Article Six

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/12/author-the-web-is-among-worlds-most-destructive-technologies

This article talks about the opinion of one man, Sam Harris, who wrote the famous book "End of Faith" regarding the internet. His opinion is firm and contrarian to many in our society. He feels as though the internet is among the most destructive technologies in the world today. He references two main points to back up his claim. His first is the idea that internet crime and security issues are running rampant, with no real to police or stop it. His next main point is that the Internet is a venue which can inspire "psuedoscience" and other extremely fictious information that many believe to be true. He also talks about how jihadists and other terrorist organizations have used the internet to expand terrorism. Although he does take a moment to talk about how the internet is not all bad, it is clear his main opinion.

Let me start off by saying that on the base level, his points do have merit. Internet crime is an enormous problem in the global society, and currently it is a train that cannot be stopped. Also, it is true that many things on the internet are opinions posed as facts, or simply erroneous information. However, I feel as though Mr. Harris is a very narrow minded person who can't see past his blinders. The internet is basically a global free speech emporium. I could write on this blog right now that Bill Cosby was the 37th president and present it as fact. If someone were to cite me on that, that shows their stupidity, not the internet. What Mr. Harris is saying about false information spreading is true, but an indiviual needs to take the extra time to research a topic before accepting the first thing they see. It is the fault of the person for being to lazy to realize "Justin Balser's blog" may not be the best source of information.

Another thing that really bothers me about this article is his opinion that increased terrorism is a direct result of the web. This is an extremely ignorant statement that although i'm sure is supported by data doesn't express the truth. Does Mr. Harris truly want me to believe that if terrorists did not have the internet they would have NO means to spread the message? This is simply ridiculous. This is the way of technology, and Mr. Harris does not see that. He wants to live in a time where snail mail and word of mouth were the main ways to talk to people. That's not how life works, technology will always make things easier for people. If the terrorists didn't have the internet, i'm sure another piece of technology would be there making it just as simple. This is way of the world.

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/allen-the-internet-is-destructive_1125539

This article poses an interesting view on how the internet can destructive in an entirely different way. Lily Allen, a singer, talks about how the internet became her outlet for depression. She has now given up the internet because she constantly looked for negative comments about herself on fan forums and twitter. She said she did this to "substantiate how (she) was feeling." She has now completely given up the internet and does not even own a computer. I feel sorry for her situation and realize that a lot of people are probably in this position. I'm sure people are the other way around, having to fish for compliments in order to feel happy. However, I would again say this is on the person rather than the internet. If they were not looking for comments on Twitter or facebook, they would be asking friends in school. The internet did not form these personalities in people, they did. Although the internet does have some "destructive" tendancies, the overall good it produces is greater.