Tag Archives: dtcv

@C

Going without my laptop and Smart phone made me really appreciate the easy access I have to the Internet. Without these devices that make social interactions, homework, work, and the simple gathering of information easily accessible, social interactions would be limited, work would be harder to find, homework would be harder to do and gathering information would be a much larger task than typing key words into a search engine. Without using the Internet on my Smart phone I was not able to keep up with what was happening with my friends and family on Facebook and if I had a question or was curious about something I could not just Google the question to get an answer. This experience correlates to people who have limited or no access to wireless Internet connection because their access to social media and information would be severely limited just as mine was. “While the use of information technology is growing rapidly, some segments of society remain largely disconnected from this trend.” (Redefining the Digital Divide p. 201).Many people whether by choice or lack of financial means have no or limited access to technology. Laptops and Smart phones provide a way to easily access any information, or easily get in contact with someone. People that do not have access to this technology will have limited access to information, limited access to job availability due to the fact so many employers post job listings online only and they will also have limited access so information about their family and friends through social media.

ailinJohnson

@TannerSturza

Social media websites are changing the way people interact in our society. Now some one can get to know you and even meet you on a social media website. People now can get to know each other by what they share online. On a social network site a person can pick and choose what that want to share with people, but it is difficult to get to know a person if they don’t share or even try to hide things about them when in person they can’t hide who they are. These websites allow people to appear how they want, when in reality they might be different. “The trust we create on social networks fuels the empathetic response we have to one another, even if we don’t know each other that well” (Zandt 153). We trust that the relationship that has been created on a social network is real and and wouldn’t be different in person, but if we ever meet the person that we know online we find out what they didn’t share on the social network. “We can all hide behind the giant curtain of technology” (Zandt 170). You can create a different identity online, changing small characteristics about yourself or even creating a completely different identity and pretending to be someone you’re not. This can make it difficult to judge the people we meet online and if you get the chance to meet the person that you know online, they might not be who you originally thought they were.

@CailinJohnson

“Social networking gives us unprecedented power to share our stories with more people than we ever imagined.” (Zandt p.159) Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs allow people to tell their stories about whatever it is that they have gone through. By getting these stories out through social media more and more people are able to read/hear them and mobilize people to want to change the social aspect that has caused the struggle in these stories. Social media has also made it easier for people all over the country or all over the world to have access to join a particular cause. Social media also gets information out to people a lot faster than other forms of communication. If someone wanted to organize a protest or a meeting they could just post it on Facebook or their blog and everyone that is a part of that cause would instantly know about the movement and be able to be a part of it. “Perhaps the most significant contribution the Internet offers a social movement is the expansion of where activism happens.” (Cooper and Dzara p.193)  The internet provides people that live in isolated or rural areas to have access to information that they otherwise would not have. Through social media people are also able to form communities within their cause; they can read posts, gather information and ask questions. Having access to information, other members of their cause, and the stories of people, causes people to want to create social change and make a difference.