retrieved May 23, 2009, from Online predators: Help minimize the
risk
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/family/guidelines/predators.mspx
Retrieved May 23, 2009, from Sexual Predators Online
http://www.protectkids.com/dangers/onlinepred.htm