The Dark Side of the Web - Dangerous Places Online - Admission/Application Essay Example

Evolution of technology has with time changed the face of the planet. New infrastructures have been developed, and promoted the aspect of interaction between people around the globe. The world has continually become a small village due to expansion and implementation of ideas the culture of long distance trekking in order to deliver both goods and services has been brought to an end (Thurlow, page 206). People deliver these necessities in the comfort of their homes or even workplaces. Amount time of required to carry out some of these aspects have drastically reduced (Pfaff, page 564). Not only has this technology promoted positive changes in commerce, but also the system of education and the social life. New approaches in interaction and learning have cropped up. This technology can be said to have induced a new definition of social interaction and learning. One such technology is computer mediated communication. CMC brought a new dawn of communication that has both positive and the negative aspects to the users. Computer mediated communication is defined as that methodology through which people deliver and receive human data, by either through a single or many networked systems of telecommunications (Amant, page 301). The interaction involving the computer mediated communication utilizes numerous networking technologies as well as the software. Among these necessities are; the internet relies on chats, UseNet mailing list and electronic mails. CMC is further broken into either asynchronous or synchronous. In asynchronous category, the data is posted at the convenience of its sender and the respondent encodes his or her response during his or her convenient time. There is no direct conversation in asynchronous communication. On the other hand, synchronous data posting involve real time conversations between the senders, through the electronics, and the recipient of the data being sent. Honestly I must say I have been astounded, perplexed and amused by some of the aspects of computer mediated communication. Some of the aspects that have amused me are the elimination of certain structures. My reference of structures in this case refers to classroom. It is amusing to realize that learning has become virtual in many aspects. An individual gets to acquire knowledge in the comfort of his or her bed. In other words, knowledge acquisition and other forms of learning take place in the confines of homestead where the distance factor has been eliminated. A learner in Asian continent can enjoy teaching services of an expert in America. Moreover, the student and his or her instructor can engage one another in face to face conversation. Another idea worth noting is the fact that; CMC can be used for future reference, where the user can retrieve the archived data from the memory. Nevertheless, am also disgusted by some ideas of CMC. I was quick to note that; CMC has faced out the telephony industry. Works in this sector are no longer beneficial to the society since the internet can send a message. A new generation of lazy people has cropped up where they execute their roles and task while seated or sleeping. The aspect of body activeness is has been wiped out of people’s mind since they need not walk to send messages. Furthermore, there is a risk of hack of the messages. The mode of communication is risky since the content of the message can be changed by computer hackers. Therefore, the mode of communication is insecure for confidential information. Internet community refers to a group of individuals that interact with one another through the internet. Membership is gained through sign up to a particular site. The members; discuss, post, comment and also provide advice to other members (Kelsey, page 112). These societies provide solution to certain problems faced by general public. In other words, they become information database that avails information regards posted questions and topics by either the members or the general public. The essence of this online community (computer mediated communication) to the community is the provision of knowledge. Ideas are disseminated from one person to another. Solutions of problems are found through interaction. Another development is through entertainment, where music and recorded play acts is shared through the internet. Political awareness is another development that is tapped from the CMC. Through discussion, people are able to make choices regarding the type of leadership they would prefer. Differences between the CMC and face- to -face interactions are that; in CMC, there is use of internet that will incur the cost of connecting, while in face-to-face air is the medium of delivery of information (Pemberton, page 96). Furthermore, in CMC, electronics are utilized to send the information; on the other hand, face-to face interaction people themselves deliver the information through word of mouth. In face- to- face, memory serves as the data stronger, while in CMC the data is electronically recorded. Availability of the information for the face-to – face interaction in the future will depend on the ability of the memory to retrieve the stored data. Another idea is that, both past and real time interactions are applicable while, in face-to-face, only real time is applicable. The similarity between the two ideas is that; in both cases, facial contact is possible. Face-to-face interaction can be regarded to better than the computer mediated communication, since some of the emotions that may hard to note in CMC can be seen. In face-to-face interaction, information is secure since there is no eavesdropping by hackers. Mailing list, e-mail computer conferencing, and UseNet are all examples of asynchronous, while internet telephony, chats internet relay (IRC) and video conferencing are categorized as synchronous exchange. Discussion of interest defines the type of computer mediated communication to be used by an individual. For example, in an e-mail, the individuals exchange messages online. Mailing list allows the users to utilize the email as a group, where they send emails and also receive email test through the same link. Usenet allows people to express their ideas, emotions and opinions regarding various global topics that have been posted. In this methodology of communication, seriousness as well as bizarre human data exchange is entertained. Another type of CMC is the ‘discussion board’ or in other words, the computer conferencing. Groups of people post texts, engaged in dialogues and discussions. In addition, the content of communication is recorded and also archived for future reference by the members. This mode of communication has found wide use in education system where the learners and the educators do not require being the same room for learning to take place. IRC gives the users an opportunity to converse within the real time. Communication is made possible by use audio telephony and texts. The cost of message delivery is greatly reduced, and the task of having to walk to telephone station is eliminated. Finally, there is video conferencing where people involved getting to converse and at the same time see each other despite the distance between them. Moreover, this communication takes place within real time. It is then appropriate to conclude that, despite the speed, reduced labor and energy of information sharing brought about by CMC, there are risks of information being hacked by cyber criminals. It is not a mode of interaction that would encourage send of confidential information. Works Cited Amant, Kirk. Computer mediated communication: issues and approaches in education. Hershey PA: Information Science Reference, 2012. Print. Kelsey, Sigrid, and Kirk Amant. Handbook of research on computer mediated communication. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2008. Print. Pemberton, Lyn, and Simon Shurville.Words on the web computer mediated communication. Exeter, England: Intellect, 2000. Print. Pfaff, M. S.. "Negative Affect Reduces Team Awareness: The Effects of Mood and Stress on Computer-Mediated Team Communication." Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 54.4 (2012): 560-571. Print. Thurlow, Crispin, Alice Tomic, and Laura B. Lengel. Computer mediated communication: social interaction and the Internet. London: SAGE, 2004. Print. Read More