Social media has come a very long way in such a short time, this phenomenon is about to be once again revolutionised by 'Google glasses'. The idea behind Google glasses give us a wearable computer, that can accompany us any where at any time. It will display similar information as a smartphone but in a futuristic hands free way, through your very own voice commands. Google glasses is an innovative technology set to turn the current technological world of smart phones and tablets upside down. The Google glasses have already been launched and tested by numerous people who were rather amazed by what they can do with the glasses.
Although this phenomenon brings many new positive possibilities to technology it is not without its problems and downsides. Such as the price of the google glasses ($1000-$2000), customisation you cant really make into something you want it to look like or suit it to your 'look'. The Google glasses also brings up many issues such as privacy and confidentiality and distraction to those who are driving for example. The health effects of this gadget are also still unknown, it may have harmful effects you eyes and brain. So while this phenomenon is a great idea and a step-up in the technological world there is still a long way to go in assessing the cons of this innovative gadget.
Social media has become a popular tool for communication and entertainment in households throughout most of the world.
The largest population in the world of internet users is in fact China, however China also has one of the most restricted internets around the world. Great Firewall is said to be the" most technically sophisticated internet filtering/censorship systems in the world".
Internet access in China is provided by 8 Internet service providers (ISP), which are controlled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. There are three main ways ISP's block online content:
There are many complex and multi-layered systems in place to censor the citizens of China from information that the government believes is threatening. China's
IP blocking
DNS hijacking
keyword content inspection/filtering
There is currently a website you can go to, to discover what internet sites are actually blocked in real time in China. Could you imagine getting on your computer or phone and logging on to our much loved sites of Facebook or Twitter and being told the site has been censored and is not accessible. The people of China are not completely without social media sites, there are substitutes in place to allow the Chinese to communicate via the Internet such as namely, Baidu (search engine like Google), Sina Weibo (micro blogging like twitter), Renren (equivalent of Facebook) and Youku Tudou (Video site like YouTube).
Chiu, Lin and Silverman (2013, pg.1) claim that "social media is exploding worldwide and China is leading the way". Yes social media has really taken off worldwide, but as for China leading the way I have to disagree. Of course most countries including Australia have some censorships but nothing like China, what is happening to human rights and freedom? I hope China doesn't lead the way of the social media realm I certainly do not want my internet usage constantly watched and censored, what people do in their spare time on the internet is up to them not the government.
To be honest I never quite knew the extent to which Chinas internet is censored I never knew there were so many substitute platforms available to the citizens of China. It just goes to show how much the government can control and influence peoples lives.
Along with all the great features of social media, there can also been quite a dark side. We are all currently aware of extremists groups, which more specifically are groups who have an extreme intolerance to certain people or groups. This intolerance is expressed quite violently and publically. For example white extremist groups which are driven by things like racial impurity, anti-Semitism and political hegemony. However these groups have moved and expanded online via social media platforms which are classified as eExtremists or online hate groups. As social media is great for uniting groups of people who share similar interests worldwide it acts as a powerful tool for these groups to spread there attitudes and messages out, to educate and train others and to recruit new members. Currently in the United States there 1007 known hate groups operating, such as the neo-Nazis, Klansmen, racist skinheads and black separatists. Another example of an extremist using the internet and social networks is Norwegian Anders Behing Brievik who has been held responsible for terrorist attacks in Norway, killing many innocent people.
What is even more outraging is that even an registered political party can be considered an extremist group, such a the Australian First Party. Which has been described as a minor extreme right wing political party that is federally registered in Australia. The policies of the AFP has been said to be based around the old fashioned beliefs of the labour party, they can be described as nationalistic, anti-multicultural and economic protectionist.
Reingold's utopian view of 'virtual communities' seems to me as quite the opposite to what these hate groups are proposing they are hardly communities with high desirability and 'perfect qualities'. More precisely the promote and create discrimination and violence with our society. As we can see from the Brievik example these types of hate groups throughout the Internet can have quite severe and damaging effects. Honestly in this day and age how can this sort of violence and discrimination still be widely apparent, why aren't there laws being implemented to monitor and combat these groups?
Personally I believe that the future of these hate groups and the 'dark side of social media' will continue to prevail and grow with support unless higher intervention is becomes apparent. Individually we all need to learn to recognize when an extremist website is crossing the line of free speech to negatively targeting minority groups.
