The Dark Side

The internet has brought many things to the world we live in.  There are positives and negatives to being connected, the same way there are positives and negatives to most things in life.  One of the most threatening negatives of the internet is cyber bullying.  Bullying has been an issue for a very long time.  Computers and cell phones are not what began bullying, but they have aided the progression of it tremendously.  The most concerning part of cyberbullying is the age group of the offenders and victims.  Kids not even ten years old are calling each other names and putting each other down.  DoSomething.org has a page that goes through 11 facts about cyber bullying and the statistics are eye opening.  80% of teens use a phone daily, which increases the probablity of harrassing messages.  81% of kids think it is easier to  bully somebody online than it is in person.  This makes sense as it is easier to be mean when nobody can see you and when you can't see your victim.  The scariest fact that I saw was that victims of bullying were 2 to 9 times more likely to think about killing theirself.  These statistics are for kids and teens!  To think that they could be brought to a place dark enough to want to end their life is heartbreaking.  I know that bullying has and will always be around, and that while we can build awareness we can not stop it completely I do think there are ways to stop it before it starts.  It begins in the home.  A child needs to be given positive support at home.  There needs to be more focus on being respectful and caring, and less focus on the actual bullying.  If a child is surrounded with positivity and respect that is what they will spread when they go out in the world.  As parents, we can't stop something that we are causing.  Adults need to be more aware of what we are instilling into our future generations or the cyberbullying will only continue.
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying#

Reddit is a website used by thousands of people daily to find and share information.  It is an open forum, but you do run the risk of being downvoted (if your post is not favored by the public), or even banned.  Gail Gardner from Directory Journal has thoroughly explained the basics for beginners on Reddit and has given a link if you need more thorough instructions on how to use Reddit properly.  After reading through her article I have deduced that Reddit, while it can be useful from time to time, is not necessary in the world of new new media.  Gardner explains that individual Reddit posts are voted on by people, as well as bots.  There is the choice to upvote or downvote, which will either make a post more popular or it will move it to the bottom of the page where nobody looks.  This seems unfair to me and I do not see how this could be effective for getting useful information out to the public.  If you have a different viewpoint than the majority, you are bound to get downvoted, even if your information is factual and current.  There are also Reddit bots that will downvote just to keep new posts towards the top of the page. Gardner says this is done in order to keep conversation and information new and put the older stuff to the bottom, but it also takes away credibility when people see downvotes.  Another reason Reddit should just give up is that there is the possibility of people posting information with the only intention being to gain publicity for their individual blog pages.  The information may not be relevant or credible in any way, which can end up being a waste of time, or lead to the spread of misinformation.  The third reason I believe Reddit is not beneficial to society is if you are not witty with your words your post, no matter how important the information may be, may be downvoted or simply ignored.  Gardner says that Redditers look at titles to see if they are interested in the post they are looking at.  This means that if you can not come up with a good opening line as bait to get the public to notice your post, it will travel to the bottom of the page, never seen by over half of the Reddit visitors.  While Reddit does have some positives, it is not a website that needs to be around.  The information you get on Reddit can be found in other locations, and there are hundreds of ways to get your information noticed without a popularity vote deeming it's importance.  If you are interested in finding out more about Reddit you can go to this link http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/reddit-guide-how-to-use-reddit/.