My take on the 'Dark Side'

There are quite a few aspects that we have talked about in class that can be used to make the internet seem less "safe."  My perspective is people just need to practice common sense as with any situation in life. Issues with child pornography, purchasing illegal goods, and private information are ongoing debates, but some fail to realize that just as in real life, not all things can be monitored. And just as crime in real life does not mean the whole world is 'bad', crime on the web can exist without making the whole existence of the internet 'bad'.  Education will go a long way under both circumstances in my opinion.  Dependency and the false perception of control are the only negatives I can see coming from the internet.

Instantly Googling a solution or fact can, in my opinion, 'weaken the mind' and inhibit problem solving skills. I sometimes wonder how people would react to a situation in which there was no internet for a week.  I realize that most people wouldn't realize how intertwined their lives are with the internet; their communication, their bank accounts, bills, and so on.  However, the flip side is how much more efficient we have become with the assistance of the web, which has done more good than harm. 

In regards to students being punished for conveying their emotions about a teacher,  I think the issue is complicated when it does not have to be.  Facebook and other social media is a place to share your thoughts, however, your thoughts may have a bigger audience then you intended.  This means people should sensor themselves, the same way they would in a public face to face setting.  In my opinion, unless the student posts comments in a school related setting or school related social media page, freedom of ‘speech’, should still apply.  I greatly dislike that schools and future employers have made social media into something that still restricts what people want to say or show.  Furthermore, it’s a major hypocritical behavior that should be mended.  Or is it something that internet users now have to tolerate?  The consequences of internet usage in real life is something that some may not agree with, but when the two are so closely related it is virtually impossible to say “this is ok online but not in real life.”   

To me, 3D printing is no different than the internet, or any other tool really.  It depends on usage, and while we may try to regulate usages, I believe the guy who wanted to open source the gun file has a valid point, what happens when we can’t?  Again I go back to education, educating people on how to use it, and why the ‘bad’ ways to use tools are considered bad.  I’m very interested to see how internet usage and laws pan out within the next decade, the rapid progress in technology should lead to a new wave of legislation that will be highly influential in the more distant future.