Memes are a huge part of the internet and as a fan of video games and anime, my exposure to memes extends to jokes and references only. In fact, I was a little surprised that a meme about the lottery was made. I have seen many memes and these have desensitized me to being gullible and to not take memes seriously. After all, would you believe something like this?
(KawaiLover forum.kissanime.com)
I have learned to not take memes seriously and that their popularity should be based on their humor or creativity. In fact, I feel that my exposure to the Internet along with common sense makes easy to determine legit information to false ones. I have fallen victim to false information before many times as a kid. Thankfully, they weren't big problems; all being related to video games. Basically, as a kid, I did not know which video game walkthrough and/or secrets websites were legit........... Many hours were wasted.....
(lordsofoblivian www.memecenter.com)
There is also the factor of school and how we are taught to do research. In this day and age, it is truly concerning that we as a society are so gullible. I think the problem is our laziness to actually understand the information and learn. There is the false sense of security that the internet is safe and perfect when it is one of the most untrustworthy places to go to or at least, a majority of it is.
(www.quickmeme.com)
Here is a quick list of things we can do to be more cautious around the Internet:
- Check what kind of website the information is from
- Check whether the source/author is legit
- Check multiple websites and confirm similarities and contradictions
- Check the entire article and/or piece
- Check mentioned sources
- Check for biases
- Understand the difference between opinion and fact
- Almost never accept downloads unless it's from an official website
- Don't take non-articles as fact until confirmed by you or a trusted source
- USE COMMON SENSE!!!!!!!
(memegenerator.net)
Now that you and I know how to keep ourselves relatively safe on the internet, how can we help others? Tell people!
Now that you and I know how to keep ourselves relatively safe on the internet, how can we help others? Tell people!
(www.quickmeme.com)
Make conversation and spread the word. OH! Here's an idea; use memes. We could make a meme to spread awareness of how the internet is not always right. Fight memes with memes!
(chillz88 forums.oneplus.net)
Ahem! Back on topic. So what do you guys think? Is the internet a source of information you live by, or is it just a time waster. What experience do you have with false information, and what are some tips you can share to help keep us all safe? Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoyed.
P.S. Here are some interesting videos you can watch about the social and practical dangers of technology. It may be a little off topic and a bit extreme, but the ideas are connected in my opinion.
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ReplyDeleteHi Tristan!
ReplyDeleteYour post is really well-written! I personally think that internet can be a HUGE time-waster but I also love how i can get all kinds of information from it which sometimes does cause it to be a time-waster (especially when its not homework related). I like the internet because I can touch upon so many different kinds of subjects and its all just seconds away from my reach, however, I've also had my fair share of experiences with false information. I'm pretty gullible but eventually, the truth finds its way to me, whether it be through other people or after some closer examination. Some tips I can share to keep us all safe, are:
1. Cross checking, look at more that one source for consistency
2. Go to the original source
3. Common sense! >o<
4. Get others opinions
Overall, your post was really informative! I also liked how you used memes to explain your thoughts! Looking forward to more!
I think that just the amount of memes you included in this blogpost made my day. A+. Go Tristan.
ReplyDeleteThe meme levels on this post is off the charts. Other than that, nice post.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really like the tips that you put on differentiating true and false information in the internet. Anyway, I agree that our society is very gullible when it comes to people's posts in the internet. I mean they just don't second-guess themselves and feel like everything they see is true. Just like the 1 billion lottery meme, all it takes is one share and one like, and the world goes insane, thinking that what they see can actually solve poverty in America, only to realize that everyone would just get a mere calculator. I don't know if that person who posted that deceiving meme was trolling or wasn't good at math. In conclusion, people should actually be a lot more aware of what they see, especially in the internet when people just want to destroy other people's days with their lies.
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