Internet – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Module 4 Section 3 1 The good 2 The bad • Anyone can put something on the Internet - an idiot or an expert • From anywhere in the World - be it the United Kingdom or Uruguay • They can say anything they like - be it true or false • And leave it there as long as they like even if it goes out of date • Or change it without warning - perhaps even remove it completely 3 The bad • It's easy to miss key information • Search engines only cover a proportion of what is available online • A huge body of research literature is still only available in print form in books and journals • None of search engines index the whole Internet 4 The Bad and the Ugly • Existence of lots of “bad” stuff! • Bomb making information – Is it there? – Is it valid? – Who sees it? – WHO really uses it? 5 Pornography • Does exist on Internet • But nothing not found other places • Most contained in “Pay-for-use” areas – Requiring proof of age 6 Hackers Magizines • They are not “press” - do they have freedom of the press? • Will electronic publishers receive the same protections as print publishers? • How does this affect flow of info? 7 Sexist, Racist, and Harassing Speech on-line • Discrimination and harassment is widespread • Speech on computer systems in being treated differently • Campus speech codes • Political correctness of messages 8 Anonymity • The good AND the bad: – Allows criminals to hide – Allows Law Officers to hide – Provides protection for retaliation and embarrassment for individuals 9 Internet and social life • The good… • The bad… • The ugly… 10 Inspiration The Good: Heroes, heroism, and great role models, ideas and inspiration abound in cyberspace. Modeling. Imitation. The Bad: Get inspired by the wrong models and heroes, anti-heroes. Don’t have well developed crap-detectors or moral filters to sort it all out. The Ugly: Columbine killers and Hitler/Nazism online. Social Life The Good: Shy, introverted, socially phobic find cyber company and friends online. Stay in touch if a friend moves, reconnect with old friends. The Bad: Post personal information, pictures that could haunt forever, ruining a career, a job prospect, a relationship, etc. Employers, universities check you out in online searches. Get “addicted” by constantly checking social networking sites. The Ugly: Predators. Bullying, gossiping, lies that can lead to depression or worse, suicide, in vulnerable youth. Snooping, Investigating The Good: Find out interesting things about others, new student at school, checking out teachers on “Rate my Teacher”, etc. The Bad: Get in trouble if a snoopee finds out, e.g. a teacher. Find out things you don’t want/need to know, e.g. about parents, friends, relatives, neighbors. The Ugly: Obsessed with others (e.g. ex’s) A Positive Alternative to Negative Offline Behavior The Good: Keeps one off the streets away from dangerous experiences. Keeps one at home (sometimes) allowing for closer supervision. The Bad: The positive alternative becomes worse than the negative offline behavior. Easier to bully online than offline because of anonymity, no fear of direct reprisal, etc. Organize unacceptable offline behavior using online communications. The Ugly: Videotape bad offline behaviors (e.g. beatings) in order to post it online. Internet hoaxes • Some web sites are fakes designed to be spoofs, parodies or jokes. • Hoaxes are often about famous people, politics, products or organizations. • Their content is humorous and the fact that they are not 'real' sites can be easy to spot. 15 Spoof examples • Preparing for Emergencies: the official government site • http://www.preparingforemergencies.g ov.uk/ • Preparing for Emergencies: the spoof http://www.preparingforemergencies.c o.uk/ 16 Example parody site • Whirled Bank: [http://www.whirledbank.org] • World Bank [http://www.worldbank.org ] 17 Urban legends • They are stories or rumours that have been circulated from person to person. • They are often spread via email or web sites. • Some may originally have contained elements of truth, but have become distorted by mistakes being made in the retelling. 18 Examples of urban legends • Crime warnings: e.g. attacks on females, dangerous criminals at large etc. • Free offers: e.g. free mobile phones and gift vouchers. • Computer virus warnings: which are not real, but maliciously designed just to clog up the Internet. 19 Scams • • • • • SCAMS are: Scheming Crafty Aggressive Malicious 20 Examples of scams • Nigerian "419" email fraud: by providing bank account number and other details • Lotteries and Prize Draws: emails for winning in an overseas lottery or prize draw • Phishing: sending out hoax emails, which look like they have come from genuine Bank or other online account such as Ebay or Paypal 21 Hate sites Hate Sites disseminate information about: • a person • an organization • a religion • a political viewpoint 22 Methods of Censorship • “Locks” to keep children out • Distribute tips on how to control information • Some will report illegal activity to security organs • Expels “bad” subscribers • Automatic screening of “words” • Block access to inappropriate sites by software products 23 • Voluntary rating systems
