The Mob

As one draws further back from looking closely at a small grain of sand, slowly but surely the sand all becomes unified and looks more like a solid mass than individuals. The same concept can be applied to the connectedness created by online profiling and relationships. While the individual does exist in the internet world, quickly you get lost in the masses of information and popularity of the internet lifestyle. This can bring both positive and negative affects upon a person, but I feel the negative outweigh the positive greatly. The mob the internet can create by its sea of users has unintended negative effects on persons lives in multidimensional ways. While it is intended to bring us closer and keep in contact easier, it has become a breeding ground for misbehavior and negative use which some have taken advantage of.

Security is of great national concern in these troubled times, yet our connectedness online has set us back substantially in protecting ourselves, our neighbors and others around us. By being allowed to post, blog and upload images, texts and ideas online labeling them as ours or anonymous we are putting information out there for others to use and twist in their own interpretations. This freedom can easily be taken advantage of and breaks down the personal security we hold so dear. By posting your opinions online, creating a profile of yourself and uploading images, you are handing your identity, ideas and values over to the public eye. While you are given the option of who is allowed to view certain things perhaps on your facebook wall or profile you cannot hide or protect the fact that you are uploading this information to the internet. You may be protected under the realm of facebook, but that has no means of protection on the world wide web in general. And so, we need to understand and choose wisely what we post on the internet because once there it is near impossible to fully rid of that history altogether. There will still be repercussions and remnants of this information online for anyone to access with the right knowledge of how to receive it.

Anonymity may seem to be the most safe way to post or express your opinions online. While this may be true for your own self it does not control the actions it can inspire another person the follow through with. For that matter, what that person then posts in response to your anonymous one can cause a ripple effect outwards and create much more negative energy then you may have intended in the first place. While anonymous posts don't always end in misbehavior or negative actions, they all have the potential too. Understanding this concept is key in successfully expressing your opinions properly online.