Social Connectivity And Its Effects On Society

In Esther Dyson’s “Cyberspace: If You Don’t Love It, Leave It”, the existence of the internet is seen as potentially dangerous to today’s society. Dyson insists that the internet was once a sanctuary for tech savvy individuals such as gamers and professionals like engineers. The author focuses on the negative websites and communities that are often found offensive to the majority. She thinks the World Wide Web harbors a lot of power. This power can be accessed and conquered easily by most of the population. According to Dyson, responsibility is the key to changing the future (295). Her argument is convincing but slightly unrealistic. The internet seems to be growing into a whole other alternate universe. Society’s rapidly growing technology industry will only be harder to regulate. Most people will do what they want, when they want especially when it comes to the internet.

Tactics to induce terror in pursuit of a political goal have been utilized by a multitude of organizations across the globe. This method of power control is known as terrorism, and due to its impact and unpredictability, it is highly feared and monitored today in the 21st century. Attacks of this nature stem from radical beliefs of religion, ethics, or other politics, and have been carried out globally, ranging from the 9/11 attack in New York City to the 2015 shooting in Paris, France. Terrorism over recent years has grown despite an abundance of efforts by many nations and international organisations to stop development of such groups. This growth is partially attributed to advances in digital technology and the furtherment of communication techniques, such as social media and web-based content, which has allowed for the spread of these radical ideas across the planet making it difficult to control the advancement of these beliefs (Council on Foreign Relations, 2009). Terrorism will never be able to be fully stopped due to the abstract nature and ideology from which terrorism originates.

Social media is commonly used worldwide as a tool for learning and communication. However, the benefits are compromised by the inability to contain the contents shared and the misbehaviour of its users. Social media intervenes with the strict regulations of gun distribution, is used as a method of propaganda by terrorist organizations and is a platform that eases the execution of hate crimes in the form of cyberbullying. The aspect of efficiency and anonymity on social media makes it the largest contributor in violating laws across national borders, leading to more chaos and tragedy than convenience.

Every month we see in the news a new story on how terrorists are using social media platforms to recruit and radicalize our youth, in fact we see this same type of story so often it leads us to wonder whether or not this is just over exaggeration, or is there truly a horrifying ring of truth to them. We cannot help but wonder if the same programs we use almost religiously every day are in fact being used as a tool for terrorists. A number of newspapers and news organization have looked into this and concluded three main things. First, terrorists have infiltrated our perceived safeguards on social media, second terrorists have shown that they try to recruit people through the use of social media, and lastly, that terrorists have made themselves

When attention is on the message, constructive conversation is able to develop in an online community from what would normally be stigmatizing topics. Coleman points to cases of medical patients, mothers, anonymous activists, and even victims of hate crime who use the internet to speak out on sensitive subjects without backlash in their personal lives. Another point Coleman makes is that anonymous expression has been a foundation of our political culture since it’s inception. Coleman believes, however, that internet companies should use their platforms to curb harassment and that pending systems be developed to limit derogatory content without invading free

It is claimed that the relationship between terrorism and media is well-researched. It is suggested that in Spencer, A. (2012) researchers struggled in this central question. The focus upon how the western world portrays the information of terrorist related incidents. It has been identified in Spencer, A. (2012) that the fear or terrorism needs to be displayed over social media for example. The terrorist wants not just their victims to suffer. The result of the wider world and the public being informed allows the pressures of insecurity within the public perception. One quote which makes sense of this statement is the

In our modern world, the spread of violence has increased substantially amongst the years. Terrorism and lack of civility have become a way of life and is radically growing at an alarming rate. Many concerning civilians often ask themselves “ What is causing the rate violence in the world to increase.” Thomas L. Friedman a New York Times Journalist, author of Social Media: Destroyer or Creator? answers this question using the story of “Wael Ghonim, the Egyptian Google employee whose anonymous Facebook page helped launch the Tahrir Square revolution in early 2011.” In the article, Mr.Friedman claims that due to the speed and brevity of social media, rumors that confirm people’s biases are believed and spread among millions allowing for online discussions to quickly descend into a rage of confusion and disorder.

One of the major reactions to the Boston marathon bombing occurred on the internet. Social media was especially rife with speculation over who the bombers were and why they committed those acts. One of the greater spectres that has loomed over the social media landscape in the past few years is the group called “Anonymous.” While the social media reaction to the Boston bombings might be unrelated to “Anonymous,” and instead constitute a spontaneous reaction to the event, it might still be useful to look at this group of internet users as a model for how social media participants might behave. “Anonymous” is known for being a loose association of unidentified individuals who use internet technology to carry out hacks on the web in the name

Since the mid 1980’s, the internet has proven to be an extremely effective means of communication, with its ability to reach an ever increasing audience worldwide. The development of sophisticated technologies has created a network with a largely global reach and relatively almost no barriers of entry. The internet, quite simply, has made our lives easier. It provides us with the ability to share and receive vast amounts information at the click of a button, get our shopping done online and delivered to your doorstep, or even getting our banking done without ever leaving the house. The benefits of the internet are seemingly endless. However, in recent years, terrorist organisations have began to exploit this technology for the purposes of

The information age has had enormous and very positive impacts on globalization. Nations are able to interact with each other in ways that were not possible before the emergence of the internet. However, with the good, there is always bad, and in the case of technological advances and interconnectedness, domestic extremism has been able to exploit the benefits and convenience of the internet and globalization to harm the American society from within. Globalization and technology have improved the possibilities for domestic extremists to recruit, operate, and communicate from anywhere in the world. The internet has become a fundamental part of every domestic extremist organization in the U.S., and they can quickly mobilize entire communities and propagate messages in a matter of minutes all around the country.

The internet is used every day by billions of people around the world. According to Nielsen's Total Audience Report, the average American adult spends more than 11 hours a day online. All of that time is used for things such as schooling, watching videos, playing games, and communicating. These days the internet is an essential part of life. But it is also being used by militant extremist groups in the middle east such ISIS, to recruit and share their ideas of destruction. People are leaving their homes and planning domestic attacks on their home country due to these posts and articles written by these extremists. Extremism today is fueled by social media and

Soriano begins his exploration of the relationship between media and terrorism with the words of Marshall McLuham, whose statement that “without communication, terrorism would not exist” is taken by Soriano to be “relatively precocious”, but essentially correct. Though terrorism existed prior to mass media, Soriano argues that it was always about making a public statement, and that new technologies have simply allowed the

According to the lessons and reading this week, terrorism as we define it now began in the late 1960’s. The unprecedented advances in communication methods since then can be summed up with one word: exponential. In a space of about four decades the communication methods of the planet has expanded vastly. Back in the late 1960's, methods of communication would have been just a few venues: television, print media, and radio. Now, due to the explosive impact of the Internet and the affordability of portable personal tech devices such as “smart phones”, tablets, and laptop computers means anyone with a connection anywhere can connect to people and information, at any time. But, the deeper issues of the contemporary media and the escalating incidents of violence from terrorists are much more troubling. Who, exactly, benefits from the ever-present media coverage of these hateful acts? Is it the terrorist who gain the publicity he craves or is the media channel that seeks increased viewership and ratings? The implications of the assigned readings this week go far beyond just giving these violent cowards a stage and their obligatory moment of fame.

     "We should demand that all public schools and libraries install and configure Internet Filters." This statement shows how Jeffery Pollock, a candidate for the 3rd Congressional District seat in Oregon, views the Internet. Unfortunately for him, the one thing that he ranted and raved about was the one thing that gave him an unfair disadvantage in the in the upcoming elections. (Blind Ballots) Cyber Patrol, One of the leading Internet censoring companies and is used in over 17,000 schools in the Untied States, actually blocked his website from potential voters. Needless to say, when Mr. Pollock discovered this injustice, some of his views about Internet censorship changed. But Mr. Pollock isn’t the only

Society is constantly changing and will continue to change in the future. The change is predictable because people change their ideas, routines, and views frequently. One of the topics that is typically brought up when discussing the influences on how society is changing, is social networking. There are two sides to every story. One side of the effects of social networking is that it is beneficial to society by informing people on particular situations in the world and on current important events. The other side views social networking as dangerous and drama filled. While there are benefits and dangers to social networking's effects on society, I will argue that social networking has changed society more negatively than positively.