I think websites have become such a huge influence on our daily life that it deserves it’s own blog.
According to searchsoa.com “a Web site is a related collection of World Wide Web (WWW) files that includes a beginning file called a home page. A company or an individual tells you how to get to their Web site by giving you the address of their home page. From the home page, you can get to all the other pages on their site.”
I have come to rely on websites really heavily, not just for communicating, but also for quick information such as cinema times, addresses etc. I also use websites to gain knowledge surrounding the course, looking for theorists and relevant facts. I also use websites for online banking, managing my phone bill and shopping. I shop for not only clothes, CD’s and books (which all seem to be cheaper and are more convenient to buy online) but have also experienced doing the weekly food shop online. Using websites is quick and easy, and there is a wealth of information that is unrivalled from any other place. The drawback to this is often that it can take time to find what you are looking for trawling through a lot of unrelated spam. Websites can also be a place for people with unhealthy interests, such as hate gangs and paedophilia, to meet and share information.
I have been reading a lot in various magazines about the pro-ana and pro-mia websites and forums where users share their mantras and photo’s of this extremely harmful condition and find it really interesting that this can occur uncensored, but of course there are huge issues surrounding censorship of the internet, the vastness of the internet would mean that it would be virtually impossible to do, and the level of censorship would have to be brought into question, not to mention the right to freedom of speech and self censorship. What does everyone else think about censorship of the internet? How far should filtering software go?
Also the rise of web 2.0 means that anybody can contribute to a number of sites, obviously most of it is fine and is just sharing opinion, but there are some dangerous people out there, do we need to stop their ideas being brought up or should the freedom of speech and the will and common sense of the readers mean that we shouldn’t need to?
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I think that an individual can censor his/her self, rather than be censored by the authorities. I certainly do believe illegal activity shouldn't be allowed and should be punished, but no one could use their consumption of the web as an excuse to commit crimes. The main problem is that everything that can be invented, there will always be a way for people with bad intentions to convene. We have to make sure we are aware of such a risk and not let ourselves be taken in by it.
ReplyDeleteHi Lucy!
ReplyDeleteBoth of you are making sensible points here, in terms of a) asking how far censorship should go; and b)noting that people always find a way of manipulating means of communication towards their specific ends, good or bad.
It is interesting to note that a new anti-violent-porn-on-the-web law has been finalised this very week. There has been a big hue and cry about this law too - from, on the one side, people who defend freedom of choice/speech, and who argue that the porn concerned is targetted towards "consenting adults", not vulnerable and non-consenting groups; and on the other, people who argue that this kind of thing incites "real life" violence.
It is interesting from our NMC perspective, because this is a typical "media effects" issue for both sides, so not really anything new. The question we have to decide, on the back of your comments (and this example) is: if we are to censor, who decides what ought to be censored? And using waht sort of criteria - theirs, ours?
...and in relation to Tom's point, do you think it was extremely naive of early netters not to see a proliferation of bad stuff as likely to happen on the net? Was there anyhting anyone could have done to make it less likely? (Possibly an impossible question!)
Keep up the good blogging!