Category Archives: Impacts

Digital Dating and Virtual Relating: Conceptualizing Computer Mediated Romantic Relationships

This article shines light one how the internet has impacted our interpersonal relationships within the context of a romantic relationship. It talks about something called CMR (Computer Mediated Relationships). The article starts off by exploring the history and the culture of the internet. The internet has become so a part of our culture that people spend more time on the computer than the do with people. Today its not just a way of sending email, its a place that has had dramatic effects on social interactions. It gives us the power to meet new people, talk in chat rooms, social networks, date online, create online communities, find true love online, and sustain relationships through skype. People can even fulfill their secret sexual desires online. The author compares computer mediated relationships and face to face relationships by discussing four different parts: the process of relationship formation and dissolution, the nature of self disclosure, methods of conflict management, and meaning of infidelity.

Digital Dating and Virtual Relating

Summary of “Service Industry for Teachers? Using the Internet to Plan Lessons” By:Reinhold Hedtke, Joachim Kahlert, Volker Schwier and Ulrike Winkelmann

In today’s educational world, more and more teachers are using resources from the internet to help them plan lessons.  Specifically set in Germany, the article discusses how in certain areas the internet is not a primary resource due to lack of funding in schools and lack of internet teaching material.  A recent petition called Schools to the Net was made to introduce the Internet and multimedia in schools.  The desire to close the gap between technology and education is expressed in this article as well.  As future teacher myself I know how important internet is to me.  When planning lessons the internet is helpful to come up with creative ideas and activities for lessons or units.  Technology is changing the classrooms.  Even the chalkboards have turned into smart boards with access to the internet while teaching.  For more information, here’s the LINK!

 

Summary of “Bed and Breakfasts, Small Inns, and the Internet: The Impact of Technology on the Globalization of Small Businesses” by: Lituchy and Rail

This article discusses the impacts of technology, in particular the internet , on small businesses such as the bed and breakfasts.  The authors explains that technology greatly benefits businesses in this day and age for a few different reasons.  One of those reasons is technology is able to attract guests from other countries.  When visiting a place, people look up where they stay while visiting prior to even leaving.  With technology, one can put pricing, availability, customization of the room and other services to attract guests.  Another pro to using the internet is for advertising and getting the word out and buying reservations online.  The possibilities are truly endless.  The internet is changing the face of business and will continue to change it in years to come.  Here’s the LINK.

Political, Economic, Social, and Technical (PEST) Impacts of the Internet

This is a video of Dr. Vint Cerf giving a talk at Purdue University. Dr. Vint Cerf is one of the pioneers of the internet and is recognized as one of the fathers of the internet. Dr. Vint Cerf talks about how the internet has changed over the years. For instance, the world today is experiencing deep internet penetration, massive use and diversity. Although many parts of the world still don’t have the internet. The recent changes that have been made among many others are the IPv6, internationalized domain names, digital signed address registration (RPKI), domain name system security (DNSSEC), sensor networks, smart grid and mobile devices.  He spoke about the internet of things, and brought up many internet enabled devices that are out on the market today. For instance, a internet enabled refrigerator, light bulbs, surfboards, picture frames, bathroom scale, He presented and elaborated on a lot of issues that go along with the internet of things. For example privacy, configuration, management, infrastructure, architecture, the sensor network, and etc. On the political side of the discussion, Dr Cerf spoke on the impact of the internet on the populations of many countries. Topics such as cyber crime, cyber security, policy making, digital signatures, and digital velum were all discussed. Digital velum for instance was interesting to me because it talked about the preservation of digital data. It posed the question whether we would be able to open files from 1995 in the year 3000. The speaker also spoke on the impact the internet had on the economics of publishing, journalism, education and manufacturing. For instance, he compared the cost of paper to the cost of bits, and showed how the internet has rocked the world of publishing. He spoke on how the internet has changed journalism and education. Education is particularly interesting, because of this new MOOC structure. MOOC stands for massive online open courses. Explains how this model of free education is far more beneficial and even more profitable. With regards to manufacturing, the speaker spoke about 3D printing, which is another thing to keep an eye out for as it is predicted to be revolutionary and world changing in many ways. Finally, Dr. Vint Cerf spoke about a current project called InterPlanetary extension of the internet. This is a facinating topic that goes back to Licklider and his idea of intergalactic computer network. Here is the Link to the seminar.

Social Implication of the Internet

A lot of topics can be addressed when talking about what social implications the internet has had on the world. The article discusses in detail the digital divide, the impact on time use, community, social capital formation, politics, organizations, and culture. The digital divide is the gap between those that have access to the internet and those that do not. That has a lot to do with economic development of that particular society, and has very interesting correlations and implications. The author explains the social impact on time use. People now spend a lot of time online. It allows them to have instant access to any kind of information, be actively involved in online communities, and even their physical communities. The authors also go into detail the impact the internet has on social interactions. Research shows that internet users spend less time in the real world and more time in the virtual. Results show increase in loneliness, depression, hindered face to face communication, less time with families, and social circles. The internet also has heavily impacted the world of politics. People are more informed, more engaged and more empowered through the internet. Additionally, the article talks about how the internet has caused huge changes in operations of organizations. If organizations are not taking advantage of the internet, they are pretty much shooting themselves in the foot. All in all, the article is packed with interesting, thought provoking content. The internet is a part of our culture today, and its interesting that it has affected the way we live, work, communicate, and how we do business. It allows us to take control of our lives, build communities, start movements, educate ourselves, be a part of social organization, increase communication, and countless others. It has done a lot of good, and one can argue that it also has done some damage as well. Although I’d argue that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Social Impact of the Internet

Summary of “Online Gaming Dependency: A Preliminary Study in China” by Wei Peng, Ph.D. and Ming Liu, M.A.

Broadband internet access has rapidly gained ground in China. Likewise, online gaming has also become hugely popular. In 2003, online game players made up only 18.1 percent of the 11 million users online; in contrast, as of 2008 they made up 59.3 percent of over 120 million internet users. According to Wei Peng, Ph.D. and Ming Liu, M.A., many of these users suffer from what they call, “online gaming dependency:” a “psychological state characterized by psychological discomfort experienced by online gamers when they are unable to play online games as they wish.” Peng and Liu hypothesized that this dependency was likely to strike people that suffer from negative visions of their role in society, shyness, and depression. They also hypothesized that online gaming dependency would negatively affect a person’s social and personal life. Their data confirmed their hypotheses. They hope their findings can help guide health professionals to better care for those suffering from online game dependency.

“Online Gaming Dependency: A Preliminary Study in China”

STOP Cyberbullying

On the video we saw about cyberbullying I thought it was interesting how many people ran away from the situation. However, if they would be in the same position they would’ve liked someone to stand up for them.

I think it is important for the group to look for cyberbullying in different cultures. This is important because different cultures behave differently. Different types of people tend to behave as a group and others rather individually.

This topic is very important, and something we should all look out and find a way to stop it. And, as we’ve said before, its starts with us. If we don’t bully others we can take a small step towards this horrible phenomenon.

cyberbullying

TEDxEunji: Fact/Fiction

I really liked this TED talk, I had never watched it but the title of it stood out for me as I was browsing through the videos. The title of this talk is Markham Nolan: How to separate fact and fiction online. This title stood out because this practice was the first thing we were assigned to do as part of this course. We had to look for articles related to our topics. These articles had to follow the CRAAP (still can’t get over that name) guidelines: current, relevant, authority, accuracy, and purpose. As I searched for interesting yet CRAAP approved articles, I encountered articles that weren’t very reliable.

Markham Nolan is a journalist in the Ireland. At the begginning of his TED talk, Nolan points out how the relationship with the media has changed. Before the audience would react to news. Now, journalist react to the audience.  This same audience  helps them find the news. The internet has allowed this relationship to change. The audience can now help journalists figure out how to react to news and what is the best angle to take. We, make these news outlets now what it is we want to hear. This practice has evolved because it is through the internet that this happens quick, in real time.

Nolan tells us that today, even though there is a greater flow of information, there are free internet tools that help us verify the legitimacy of our sources allowing us to filter the truth from the lies.

I would like to end this post quoting Nolan’s closing statement of his TED talk.

“But here’s the thing. Algorithms are rules. They’re binary. They’re yes or no, they’re black or white.Truth is never binary. Truth is a value. Truth is emotional, it’s fluid, and above all, it’s human. No matter how quick we get with computers, no matter how much information we have, you’ll never be able to remove the human from the truth-seeking exercise, because in the end, it is a uniquely human trait.”

nolanted

Impacts Reflection

I enjoyed last week’s panel so much!

The topic we were discussing was unlike any other. Previous panels involved more technical functions of the internet, while the “Impacts” panel last week was more relatable and allowed us to share how we interact with the internet day by day. I think the panelists did a great job keeping the discussion going and brought interesting discussion questions to the class.

Last week we met up with Professor Groom to discuss what our final project will consist of. We have decided to create an interactive timeline about online dating. We will use a really cool tool that a colleague of Professor Groom showed us. I’m looking forward to this week so that I can meet up with my group members and work on our project!

The internet has impacted me….

The internet has socially impacted me, I remember I was so excited when I got my first cell phone. I just knew I could communicate with my friends when ever I wanted, not just in school. My mom would allow me to go over my friend’s house when ever I wanted because she had a way of getting a hold of  me. It was awesome, then I started to be on the computer more once we finally got internet in my home I was so ecstatic.There are so many things you could do on the internet, such as  play games, chat with friends, check you email and etc. You could do all this things with just a click of your finger. I found myself communicating with my friends more on the internet then on my cell phone. Now that we have phones with internet it makes it that much easier to access instead of waiting to get to the computer. Some people use the internet on a daily basis, no matter what you need to even if its just to look up a question, you can do it  anywhere. When you truly think about the advancement of the internet and it importance, what would we do without it??