Stranger Danger

Stranger Danger in the 1960s was described as a creepy man luring kids into his van by offering them candy; in the 21st century, stranger danger looks a lot different. The internet is flooded with creeps and people pretending to be somebody they're not, just waiting to be talked to. Online chat rooms and even virtual online worlds like LambdaMoo are getting invaded by these creeps, and young kids are falling victim to their ways. Preteens are especially vulnerable to these types of people because they know exactly what to say to get the insecure junior year schoolers to do as they say. Parents are becoming more worried and they have good reason to be. Kids can meet ANYONE online and create friendships with people they don't even know, which is the beautiful curse of the internet. Either you meet a friend for life or you meet someone who can ruin your life, just like Amanda Todd's  tormentor. The truth is, in any scenario, whether it be online or in real life, people need to have caution and be aware of their surroundings. You never know who is lurking in the shadows or the chat rooms.

Who Am I?

Online I can be anybody I want. I can be Bold, sweet, or even a little FuNkY. The point is, you can create your own identity online and how you want to be perceived through the eyes of others by filtering what you post. It is much easier to control our self-presentation and identity online than out in public at say the mall. The question of whether this is right or wrong is up for a little debate. People should always be their true selves in any scenario, whether they are out with friends at a bar or engaged in an online chat room, their morals and values should be the same. It is much easier, however, to act professional and post important accomplishments online to create that facade opposed to actually working hard at your job though. People will only show what they want to online and if that means creating a completing different identity I guess there is no stopping them. People need to just remember to stay true to themselves.

Friend or Foe?

How many "friends" on social media are truly your friends? Before social media, a friend was someone you shared common interests with and someone you connected with on a deeper level. Today, however, friends have conjured up a completely different meaning. Social media friends are at best strangers, and for some reason people think they need these strangers to fulfill some sort of void in their life. When I was younger I truly believed that the more "friends", or strangers, we have on social media, the more popular you will be. As a young middle-schooler it seemed that being cool and having 1000 friends on Facebook was all that mattered in life. 

Today, when I look at my social media accounts I do not see friends, I see people posing as friends to get likes on their pictures. I do not have that same needy feeling of accepting every person who enters my friend request box, and honestly it is refreshing. Lately I have been deleting people I do not know on a personal level and only keeping the friends around that I would actually want in my life. Don't fall into the habit of friending everyone you see, and remember to always follow your real friends in life because they are the people that matter. 

Just Google It

Ah Google, the trusty search Engine that everyone loves to hate. Google has had a huge impact on our world for over a decade now, and most people will even say that it has become the monopoly of search engines. When we do not know an answer to something, the most common phrase that follows the question is, "just google it!" People have fallen into this cycle of relying on one search engine for all of their needs. The question of whether this is good or bad is up for debate, however.

I can confidently say that Google has too much power over our lives. We rely on it for almost everything, putting blind faith in whatever results it musters up for us. While sometimes this reaps benefits, it also reaps havoc when we google something and the results contain a bias. The experiment we did in class on googling "doctor" showed a sea of white male faces staring back at us through the computer screen. Another image of a woman doctor in noting but a bra and a lab coat also came up. The truth is, biases are still very much alive in this world and since google is comprised of people's search histories and preferences, some biases will be present.  

I think Google should monitor what content is going out to the public more, but people are addicted to Google and whatever people are googling the most, is what is going to pop up the most in search results. Google is nothing more than a free rider benefiting off of other publication's works. Google is a powerful entity, but when we look at it, it really is just something created by many different voices. 

Megan Reardon

I read the interview on Megan Reardon! I chose this particular blog because I really liked her blog name "Not Martha." Martha Stewart is the queen of crafts, but Megan has become more than just a jester with her knitting and craft blog. She started blogging just to keep her thoughts and ideas all in one place, but it has evolved into a blog that gets about four thousand visitors a day. Megan has gotten busy in her life and does not have as much time and effort to put into her blog, but she still enjoys the fact that she isn't responsible to anyone else for writing her blog. If she messes up, she can edit or even delete her writing. Her blog also led her to getting a few knitting patterns in books and had a small article in Bust magazine. Overall, the blog has made her aware of how people truly are whether that be kind or weird, and it is a relief to know that real people are still out there.