Bursting The Bubble Since the beginning of its creation, the Internet has had a huge influence on everyone who uses it. People rely on and use it for almost everything now-a-days, whether it is social media, research, entertainment, shopping, as well as many other outlets. Most people probably could not live without it. The Internet is known to be an open resource of unlimited information, which everyone has equal access to. However, a phenomenon referred to as filter bubbles is preventing this from being completely true. A filter bubble is a state of intellectual isolation, or the unintentional creation of individual micro-universes, which results from algorithms used by websites that refine and personalize search results, based on information about the user, such as location, and past search history. It filters out information a user does not agree with, or is not interested in, and instead selects the information a user is exposed to. Although this does not sound like problem, and could instead be considered a good thing because it allows users to see only what they want to see, it is a problem, because it defeats the purpose of the Internet. The Internet is supposed to provide users with unlimited resources, not just resources based on their past click-behavior. Filter bubbles should be a concern because they limit users’ perspectives and the information users receive, as well as creativity, and strengthen their biases …show more content…
In fact, in a field listing of the number of people per country who use the Internet, in the United States only, in 2008, more than 208 million (CIA World Fact Book) people are Internet users, which is more than two-thirds of the population of the United States. This means that more than two-thirds of the population is being sucked into filter bubbles, without even knowing
There are over 2,405,518,376 internet users on a global scale. More than 50% of the world has a form of Internet censorship, and of those countries China, North Korea, Iran, and Vietnam heavily restrict its citizens. This recent topic has reached new heights in the US with the growing number of internet access. More and more people are debating whether the internet should be censored. Internet censorship is the control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the internet.
Many believe the internet was an over night sensation, that one day, someone invented the internet and it spread in popularity faster than Tickle Me Elmo or the Macarena. Although the internet did have a surge of commercial popularity, with the invention of Mosaic and later with e-commerce, it was created many years ago with the development of military networking technologies. Also, the internet, unlike many pop culture fads of the nineties, will continue to see a growth in popularity and usefulness as a form of media throughout the information age. Sure, the internet became overambitious to the point where many internet start-up companies lost their businesses in the recession of the past few years. The quality of the internet, however, has increased as companies realize that there exists competition and smarter consumers that demand superiority. The internet has taken the world so far in its short commercial life; the future of the internet provides limitless possibilities of a much different future.
The dangers of the internet continue to spread and cause massive effects on the way people interact and socialize. Carr explains, “Most of use view personalization and privacy
In the January 18th, 2012 New York Times article “The False Ideals of the Web”, Jaron Lanier attempts to take a very difficult issue – one that many view in terms of black or white – and find some middle ground. Unfortunately, what he ends up doing in the article is create an either/or situation, rather than find any middle ground. In the end we are left in the same situation that we started with.
This world has become immersed in online media from socializing on networking sites to seeking information on search engines. People of all ages have become reliant on online media, but the most engaged users are the younger, more easily impacted generations. Although there are many positive uses for online media, there are many negative uses as well. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for these negative effects to impede upon the perceptions of adolescents. Some countries have been trying to reduce this effect by expelling the inappropriate content of online media ("Influence on Children Media...”). However, in the United States, children are thrown in the waves, expected to stay afloat in this massive sea, but many are being dragged under the surface by the nefarious temptations media creates. Content that is not appropriate for the young, growing minds of children are easily accessible; a myriad of devices may be used to access this material, all at the click of a button. Without adult content filters on online media, adolescents of various ages are exposed to dangerous conceptions. A world of pornography, violence, and public humiliation lay in the user’s fingertips.
The Internet is a global network of vast information. With a few clicks, an individual can have access to up to 200 million websites filled with educational and recreational information. The Internet is not regulated anyway (Carnegie Library 1). It is accessible throughout the entire world from the North to the South, to the early morning sunrise and dark sunsets. Different ethnicities and backgrounds come together linked upon this network, resembling a connection of one body in unity.
Technology has advance so much since the old days. We see technology everywhere but one major thing that has change since back then into now has been the internet usage. Believe it or not internet is being used everywhere. First, it was used in desktops now is on laptops, cellphones, and tablets and even on TV and Video games. Internet, is very bad for society but three major reasons why is bad is due to many deaths, creating health issues, and bullying.
The Internet has become a major tool for communication and access to information for over two and half billion people (Wright 121). Although Internet has become an unavoidable reality that is consuming our planet in a web of information. This process is being shaped by our actions and choices which ultimately drives us together (Deibert 11). Nowadays China has over 538 million netizens, the world’s largest online community (Feng & Guo 335).
That is Internet censorship, too. It is control information from being easy to reach. Parents who wish to protect their children have to use intelligent filtering software that ensures children are using trusted sites and resources, also preventing them from accessing unappreciated sites (Dr.Brenda, n.d.). There are many reasons for parents to censor the information, such as: protecting children from pornographic materials, Internet addiction, and social behavior. Parents believe that the Internet censorship protects our children from accessing pornographic material and harmful information.
Many social media sites use actual censors in order to remove content deemed inappropriate (Sandvig 2015, p. 2). This raises important questions about power and power relations on social media, however what is perhaps a less obvious concern is the impact of the algorithms that determines which users see what content. Eli Pariser (2011) introduced the concept of “filter bubbles”, where platforms like Facebook shows only what it is believed the user wants to see. Consequently the user may not be shown anything oppositional or challenging to their world view. Presumably, this filtering is done with the aim of improving user experience in mind, rather than coming from a place of ill intentions, as seeing only what one wants to see should hypothetically create a more pleasant time on a social media platform. However, the filtering becomes especially problematic considering that social media is more and more becoming a primary source of news (Pariser 2011, p. 66 cited in Willson 2013, p. 218). The inextricability of the freedom of press and democracy (Karlekar & Becker 2014, p. 32) demonstrates that it is important for an individual to be privy to a range of perspectives. This matter is further complicated by the matter of user knowledge and consent. Often users are unaware that this filtering is happening, and in
The Internet has created a generation of the most efficient multi-taskers ever born. Many people will have at least four tabs open as a time (Google, Facebook, Youtube, Pandora, Wikipedia, Gmail, etc.). People are constantly jumping from one web page to the next, clicking on links and opening new tabs and browsers. The method through which knowledge is gained has transitioned from deep reading to fast skimming. Every time a web page is opened the viewer is bombarded with information, almost every page has advertisements or links to additional information lining its sides. The Internet has made mountains of information available to almost anyone. It is fast and easy to find information and facts. Essentially the Internet has become the fast food of knowledge. It is convenient but it skips the element of effort.
...iser, Eli. The Filter Bubble: What Is the Internet Hiding From You? New York, 2009. Print.
Many advertisers are spending time and money on online technologies. More marketers are advertising on internet and more companies are doing online business as well, so this is increasing the revenue of online media. Newspaper advertisement is declining because internet advertisement is facilitating both the marketers and the consumers. (Evans, David S. 2009)
The internet has influenced, and is still influencing the way society communicates in many different ways. The rise of the internet has caused people to communicate differently in areas never dreamed of before the internet came into existence. Education has been revolutionized through the world of the “Information Super Highway”. Medicine has also seen reform as the internet improves research and communication. Individuals are starting businesses from scratch, while others are selling household items for extra cash. This internet “typhoon” sweeping the globe has become a way of life for many individuals all across the globe.
The Internet has received a great deal of attention in the media lately due to its tremendous