Privacy has always been a reoccurring topic when discussing the internet. Before using any app or website, the user should be concerned with the vulnerability of their personal information. Applications such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and many more have caused information to be leaked or stolen from millions of users. This stolen information is, then, sold for other purposes. Of course, data breaches by hackers can be expected when managing valuable information of millions of people, but the issue worsens when you realize that companies themselves use your personal information for things like targeted advertising. The distribution of personal information is common and it’s increasing by the minute.
Privacy, to me, has never been a serious topic since I would never think of the consequences. Recently, I was DM’d a message on Instagram that disguised itself as a close friend. The text told me to click a link to this funny meme, so I clicked on it, thinking it was from my friend. Not even a minute later, my account was hacked and taken over. The hacker sent the same message to all of my friends and followers, repeating the same issues I went through with other people. This made me realize how easy it was to lose my privacy and how hard it was to “fix” everything. The fear of someone knowing who you are and where you are without your knowledge is creepy. After that event, I try to do my best to value my privacy.
The internet can be a wonderful place. It can satisfy any needs, including information, entertainment, business, etc. This limitless freedom has it’s negatives, though. The world wide web provides everyone with access to upload anything they want. Of course, freedom of speech is great but that leaves room for inaccurate information to spread. This is called disinformation.
Many articles and websites have been riddled with fake news and clear biases that have the sole purpose of manipulating viewers. Clickbait titles and false statistics are some examples of tools used in these situations. Titles may say one thing, but could have an ulterior motive. One way to find out if these sources are accurate and trustworthy is to find out who the author is, check the date of publishing, and see it’s references. Legit sources, such as library databases or official websites (.gov) are credible.
Disinformation has caused extreme damage to careers and personal lives. People do not take the time to question or fact-check the information they are digesting, which causes a domino effect of misguidance. A major factor is social media, since people of all ages can consume an infinite amount of nothing. People have short attention spans now, so news and other mediums are trying to get views in whatever method, morally correct or not. I believe children and elderly are the major victims of disinformation, due to an inexperience with the internet. The best method to prevent falling for disinformation is to question everything online. Research it and double check with credible sources.
Video games are a unique form of entertainment. As opposed to movies and songs, video games provide the consumer with control over the events that take place. This gives a new experience for people that want to pass the time. The question is, “Can this unique experience be used to provide change in society?” Movies and songs have been used to send messages since early human history. Propaganda is one example for movies. Edwin Starr sang “War (What is it good for?)” which opposes acts of war between nations. There are much more examples for movies and songs, but it’s difficult to find examples for video games. Why is that?
I believe that video games are not that effective when used to cause social change. There are multiple reasons for this. Since video games provide the user with control over the game, the guidance to teach a lesson or show morals is limited. The user is more focused on having fun or passing the time. People expect more from movies or music to experience something new. Video games are seen as a pass-time, not an experience. That is why games like Call of Duty are extremely popular, as opposed to smaller games like “Journey.” They give a fun experience over a meaningful one. There is nothing wrong with this, since video games provide other positive things, such as new friends and quick-time thinking. But, this has caused people to turn their brains off when playing video games. Game companies see this and choose to focus on game mechanics over story and message.
Journey
The new Battlefield game has completely removed the story-mode from their game, since they know that people will only use multiplayer for the entirety of their gameplay. The culture for video games has shifted extremely towards a certain direction, due to what the people want. Some games have tried to give a deep message that have succeeded, somewhat. For example, “Spec-Ops: The Line” gives a cruel and horrifying view of wars and it’s effect on civilians and soldiers. The player’s character suffers from PTSD and deals with death and horror. There is a horrifying part in the game where you are made to believe that you are killing enemies, only to find out that they were innocent families instead. This gives a new look at war games which caused a big stir in the news. But, this only lasted for a second, since players focused more on gameplay. They were more focused on getting kills, instead of who they killed. This is expected, since people don’t take games seriously. It’s the unfortunate truth.
Spec Ops: The Line
I recently played the game “Bad News”, which gives the user an inside look on how fake news is spread and used to gain fame. The purpose of the game is to show the negative effects of this and teach the user on how to avoid it. But, in all honesty, I enjoyed the game more because I got to play a bad guy. I know I’m one person, but I always try to understand the meaning of art. When I played this game, I got carried away and enjoyed fooling people. The game wasn’t that effective in it’s message, since the game was more fun than it intended to be.
In conclusion, video games are not an effective tool for social change…at the moment. The culture for games is fast-paced, just like everything else at the moment. When things slow down, a video game will come out with a fantastic story and message that’ll give people something to thing about. But, now is not that time.
I’ve always agreed to the Terms of Service for everything without reading, because the time it took to skim through everything was not worth the app or file I was downloading. Companies know that people have short attention spans, so they take advantage of that by bombarding them with an overload of text. The option to accept is allowed without having to read any of the Terms of Service, so it gives the people an easy out. This gives the companies an opportunity to sneak in terms that would be questioned if time was taken to examine what was written. This loophole is proof that there are ways for companies to deceive consumers without repercussions. I don’t think there’s an easy way for people to push through and read the Terms of Service, since people will only focus on using the app or file as soon as possible.
Imposter syndrome is the internal feeling one has when they constantly doubt themselves, always feel anxious, and have an extreme lack of self confidence. This syndrome can cause some serious mental health effects. It leads to an increased amount of fear, anxiety, depression, and causes burnout. According to research done by The Wall Street Journal, about 82% of people have reported that at some point in their life they have experienced the imposter syndrome. https://www.wsj.com/articles/imposter-syndrome-young-adults-11619819337
I have experienced imposter syndrome, but not to its fullest extent. When it comes to computer science particularly, there are many times where I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing, or not doing it right. I have moments of where I feel like I’m not the smartest and will never be an expert. However, once I get to this point I tend to pause and reflect on all that I have done and take a moment to realize it takes years of skills to become a comp sci expert.
Ethan Urie’s article is very open and true of the IT world today. He discusses how having these emotions and syndrome is completely normal and a part of life. It all depends on your mindset through all of this and being able to push forward through it. He informs the readers, that even the “experts” still have imposter syndrome, but if you can reflect your emotions and adapt the right mindset you can get through it and still be successful. Urie has six tips for his readers to combat imposter syndrome. One of them is to accept imposter syndrome and that it will always be a part of your life. Another tip is to think through all that you can do and all you have done. Having that positive self-talk is important. Another tip to fight this is getting confirmation from a professor or boss. This will allow you to hear your progress and how you are doing through someone else. One of his bigger tips involves planning for your future and establishing goals for what you need to focus on. Overall, I would say all of his tips are effective and helpful. Personally I use the third one often, I like to always think positive and think of all I can do instead of everything I can’t.
Another way to combat imposter syndrome is to try working in group settings more often. This way you can see that you are not the only one struggling, everyone is going through it. Often times it’s easier to process your emotions when there are people around to help explain and talk through with. Lastly, when working with a group, you have that certainty that in the end, the work will get done and you will get thought it.
I started programming junior year of high school. This was when I took my very first computer science class, AP computer Science principles.
My favorite thing about programming is the feeling you get when your program runs without errors and you see it do what it’s supposed to do. It’s the best part after working on code for days.
My least favorite thing is when you make a small error and you read through your entire code multiple times and still can’t see it.
