sunday times, "Armed, online and dangerous" -6th may'07- pg 31
The internet is exposing the young and also the other age groups to the hideous side of human nature which is uncommon along the streets. Through blogs, youtube( popular video sharing portal), and other means of expressing one's views, people are in contact with what the world around them is doing- good and bad.
So, as more and more people use internet, they abuse them. They do more things to harm the environment, they try to use these means to play pranks on people whom they do not know. Therefore, this leads to more victims of the internet. The internet was used to help people to be more informed of world news, lastest fashion or to do business, but now, the usage of it is gradually straying away from this main idea.
I feel that some of the reasons that may cause this phenomenon are that these people have no means to express their views to people that they know or that their friends and families are reluctant to listen to them. Therefore, till the stage that they write these things on their blogs or forums on the internet, they already do not have much good things to say due to being too upset with the events happening around them.
So, I feel that we should spend more time listening to what our friends or family members have to say on certain issues so that they may feel better or that maybe some improvements can be done to make that person feel better or even everyone.
At this current situation, I feel that efforts have to be made to get rid of the pollutants of the internet, to make it into a better environment for people to work with. I think the younger generation such as age group between 6-12 years old, will benefit the most because these are children who are starting to get exposed to the internet and they learn things that appear in front of them easily. Therefore, we should not let them see this dark side of the world by reducing the number of these cyber bullies on the internet.
2 comments:
Hello I am siyuan from 38/07!
I agree that the Internet is now used as a conduit by many unsavoury characters to express their own hurtful and redundant comments. For example, there was this example of a girl who recently wrote on her blog that her friend deserved to die in a drowning accident a while back just because the victim got on the wrong side of her. Such comments are not only useless but can cause much hurt to the verbally attacked victims. I think that your suggestion of spending more time with our family members and friends listening to their opinions on issues would be helpful in cutting down such ‘pollutants’ of the Internet. With a more sympathetic listening ear, people with issues to rant about would be able to release off steam in a safer and less damaging way. Thus, not only would it be beneficial in cutting down various ‘Internet pollutants’, it would also help to create a more friendly society.
Hello! I am Claudia from 25/07.
Indeed, I concur with your views on how the Internet is being abused by many Internet users. In the 21st Century, many people trick others in Cyberspace, criticising their "enemies" cruelly on blogs/online journals and even resorting to publishing humiliating videos of other people, simply to seek revenge. This merely reflects the degradation of society. People can no longer settle disputes in a physical setting amicably. On the contrary, they must resort to blackmail and revenge.
Of course, in order to prevent the situation from exacerbating, we need to take measures rapidly. Perhaps in addition to sharing our views with others and attempting to censor certain "unhealthy" material on the internet, we could begin educating children on the dangers of Cyberspace. Terrors of the Internet and "unhealthy" internet sites will always exist, so the best solution is to be able to differentiate what is truly right or wrong by ourselves (self censorship). By cultivating a habit of sharing our views and not abusing the internet from a young age, we would be nurturing a new generation of Singaporeans, who use the Internet wisely-- a better tomorrow.
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