A Gift from the Interwebs: Amateur media, professional media, and Internet memes
This series of seemingly random articles and videos provide more than 30 minutes of entertainment. They give us a look into the way we interpret the media in the 21st-century and the ways in which the media connects people of all ages, nationalities, sexes, etc. One thing that Antoine Dodson, Marilyn Hagerty, Daym Drops, and the Gregory brothers all have in common is that they live in the technological age. They all used the media available to them to get a message across, although in some cases the message is lost, as it becomes part of a creative experiment. What I got from reading these articles and watching these videos was the sense the often we do not think about the information we share on public domains and how the things we do or say publicly will affect others. We just assume that it will be private or limited to a specific audience that knows and loves us. Yet once you post something online or say something on TV, is it really your private property? In the videos we saw, the people featured reached Internet stardom and ultimately benefitted from being the “victims” ATTN. However, often this is not the case. In short, when you post or say controversial things, or anything for that matter, be aware of the consequences.
5 responses so far
I actually know a girl who became “friends” with a stranger online who pretended to be a teenaged girl. Long story short, she is in an asylum today due to severe mental and physical trauma. You are absolutely right, the internet can be an extremely dangerous place to open up and express yourself. At the same time, though, it is a tremendous opportunity to reach people that it would be otherwise in possible to reach.
I thought about that show Dateline with Chris Hansen after reading your post. In the show, NBC tries to catch online predators by working with children and teenagers. When giving out information online, you can never know who is on the other end looking at it and what their intentions are. That is a scary side of the Internet. But with proper filters and awareness, it can be a great tool to keep in touch with old friends and reach people anywhere.
I like how you question if anything posted on the internet is “private property.” It may be one’s intellectual property (however unintellectual the material is) yet one cannot simply know if their posts will affect another individual in both a negative or positive way. If anything one posts does in fact affect another individual, then the person affected should be allowed to voice their own opinion and thus sparks a conversation or debate that is also visible to more masses of people. The more that is said, the more chance something else brought up is controversial. This then may invoke more people into the topic and create larger consequences. So, I agree with your statement that if something is posted to the internet, be prepared to face the consequences.
The point you brought up about not having any private property is not only a very interesting, but very true and very scary truth. You never know who sees the things you post on the Internet, what their intent is and how they will respond to it. Anyone casually posting a video with their friends being silly and singing or dancing could spiral into a viral phenomena and before you know it you can become another Internet sensation. Of course that would be the preferred outcome but it can have negative effects as well and shines light on the darker aspects that you hinted at making your final statement the truest of them all. Whatever it is you post on the Internet, be prepared to face the consequences.
I could not agree more to your point on how online postings are subjected to be interpreted in various ways and that we should be aware of the consequences. Personally, as much as I feel very privileged to live in a information society and to enjoy all the advantages that it brings, most of the times, I am very frightened and even terrified to figure out how my personal information can be exposed to various unintended individuals. Not only that but the internet itself, especially now that major companies such as Facebook and Google are amassing their database with individuals information, seems to becoming an unwanted resume or tag by itself which later on or even at this very moment could affect our lives.