To me the internet is a “place” where you can roam forever and find an infinite amount of information, useful or useless. The term place is in parentheses, since the Internet has no control center, no on/off switch, and is in constant flux. The nature of the internet never in a set or fixed position which provides us the freedom to contribute from any access point, mainly our phones and computers.
Nominally there is only only one internet, although one can argue that there are other internets consisting of the dark web. However, to me there are multiple internest, or should I say multiple realms of the internet, and they can be accessed instantaneously. Even if they can be access in mere seconds, it would be nearly impossible to not only visit every site on the internet, but It would definitely be impossible to truly experience each area. There are simply too many places on the internet to fully immerse yourself and feel like it was worth being on there for each one, therefore I believe that each one of us have varying definitions of the internet, based on what we access and how we consume such information we see.
This leads into my next point: the analysis of the readings. I too resonate with Carr’s belief that taking in information from the web, changes our ability to take consume information in more traditional ways through books and articles. While I do not agree that the internet is making us dumber, it certainly may have damaging effects in other aspersions of our lives. For me, sometimes I find it difficult to read long passages of texts, more often that before. While I feel like it may have to do with the difference in the way I read online, I also feel like it has to do with the topic too. This phenomenon, to me at least, is only tied to reading, but to others may also affects the way they listen to music or podcasts, or how they watch movies. I feel like only time will tell the extent of the effects of the consumption of information via online resources. Instead of making us dumber, it is just changing how we think, while at the same time exposing us to many more sources of information.
The other article by Shirky to me shows how the introduction of such a large amount of resources, will only result in a change and development of institutions needed to support it. I think that is one of the foremost reasons why I am taking this class and why it exists. We are acquiring knowledge in digital literacy, interpreting our digital footprint, all while learning to navigate and make the most out of our experience. That is why I love the internet, I can never stop acquiring more knowledge in it and about it. It is ever changing which means that ethics and definition will always be changing which encourages me to look back and see how things have changed, and learn new things.
Brandon Rojas
#Dgst101
9/9/21
