Effects of the Internet Harming Users

Here is the rest of my paper on Technology. If you missed one you can view it on previous posts.

The effects of using the internet for ghastly things guides the way for a countless number of lives falling victim to the crude cold world. Cyber bullying has escalated in the last few years and it shows no sign of stopping. We have lost an innumerable number of children, teens, and adults that have committed suicide because of the cyber bullies. We can never get those people back! But we can do something to stop it now. How many more kids will have to die before we see that technology has put us in a very tough position? Bullying isn’t stopping in schools. It is now coming home with the victims to continue to harass and torment them some more. Human trafficking, in particular, has increased rapidly with predators selling little children and women by using Classified ads on the internet. Predators make a lot of money off these victims, where they are trapped and held against their will. Victims are made to perform sexual intercourse in order for the predators to make money off them. Technology has permitted prostitution to amplify where hookers can make money easier than before. Hookers can be found on classified ads that are near you without you having to go out and find them. The internet has turned into a way to communicate with our friends and post updates on popular social media sites. We are constantly updating and telling all kinds of information that our friends really don’t need to know. Houses can be broken into easier if users were to update and tell people when they aren’t at home. Technology might have caused the world to learn more about each other in our daily lives, but is technology really a good tool to have? We are in continuous communication everywhere we go. But lives are being lost daily because of the World Wide Web and the harm it causes people to have to endure.


My mother and father brought me a CD for Christmas. The CD was entitled “Freedom: Artists United for International Justice Mission” and it is available at Family Christian Stores and their online store. Every CD purchased helps to rescue a victim of human trafficking. The CD includes a total of three CDs. The CD features 26 songs from Christian artists on two CDs. On the third CD, it has a DVD to watch on human trafficking. The CD includes songs from artists: Natalie Grant, Third Day, TobyMac, Tenth Avenue North, Brandon Heath, Jon Foreman, MercyMe, Phil Wickham, Jars of Clay, Sara Groves, Relient K, Sixpence None the Richer, and many more artists. You can help someone that has fallen victim to human trafficking get rescue and at the same time you get a wonderful CD to enjoy.

This CD has a song called “Arise” that I am praying and hoping people will arise and help one another out.

Here is a user made video to the song “Arise” By Third Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2-2XMIKmvI



If you would like to purchase a copy of the Freedom CD from Family Christian Stores check it out below:

http://www.familychristian.com/shop/product.asp?prodID=133165&name=Various+Artists-Freedom

Let's all come together and help put an end to human trafficking, bullying, and let's be a little bit smarter about what kinds of information we share on the internet.

Privacy Taken Away by Online Interactions

In fact, a big problem with the increasing websites and users is that we want to share all types of information online with everyone. We have no more privacy on what we share on our Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace statuses. Some people posts updates about where they are located at that present moment. For example, my friend Bryan posted, “I am at Wal-Mart”. If a robber saw that status update it would translate to “I am not home, come take all my things” and “Enjoy the big screen TV, my iPod, and my laptop; they are all FREE!” In other words, everyone on social media sites needs to think before they post and share information online. Once you put out a picture, status update, video, or a comment it is always there online. Users can’t take it back. You may be able to delete whatever you post, but someone may have already seen it and the damage can’t be undone. We tend to think everyone cares about our everyday life activities. Do we really need to know your whole life story, minute by minute, by what you’re posting? For instant, the social media raises the question that we all need to ask ourselves, “How much information is too much?” Do people really need to know you just ate Oreos and you dipped them in milk? I can’t help but think who cares. You can learn so much information about a person just from their Facebook page. Some users are even audacious enough that they share their home addresses on their Facebook page along with their home and cell phone numbers. I don’t think most people realize how dangerous that can be especially if they add random people they don’t even know.

Classified Ads Escalates Human Trafficking

Classifieds ads in the newspaper are a popular way to advertise for help wanted ads or items that you wanted to sell. The classified ads now have spread to the internet in another way. Now users can post information about what they would like to sell or offer services to people online. Popular classified ads websites include Craigslist and Backpage that allow human trafficking and prostitution to be offered on their sites. Craigslist “adult services” section on their site permits users to post ads offering to meet each other for sexual intercourse. More specifically, a human trafficking victim can be sold for sex a lot quicker and can go unnoticed by the police. Little children from all ages and women are being sold into human trafficking. Victims are held against their own will and technology and sites allow it to happen. Human trafficking victims are being forced to offer sex to make predators more money by using Craigslist and Backpage. The predators charge people who response to the adult services ads, but they fail to pay the victims any money for their part in the “services”. The predators continue to post the adult services ads on the sites over and over again. They are not going to stop selling human trafficking victims for sex, unless we put tougher internet laws into place. Another example is prostitution has become an easier way to make money by using the new technology out there. Prostitutes don’t have to secretly hide in the dark alleys to offer prostitution to people anymore. They can use Craigslist and post an ad to make money by selling their bodies. Classified ads like Craigslist and Backpage refuse to take down the adult services ads. With technology changing rapidly, no one knows how to handle the increasing sites or how to monitor everything on the internet. There are no government amendments on how to handle the increasing internet problems.

Cyber Bullying Leading Factor to Our Children’s Deaths

Cyber bulling, for example, is leading many children, teenagers and young adults to an endless pit of depression. Most teens are falling victim to bullies online, and they have no idea what to do about the harassment. We are in unremitting cycle of watching what our friends are doing online and what they are saying on popular social media sites. You can get a text message or check your social media account during class or at home from your cell phone. The cyber bullies can start groups or fan pages about the person to make fun of another person. Bullies can also post hate messages and sexual comments about someone else. Peers can sometimes gang up on a person online and they make the person feel like are worth nothing. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube have a hard time monitoring every single comment, group, fan page, or video that users create to share with one another. The website Formspring, for instance, permits users to create an account that allows users to ask any variety of questions anonymously. The questions are not censored so bullies can ask the victim anything they choose. The questions are not shown publicly unless the victim tries to answer the question. If the bully were to ask an inappropriate question, for example, “Why are you gay, weird, and stupid?” The victim could feel like they must answer the question. Failure to answer the question makes the bully think the questioned asked might be true. But the damage is already done when the victim reads the question; they are scared forever. The victims of cyber bulling are feeling like there is no hope out there for them. The teens feel that they are all alone in their battle against the bully. Technology has permitted the teenagers that get bullied in school to take the bullies home with them too! The problem is that most schools don’t even know how to handle cyber bulling because the bullying happens online. Schools can’t watch every student’s accounts on social media sites for cyber bulling or suicide threats. Cyber bulling is a leading cause of suicide deaths from teenagers and kids. Tyler Clementi, Phoebe Prince, Hope Whitsell, and Megan Meier committed suicide from being cyber bullied. Tougher laws will have to be in place in order to stop cyber bullying from happening to a countless number of our children, teens, and adults. We have the power to save lives and give these kids hope if we chose to.


So won’t you stand up and fight for change and for what is right. It only takes one to stand up and make a difference in someone else’s life. The question is will you be that one? Will you stand up? Would you stand up for someone else? Or will you join in with the bullies? It’s your decision.


Here is an inspiring video to encourage you to do just that “Stand Up”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARkxnRbyR1c



Some of the lyrics of Sugarland – “Stand Up” are:

“All the lonely people cryin’ It could change if we just get started Life the darkness, light a fire For the silent and the broken hearted Won’t you stand up Stand Up Stand Up Won’t you stand up you girls and boys? Won’t you stand up Stand Up Stand Up Won’t you stand up and use your voice?”

Losing Ourselves in Our Technology Affairs

This semester in College, I had to write a paper for an English Class about the effects of technology. I have decided to share the paper, in hope that people will stand up for what is right. We all have a voice and can help make a difference in someone else’s life. I will be sharing my story over the next 5 weeks.

Technology was once a good tool to use, but it is turning into something bad. When the internet was invented, everyone thought the internet would be a wonderful asset to use once in a while. You could look up any kind of information you wanted to know about online. Now we have the internet available everywhere for us to use twenty four hours a day. You can access the internet from any mobile phone. We are in a constant connection with the whole wide world. We can look at our friends' Facebook status updates all day long. Users can even subscribe to get SMS updates from Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace that are texted to your mobile phone, when a friend status is updated. Some users on these sites tend to distribute all kinds of information with their friends. By having a constant communication with the world, technology has led to a number of people committing suicide. Cyber bullying is spreading all over the world and is happening in our very neighborhoods. Predators have even gotten the idea to start trying to sell human beings for sexual experiences, where the predators can make easy money off victims.