Asst 3-1

A pop culture topic that I find interesting is the anonymity of the Internet. People can go online and be anyone they want to be. They can learn new trades, get degrees, play games, and talk to strangers, all without having to show their faces to anyone. Behind the computer screen, anyone has the ability to do whatever he or she wants, whether it be as innocent as sharing recipes, or as harmful as an online predator in a chat room.

One online phenomenon is online poker. By the early 2000’s, Justin Peters, 2007, author of “Jack of Smarts,” says that “dozens of online casinos had sprung up, allowing the Internet to tap its full potential as a 24-hour gaining paradise” (469). This type of gambling is allowed over the Internet because there are no laws governing this space. People can bet their life savings away without anyone being able to see their face as they do it.

On the other hand, people can go online and show their face to the whole world. The Internet can be as exposing as it can be anonymous. With sites like “MySpace” or “Facebook,” teenagers are making themselves known to the entire world. Anyone can go online and see what these kids are doing and where they are. This much exposure is much more dangerous than most people realize. Fortunately, according to Janet Kornblum, 2007, author of “The Net: a Circuit of Safety Concerns,” “several state attorneys general recently have called on social-networking sites MySpace and Facebook to ban registered sex offenders and make their sites safer” (p. 09d).

The Internet can be made into what you want it to be. It can be a place where you hide yourself and pretend you are someone else altogether, or a place where you flaunt and expose yourself to outsiders. It is an interesting concept, and I know there will soon be more regulations on what people can and can not do on the Internet.



References
Kornblum, J. (2007). The net: A circuit of safety concerns. USA Today, Life, 09d. Retrieved November 18, 2007, from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.olinkserver.franklin.edu:80/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=17&sid=3b381cf9-1b07-40ad-a882-fe3d5576623f%40sessionmgr9.
Peters, J. (2007). Jack of smarts. In M. Petracca, & M. Sorapure (Eds.) Common culture (p. 469) Upper Sadle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.