After I read Herring (2004) andchapter 2 (Making new media make sense) by Baym, I found that the technology quality is one of the fears that people may have about the new Technology. Because of the “Internet’s ability to store and replicate information without regard to its content” (Baym, 22), people fear that content can be harmful in many ways. Just like, people used to think that Google can diminish our intelligence; today, they are confused whether Facebook and Twitter, for examples, would do the same and make us dumber.
Other concerns about the Internet is that “it will re-create political and cultural communities in cyberspace; it will bring pornographers, stalkers, and credit-card scammers into our homes, corrupting our kids and ransacking our privacy” (Baym, 28). In addition to that, people become unreal or authentic; they would lie about their name, age, and everything else. Additionally, there are fears that Internet and other new media can ruin the close relationships such as marriages, by finding another love, and cause social isolation. Finally, communication technologies have been seen as a source of stress for families, for it is easy for people to engage in “irregular courtship” with people outside the community which can be the “wrong kinds” of age, class, and racial, in addition to the big fear of facilities to loose control over their children because of the “sexting.”
Even though some people think that the mediated interactions lacks the depth and rich of meaning, cold, and pointless, others hope that it can promote human connectivity and lead to a new relationships, and new relational opportunities. In conclusion, I agree with hearing when says that CMC tend to “Slouch toward the ordinary,” because, just like every new thing it seems in the beginning as something unusual, expensive, and unacceptable socially, but when give it the right time for people to use it can become the society norm and more acceptable, especially, if it was use in the right way it can actually have more beneficial and not as harmful as people think.
I agree with all of your statements regarding the fear of the internet. The odd things is if people believed that it would do all those bad things why did they use it? Why is it so poplar now? Do you think they took the approach they many children and people take to do what they are told not to do or the things that are considered bad? CMC tend to say “Slouch toward the ordinary” really lend to the saying that all good things must come to an end.
I’ve touched on this before in some of my comments to other posts, but do you think the root of our fears stem from the technology itself or human nature and how we choose to use the technology. I definitely would not be in the boat of believing techology determinism. Human beings are not pawns. We have free will to choose how we behave and use things. I liked the analogy in Baym about use of knives. A knife can be used for medical purposes to save lives. It can butter bread. It can also be used as a weapon. If someone wanted to hurt another person, a knife would give them a good opportunity. But the knife didn’t cause them to do it.
I think that we are constantly being sold an idea that we can use technology as a scapegoat for the actions of the person. I agree that people can and do lie about who they are on the internet. Crimes on the internet happen all of the time, but crime happens wherever there are people. Right now, much of our population uses the internet, so its natural that crime and criminals would migrate to this medium. I also believe that part of the problem is that our laws aren’t moving as swiftly as our innovations, so we are suffering from the consequences of that lag.
I agree with you in that information can be used to harm other people when applied inappropriately. While communication technology has its advantages, the numerous disadvantages mentioned in your blog seem to counter a lot of them. Although the present situations caused by this new technology are bad, there is a much bigger risk in play. If left unaltered, the moral principles of future generations will be lowered at alarming rates. It may sound extreme, but it is a possibility that must be considered.
Maybe I am a hopeless dreamer but I see the fact the internet makes it “easy for people to engage in “irregular courtship” with people outside the community” as a positive result of the internet. It used to be very hard to meet people who were different ethnicities, religions and backgrounds than yourself. The internet makes it easier for people to be exposed to others and to find common ground with people they may never have talked to offline. Obviously, I completely understand the very real fear that parents have with regards to online predators and things of that nature. I am certainly not ignoring that awful fact, and I think every precaution must be taken to protect younger internet users. But I do think that the internet has a lot of potential to bring different people together and help bridge cultural gaps.