“Wikipedia has the potential to be the greatest effort in collaborative knowledge gathering the world has ever known…It is consistently ranked among the most visited websites in the world” (Poe 349). As Marshall Poe, a historian and professor at the University of Iowa states, Wikipedia is one of the many sources on the internet that provides a forum of knowledge to explore. However, a problem lies within using the internet to find information; Are we really discovering the truth or are we discovering deceitful ideas? The information on the web can come from a variety of sources, which proves quite unpredictable. The internet facilitates the spread of information, which is dangerous, when that information is distorted truth narrow-mindedness …show more content…
Many articles are posted on the internet everyday with an abundance of information that can overwhelm the brain. On Wikipedia a community goes through articles and edits them, searching for bias and false information. Marshall Poe tells of the creation of Wikipedia, its faults and graces. Poe describes how fragile the idea of truth is when a large community holds the power. He writes, “The power of the community to decide, of course, asks us to reexamine what we mean when we say something is ‘true’. We tend to think of truth as something that resides in the world…But Wikipedia suggests a different theory of truth” (Poe 359). The community has the ability to change the truth when everyone agrees to spread “wrong” information, which can lead to misconceptions and deception. When the community has the power to do this, we don’t know what exactly is true. Instead the community is enforcing conformity to their idea of truth, forcing everyone to believe the way they do. Spreading wrong ideas is can be used as a way of corrupting people’s thoughts. Putting incorrect ideas into people’s mind is not merely an accident, the action can be a means of political gain or acts of terrorism. From the spread of a conformed idea, the internet becomes very dangerous and possible detrimental to a morally stable society. Moreover, deceptive truths allow …show more content…
Young students should have the education to make wise educated decisions on the reliability of an article. When educating our youth, students can know the risks and faults that the internet holds, while also taking advantage of the internet’s benefits. Although the spread of information can have a very negative impact on society, with education the internet can become a more reliable dependable source. Instead of teaching the younger generation that hacking is acceptable, we can warn them of the dangers it imposes and the negative effects on people and their lives. Terrorism won’t be able to instill fear so broadly because children will know the dangers of searching for that group. Access won’t be necessarily prohibited, but people will become more educated and less ignorant of the internet’s
The internet is a hub of information. It is easy to access this information and resources by simple looking up a simple topic. How much of this information is actually true? In The New Yorker article “The Things People Say” author Elizabeth Kolbert explains the dangers of believing wholeheartedly the information given to us online. She uses logos to prove that the internet can be biased with information through “group polarization” and a site’s inability to upload contradictory information. She fails however with ethos in her paper because she is hypocritical.
People are uncomfortable with internet technology. In his essay, Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, Malcolm Gladwell states the rise of technology and social media use in our society leads to less effort being expended on important causes. Nicholas Carr continues Gladwell’s opinion of the deterioration that the internet causes. In his essay Is Google Making Us Stupid he quotes Richard Foreman saying “we risk becoming ‘pancake people’ spread wide and thin,” and implies the internet is an unnecessary crutch that weakens us. Though not everyone is under the impression that the internet causes an intellectual deterioration, some are concerned it helps dangerous causes. In the article, “Terror on Twitter,”
...ie, 31 (1) 27-49.Fallis, D. (2008). Toward an epistemology of Wikipedia. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(10), 1662–1674. doi:10.1002/asi.20870
“Misinformation is not like a plumbing problem you can fix. It is like a social condition, like crime, that you must constantly monitor and adjust to.” -Tom Rosenstiel. There is a wide range of information online because people are allowed to express their opinions freely.
He described in detail about the early days of Wikipedia, its challenges and finally overcoming those challenges. And he did not shy away to declare his delight over this unprecedented success of Wikipedia. “Wikipedia flourished while traditional, well-respected print publications, not least Encyclopedia Britannica, languished”, he
The best thing about Wikipedia is that it concisely provides topic wise systematic information on every topic for ‘short and quick reference’ of the summary on our search topic, a distinguishable and easy to note introduction. We also credit it for providing information in a very systematic and orderly manner and is quite too detailed in providing information and pictures on an article. Wikipedia is a good source for starting with basic information as it gives a summary in the beginning that almost gives the reader an approximate knowledge of what he is reading.
Badke (2008) begins his article reminding us that Wikipedia although controversial is still the online encyclopedia of choice by 36% of the United States population according to Pew Internet & American Life Project’s findings. (As quoted by Badke, para. 1)
The web is a quick way to spread information which, if false, can have di...
The Internet distributes more information than any other medium in the world. There are several problems that have emerged along with the Internet, “As soon as the public began to use the Internet, people began to express concern about its use” (Clark 1). Some groups feel that the World Wide Web is dangerous because of it’s open accessibility, whereas other groups see that the Internet is something that can be used to share knowledge globally. The Internet should not be censored because censorship would restrict Americans’ first amendment rights; regulations have been tried and have failed in the past, and there are better methods of education and protection than censorship.
Wikipedia recognizes that it would not be wise for someone to use this virtual encyclopedia as a source for any educational use or just wanting some information (“Not Authoritative” n.d.). Those who put in false information are more likely to be anonymous and because they are anonymous it causes complication for Wikipedia. Wikipedia have set rules for the users to “follow”, but those rules are obviously ignored, which results Wikipedia not having total control nor organization with the users. For example, if someone chose to do a research paper and chose an article from Wikipedia that has
The Usefulness of Wikipedia Is Wikipedia a convenient source for its users on a daily basis? According to my findings in the video, the answer is yes! In the video, The Truth According to Wikipedia, conducted by IJsbrand van Valen, Wikipedia’s pros and cons are discussed. This paper will explain how Wikipedia works, user’s views on the online encyclopedia, as well as how viewers can benefit from the constantly changing information being presented throughout the site. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia anyone can add new entrees to.
The advent of the internet signaled a revolutionary shift for society, in which participation in massive amounts of information was easily and rapidly accessible to any connected country. This digital revolution gave rise to monolithic digital communities that dominate the web and strongly influence the globe; Twitter helped Belarusian youth organize flash-protests against their authoritarian government in 2006, while Wikileaks continues to serve as a public international clearing-house for whistle-blowers. But despite these resounding stories of success, concern is spreading that there is an underlying problem with our digitally enhanced society – especially in the western world. Widespread debate has been sparked by the digital revolution over modern technology's influence on younger generations, with experts combating each other over whether the internet is dulling or expanding young minds. This debate is not restricted to education, but extends to cover issues of morality and perspectives. Education issues are tied to lacking cultural awareness and political activism, but world-views are a separate and altogether more severe problem for the next generation. As the internet becomes more embedded in our lives, youth are retreating into the isolation of private social bubbles and turning reality into a remote abstract concept. Apathetic, amoral and disconnected youth in the western world are spreading to replace the active socially charged older generations.
For example, it has become a new medium for play and entertainment for children, but is this a healthy alternative to older forms of play? And what about parents who use technology just to keep their kids quite? As with all new technologies, there are pros and cons. Although, it is unfair to blame a technology because of the content people put on it. Greenfield, Patricia, and Zheng Yan put it best when they say, “Just as we cannot ask whether a knife is inherently good or bad, we cannot ask whether the Internet is good or bad; we can simply document how it is used.” So, as much as some may blame the Internet for its problems, the real war is against the substance within the Internet (Greenfield, Patricia, and Zheng Yan 390-93). And thus comes the main argument against the Internet, is the composition of the Internet harmful to
Forms of entertainment like the Internet, television and even video games seem harmless to people, but they are really not. When the Internet was first introduced, people never thought it would be as big as it is today. The Internet is an easy to use technology that can do just about anything. But what people don’t understand is that the Internet is not all good. Much of the information posted on sites on the Internet is merely opinions, not factual information. When people look at this information, it looks and seems like trustful information, but most of the time, it is not.
The Internet along with other technologies has opened channels of communication. Not only has the Internet played a great role in forming international public opinions regarding the United States throughout the Middle East, Asia, and Western Europe, but it has also helped to democratize the rest of the world by allowing them to voice their own opinions. However, sometimes the incited cyber public opinions would lead to some extremely negative behaviors and cause serious problems like cyber bullying, real life crimes, and even a long time social unrest.