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Internet Access Should be Free
Internet Access Should be Free
The Exploitation of Friendly Social Platforms
The Exploitation of Friendly Social Platforms
The toxicity of social media. Social platforms getting burned and transformed due to toxicity. Picture credit: thestaffordvoice
Mireille M.
Diving into the internet is like diving into a whole other world. It allows people to do countless things from liking a post on social media to allowing people to purchase the most basic needs. Just like any other basic human right, It should be free. As you are reading this article, it is most likely you are part of the 59.5% of the world population that has access to this revolutionary invention. Something you should be greatly thankful for. Here's why.
As of 2021, 40.5% of the world population does not have access to the internet. As many now know, this is now a crucial part of our lives as it has let us carry on with our jobs, education, and much more. When the Covid-19 Pandemic struck the world by storm, billions, yes.. billions of people turned to platforms like zoom, google classroom, several messaging apps, social media and online stores to carry on with their work, social lives, shopping, and other essential things they might need to do. The one thing that all of these needed to work was well, internet.
That leaves the burning question, what happened to the 3.7 billion other people that couldn't access it? Sadly, their only option was to leave their job or drop out. This created an even bigger problem both physically and economically. This left them in major financial debt. Without a job, or any way to make income, people couldn't even pay for food, water, or shelter, also forcing the homeless population in most countries to rise immensely.
Not only that but the web allows people to make a profit through per say, stock trading or NFT’s. The latter is an easier way for people who get paid minimum wage or considered middle class to get hundreds of thousands of cash into their bank accounts just through things like digital art, music, or even voice recordings. While stock trading needs a bit more money then that. Even kids can start selling and buying as long as you have one thing; the internet. But, because it is already so hard for just below half of the population to access basic necessities, what more the web? Because of this one thing that we haven't fixed, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. Deepening the financial gap even more.
Popular NFT’s being showcased on the web
For the people who have read up about issues like this before, you might have heard about Facebook providing free internet for third world countries such as India and how the company ended up having multiple problems due to security breaches that were later discovered. It is obvious that this could be a possible problem if ever we start providing free internet services but since discovered, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of the company was sued for it. In order to fix problems like this, I believe free internet should be run by governments that can afford it instead of a company without restrictions to do what they want undercover. The structures being put in place should be easier to understand for the citizens using it and breaches of privacy shouldn't ever happen unless needed. If it is possible, people could structure it in a way that would allow the government access to finding illegal activities being carried out on it, such as the dark web.
Lastly, and possibly most importantly, the internet is commonly known to be the number one source of information and for that past decade as of 2021. It has billions of articles and sources speaking out about anything one could possibly think of. People without access to this have a harder time finding needed information about things like major social events such as wars and pandemics and would be helpless to help themselves. The list goes on.
Due to so many factors pointing to how the web should be free I dont think people should see why not. It would give people access to basic necessities, have infrastructure built in a way that could allow governments to detect the abuse of digital citizenship, possibly lower poverty rates, and connect everyone, everywhere.
Saisha G.
Social media platforms such as Instagram, Tiktok, etc. are used to connect friends and family, however, it is also a subject of bullying and spreading rumors. Social platforms are used to share emotions, ideas, and information, so tell me how friendly social platforms have become a place where people dread visiting? When did toxicity come into the picture? Social platforms were produced so that they could bring people together, not apart.
Social media is like a transformation machine. You come in as a human and then when you leave you are a backstabbing goblin. There was a recent experiment done during the pandemic by RISJ about ‘Volume and Patterns of Toxicity in Social Media Conversations during the Covid-19 Pandemic’. The study was targeting the WHO. The final results were that 21% of all messages were toxic, in other words, 21/100 messages were promoting fake news and rumors about the covid-19 pandemic. Based on very little information we can partly conclude that there is already some exploitation within the time period of the pandemic. According to the website liberties.eu, the use of social media has doubled in 2020 compared to 10 years ago. The more the addiction to social media, the more the toxicity. Next, we will take a closer look at how social media is being exploited.
The exploitation of social media does not only consists of cyberbullying but also the exploitation of social media can foster the rare occurrence of getting an identity stolen. Social media can track your every move and can copy your identity down (your location, family, likes & dislikes, etc.). This has happened almost to everyone whenever you search something up multiple times on google, for example, cars, and then next your daily social platforms are filled with car ads. With this information, we can finally conclude that social media is not a place that you should trust, you can use it but use it safely and responsibly.
These are just 2 examples of the exploitation of friendly social platforms. To wrap up what we have seen so far about the exploitation of friendly social platforms is that there should be some self-assurance when using social platforms and using it cautiously. Sooner security policies will become much stronger but no harm in being extra cautious when you know that the info you expect to be private can be shared with everyone.
Citations
"The Toxicity Of Social Media And Reality TV". The Stafford Voice, 2019, http://thestaffordvoice.com/2019/the-toxicity-of-social-media-and-reality-tv/. Accessed 7 Dec 2021.
"Toxicity On Social Media". The Manila Times, 2020, https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/09/08/opinion/columnists/toxicity-on-social-media/765995. Accessed 7 Dec 2021.
Platform, European. "Why Is Social Media Toxic? How To Deal With It The Right Way?". Liberties.Eu, 2021, https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/social-media-is-toxic/43494. Accessed 7 Dec 2021.
Freeman, Lee A. et al. "Social Media Exploitation By Covert Networks: A Case Study Of ISIS". Communications Of The Association For Information Systems, vol 41, 2017, pp. 97-120. Association For Information Systems, doi:10.17705/1cais.04105. Accessed 7 Dec 2021.
The Benefits of Video Gaming
The Benefits of Video Gaming
Fortnite world cup winner Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf lifting the trophy after winning 3 million dollars.
Salaar H.
Have you ever been in the middle of a video game and your mom barges in the room telling you to get off and go do something else? Have you ever been told that video gaming has no benefits and is just a waste of your time? Well if you want to prove everyone wrong and find out the true benefits, keep reading!
Many people believe that video games are just a waste of time and that you could be doing other productive things instead; however, studies show that video games can also be very productive! According to an article written by the American Psychological Association, video gaming has many psychological benefits for our health such as strengthening our cognitive skills and problem-solving skills as well as reducing stress. After coming home from a long day of school or work, many people just like to sit down on their gaming console and enjoy playing video games to relieve all the stress that is ongoing in their life. Because of the COVID 19 pandemic, we have all been stuck at home with nothing to do and anywhere to go because of lockdown restrictions. These restrictions have implied a lot of stress towards individuals and have also limited their social interactions with friends and family members. If we are not able to see our friends and family in person, many of us have started to play video games much more than how we used to play in order to chat and enjoy time with friends online.
Have you ever been told that video gaming won’t get you anywhere in life? I’m sure many of the gamers out there have at least been told this by their parents once or more in their life however this statement is actually false. If you are a gamer with true talent and dedicate hours of your day to video gaming then there is a great chance that you could have a profession in video gaming! Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf won the Fortnite world cup in 2019 taking home a total of 3 million dollars! A video uploaded by Fortnite themselves showcased Bugha’s journey to winning 3 million dollars. In the video, Bugha had said that he practices at least 6 hours a day playing Fortnite! This proves that in order to become a professional gamer, you have to dedicate hours of your day playing your desired video game!
One issue many parents believe in video gaming is the balance of life and studies along with gaming. According to Mayo clinic, they state that an average person should have at least 30 minutes to an hour of exercise daily, whether that’s going to the gym, walking your dog, or playing a physical sport! Parents might believe that their child will become lazy after playing video games and will not have the motivation to exercise or to even study! The most effective way for a child to balance their video gaming is by discussing with their parents on creating a daily schedule. A schedule will help keep you organized and will prevent further conflict with your parents. According to CNBC, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, the Fortnite champion, had practiced for the world cup when he had school! Bugha spent 6 hours daily even on weekdays and went to high school every single day balancing out his studies and his gaming career! If Bugha is able to manage his time well and maintain good grades, I believe anyone is able to do the same!
After reading all the benefits and learning some ways to combat the cons of video gaming, the next time someone ever tells you that you're wasting your time gaming or you have a conflict with your parents related to gaming, simply provide them the facts and discuss an effective solution!
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