The Affects of the Internet

Rushkoff’s article was filled with a lot of good information, but there was a little part in there that had me interested in Chapter 3. This part states, “The internet was considered sexy simply because young people took an interest in it. People who developed internet applications in this way were called cyberpunks or hackers, and their antics were often equated with those of Wild West outlaws, hippies, Situationists and even communists.” It is interesting how the internet was considered sexy to people. This statement right here is where technology takes a whole new stance and is taken to the next level. Originally the internet was a text-only operation. As we see now, it has advanced very far and maybe a bit too far at that. In the section of Rushkoff’s article, Backlash, it talks of the downfalls with the internet. Our culture is still very much into television, but the internet has definitely taken over. Leaders of the media were struck with a drop of business. Internet is an obvious threat or competition to the media world. On top of the internet putting other people out of businesses, there were other problems. “..It was, in fact, the US government, concerned about the spread of pornography to minors and encryption technology to rogue nations, that took more direct actions against the early internet’s new model of open collaboration. From Rushkoff’s article I am going to focus on the downfalls of the internet, particularly pornography. The internet is easily abused and very much overused for one’s own needs. Many people have let the internet take over their lives. It is just sad. Pornography is huge in the internet industry that is why I chose an article that talks of the affects of pornography. The internet is scary anymore. It allows easy access to children. There are many pop-ups and growing websites that pressures or teases the population on the internet, mostly men. I suppose it is life. We should take responsibility for ourselves if we are capable of doing that. We make our choices and decisions and we deal with the consequences. From experience, I have had to deal with someone with an internet addiction. Its not fun. It hurts. I never thought it would have been that big of an issue, but it is. Any kind of addiction or overuse is not good, and if you think you can forget about it, you are in denial. The internet can take over your life. There are people who do not go out as often or feel they are not good enough to date other people, so they rely on the internet (porn) to get their fix or just to feel wanted. It may feel nice for a that moment, but in the long run it is not healthy. We can not lose real human interaction! The internet is great, but do not abuse it. There is so much out there in the world rather than to be a loner; a sad person stuck on the internet. Rushkoff’s article was good, but it made me think. I think the government needs to go to better means to stop this internet abuse and get those pedophiles away from us. Do not let the internet take over your life!

http://www.bewebaware.ca/english/pornography.aspx