negativez

this is unsettling
Study: Internet Addiction May Fuel Teen Aggression
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,499105,00.html

i think it takes a lot to be addicted to the internet, but apparently it has very negative effects?!


also: when i logged into myspace today, i got the "friendly reminder about Safety!" note again. !!! good

sourrrrrrr(ces)

this is just a couple of people i would like to talk to about my feature, internet safety.

1. Det. Dean Textor or Det. Michael Steitz from the Wall Township Police.
they deal specifically with crimes in which children and teenagers are involved.
according to the website, i can call 732-449-4800.

2. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
they deal with children who are missing, abducted, and exploited, and occasionally, these children are victims of internet predators.
while i am not entirely sure who i would talk to specifically, the general phone number is 1-800-THE-LOST

3. Neil Izenberg, MD
editor-in-chief and founder of KidsHealth.org, and writer of their Internet Safety: Safe Surfing Tips for Teens article.
the website says they cannot reply to everyone BUT members of the media can email their PR at PR@KidsHealth.org.

4. Wall High School Students
it's important to get a teen's perspective on the iddue of teen safety, and their are many questions that could be put into a questionaire and handed to students. it's very possible that many students aren't aware of online harassment, or don't take precautions against it, and it would be interesting to learn how much wall students know about their safety online.

tryagain

today, i signed up for a myspace after like a year of not having one. what i found interesting is that before it told me to upload a picture, this lil window popped up.

"Please read these safety tips before posting any photos or personal info.

MySpace is a public space. Don't post anything you wouldn't want the world to know (e.g. your phone number, address, instant messenger screen name, or specific whereabouts). Don’t post any nudity, violent, or offensive material, or copyrighted images. If you violate these terms, your account will be deleted. [ photo policy ]

People aren’t always say who they are. Exercise caution when communicating with strangers and avoid meeting people in person whom you do not fully know. If you must meet someone, do it in a public place and bring a friend or trusted adult.

Harassment, hate speech, and inappropriate content should be reported. If you feel someone’s behavior is inappropriate, react. Talk with a trusted adult, or report it to MySpace or the authorities."


i do not remember this being there, or at least being as noticeable, the first time around. good improvement imo.

watchit

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--internetsafety0223feb23,0,2987246.story

^^^^^in new jersey, a number of bills petaining to internet abuses, and worsening the penalties for online harassment.

oscurz

while watching the oscars, i had too look up so many things and people. my internet history is filled with imdb, wikipedia, and youtube videos of the winners. i did not realize how little i knew about movies until the oscars, but thanks to the internet, i now know way more about james franco, eric roberts, and many other people and movies i did not consider to be as interesting as they actually are. thanks internet, for making me feel less awkward and more informed.

ifoundit

there is a website where people post pictures from cameras that they found in the hopes that one day, someone in the picture will be recognized and the camera returned. at http://ifoundyourcamera.blogspot.com/ you can go through the numerous posts, hoping to find a lost camera. you might find your camera, or you might be content just seeing people who are in the same situation you are. maybe if you tell people about this site all the cameras will be able to go home! spread the word!

ownership

the recent change to the facebook terms of service caused a huge uproar among facebook users. the change involved the removal of a very important part of the terms, which said if you removed your account, facebook's license to it would expire. this made many people believe that facebook owned everything you ever posted, and this led to a huge amount of facebook groups protesting this change. a facebook representative then sent this message:

"We are not claiming and have never claimed ownership of material that users upload. The new Terms were clarified to be more consistent with the behavior of the site. That is, if you send a message to another user (or post to their wall, etc...), that content might not be removed by Facebook if you delete your account (but can be deleted by your friend). Furthermore, it is important to note that this license is made subject to the user's privacy settings. So any limitations that a user puts on display of the relevant content (e.g. To specific friends) are respected by Facebook. Also, the license only allows us to use the info "in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof." Users generally expect and understand this behavior as it has been a common practice for web services since the advent of webmail. For example, if you send a message to a friend on a webmail service, that service will not delete that message from your friend's inbox if you delete your account."

i guess this makes it a little clearer but it just reinforces the concept that anything you put on facebook is there to stay.

http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-we-can-do-anything-we-want-with-your-content-forever
http://consumerist.com/5154745/facebook-clarifies-terms-of-service-we-do-not-own-your-stuff-forever

like

apparently while i was away, this happened.

Facebook turns on its 'Like' button
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10160112-93.html

you now have the option to tell someone whether or not you like the actions they are taking on facebook. this is a pretty awesome thing in my opinion, because instead of thinking of a witty status comment, you can simply press a button to let them know you appreciate it. i will no longer have to google search a status update to make sure it isn't song lyrics, or sound silly posting "i like this" on someone's newest profile picture. my mom has already used it on the photo album i posted of the cruise (which is an awesome way to not have to email every family member i have with a ridiculous large amount of files). i will be taking advantage of this shortly.

cruisingforabruising

my last week was spent of a cruise, which, while very fun and exciting as a cruise should be, had an internet cafe where internet time was $0.75 a minute, and i was not really interested in spending that. i was entertained most of the time, but i occasionally felt the urge to look up a movie i was watching on imdb, or to see what my friend's had been doing in my absence.


check out today's toothpaste for dinner comic!

safety

over the last few years, websites like facebook and myspace have gained a significant amount of popularity. with this popularity came warnings about internet predators, many a cyber-bullying assembly, and concerned parents. i feel like the question "is my child safe on the internet?" is asked all too often, and the answer depends on how your kid has been brought up to see the internet, how many of those assemblies he has attended, and how he would react to a random myspace ad from an 'attractive lady' he doesn't know. The topic of internet safety is very important, and for my feature i would like to report on how teens view the networking sites, and how parents and the reminder of "don't talk to strangers (on the internet)" has affected their opinion and activity on the internet.

experiment25

i couldn't help but notice the newly popular facebook note in which people announce '25 things' about themselves. in this note, you have to write "25 random things, facts, or goals about you" (goals about you lol) and tag 25 people in your note. in an effort to keep up with my peers, i posted 25 things about myself. this might have been the most difficult thing i did all weekend, not coming up with 25 things but thinking of who was an appropriate person to tag in such a note. i didn't want anyone to see a red notification flag only to be disappointed realizing it was just a link to a list of "random" things about sarah fadem. i know i felt strange being tagged by some people who i had occasionally made awkward eye contact with and rarely spoken to and while i appreciate the information, i do not feel completely comfortable reading about your unique taste in music or that you should be doing your homework.  i do not completely understand why this has become such a popular thing, but i am sure people will continue to post them for the next week, only to look back at them a year later and delete. i'm looking forward to it.


"It's absolutely ridiculous to be asked to publicly post intimate details and to personally inform 25 people what they are." -anne thoma, 17