Social networking sites have replaced the coffee shops, bars and other social hot spots as a the main place for young people to interact. Each person with a myspace or facebook account, can log on, share their pictures, thoughts, videos and any other form of information that they are willing to unveil. While it seems all in good fun, allowing anyone to see this personal information can cause serious repercussions.
Facebook can be detrimental to prospective college students awaiting an acceptance letter. Today more and more college admissions officers are logging onto facebook to learn about their potential students. When an admissions officer sees racy photos or underage drinking their opinions of the student could be greatly affected. It's not only admission officers that are searching this site, but upperclassmen also see the postings of incoming students. At the University of Redlands upperclassmen became so incensed by the party comments made on the Redlands facebook group page, that they brought it to the attention of the university administration.
Facebook has also made its presence known in several courtroom proceedings. When a lawyer receives information on a new case, one of the first things that they do is log onto facebook, and read information of the plaintiffs and the defendants. In one Rhode Island case, a 20 year old male was charged with reckless driving after severely injuring a fellow youth. His sentence could have been relatively mild, with a short bid in a county jail, but because of facebook, he ended up serving two years in a state penitentiary. It turns out that the trial lawyer did some facebook investigation and found pictures of the defendant drinking on the night of the crash.
Several child pornography cases have also stemmed from facebook. In one New Mexico case, a 15 - year - old girl was charged with child pornography for sending naked pictures of herself through facebook. It was even considered to charge the recipient of the pictures.
Facebook does have its advantages throughout this generation. However, it is important that we share the dangers of this social website with our young people.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Polotics and the Internet
Shopping, school work, mail, gambling, television it seems that just about everything in life has been in some form been converted into the world of the internet. In the past few years we have even seen a drastic change in political strategies due to the net. Democrats, republicans, left-wing, right-wing, no matter the political affiliation everyone has realized the power of the internet and each group has had its try at harnessing it for political gain.
Both parties are consistently increasing their use of the internet to get their campaign platforms out to a younger demographic and for good reason. A recent study shows that over 40% of American age 18-30 get their political news and information from the internet during this past election, and 24% (Up 11% from the 2004 election) of all Americans get their political news from the internet.
Youtube, twitter, myspace, facebook are all part of most our everyday lives. Political candidates know this and used them as a way to get their ideas and policies to the masses. Pres Obama's Youtube video spots actually generate an unbelievable 14.5 million viewing hours. Directly through the internet Obama also assembled 1.5 million volunteers through mybarrackobama.com. These volunteers assisted him in raising $300 million for his campaign. For the first time in history people could have their candidates "on demand" with the use of Youtube. With just a click and a few keystrokes you could be watching and listening to each parties political views. Some say Obama would not have one without the help of the internet.
Politics is no longer spoon fed to the masses via nightly news. Now anyone can turn on their computer and get a good grasp of what each political opponent stands for. We must be wary of the internet and where we get our news however. The internet is full of people's opinions and ideas. Some ideas are thrown out there only to advance a someones personal agenda. For instance if you were to read a story on huffingtonpost.com or cnn.com you would be inundated with left wing, liberal views and ideology. On the other hand, Drudge Report or Foxnews.com could lead you in the opposite direction. It is important for everyone to read from both sides of the aisle and make their own opinions based on their ideals and beliefs, not from a biased media.
The internet plays a vital role in everything we do, and politics is no exception. In the past years we have seen the internet take its place as the lead news media, as time goes on its grip on the world will only get stonger.
Both parties are consistently increasing their use of the internet to get their campaign platforms out to a younger demographic and for good reason. A recent study shows that over 40% of American age 18-30 get their political news and information from the internet during this past election, and 24% (Up 11% from the 2004 election) of all Americans get their political news from the internet.
Youtube, twitter, myspace, facebook are all part of most our everyday lives. Political candidates know this and used them as a way to get their ideas and policies to the masses. Pres Obama's Youtube video spots actually generate an unbelievable 14.5 million viewing hours. Directly through the internet Obama also assembled 1.5 million volunteers through mybarrackobama.com. These volunteers assisted him in raising $300 million for his campaign. For the first time in history people could have their candidates "on demand" with the use of Youtube. With just a click and a few keystrokes you could be watching and listening to each parties political views. Some say Obama would not have one without the help of the internet.
Politics is no longer spoon fed to the masses via nightly news. Now anyone can turn on their computer and get a good grasp of what each political opponent stands for. We must be wary of the internet and where we get our news however. The internet is full of people's opinions and ideas. Some ideas are thrown out there only to advance a someones personal agenda. For instance if you were to read a story on huffingtonpost.com or cnn.com you would be inundated with left wing, liberal views and ideology. On the other hand, Drudge Report or Foxnews.com could lead you in the opposite direction. It is important for everyone to read from both sides of the aisle and make their own opinions based on their ideals and beliefs, not from a biased media.
The internet plays a vital role in everything we do, and politics is no exception. In the past years we have seen the internet take its place as the lead news media, as time goes on its grip on the world will only get stonger.
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