Young Writers Society

(Meh, I still don't quite get the rating system. Good 'nough?)

Frequently, when we see articles in newspapers or news stories on TV or anything relating to the internet in "the media", it's a bad thing. Something about a child predator or a neo-Nazi website or whatever. As a result, many people get this idea that the world wide web is this evil, corrupt place.

I've been on the net since I was eight years old. Yes, I have gotten many stupid/creepy PMs online. Yes, I have gotten several spams offering to "add 10 inches". Yes, before I switched to Firefox, I got dozens of popups per page, some pornographic.

You know what's great about the internet? If someone sends me a creepy PM, I can put them on my "ignore" list, report them to a mod, etc. If I get spam, I can say, "mark as spam" and even add word filters to cut down on any similar spam in the future. If I get popups, I can find myself a popup blocker.

Every problem with the internet is manageable if you know how to deal with it. Kids that actually go and say, "I met this person online and they were so cool. I want to sneak out meet him in real life, alone!" are, frankly, stupid. If I had been online at THREE years old, I would've known better. Of course, that wouldn't happen because I didn't know how to read at three years. But you get the point.

I have gotten a lot out of my time on the internet, besides feedback for stories/poems I've written. In real life, the people I meet are almost always from the same country, if not state and city. They're usually white, about my age, heterosexual, Republican, and Christian. Online, I can speak to people from all over the world, any race, any religion, any sexuality, any political affiliation. I know more about human nature now than I ever would've in public school. Since I've done so, I've become more comfortable talking to people in real life than ever before.

I'd like to see THAT story on the news.

Peace.

Yes, a lot of people seem to think that the Internet is a bad thing that constantly bombards you with porn and lets creepy people meet up with you. However...if you think about it, the Internet is not unlike the real world. Want porn? Just go down to your local supermarket and check out the men's magazines. And would you talk to a stranger on the street and agree to meet them at their house? Of course not.

Children may be totally clueless when it comes to internet safety, but I think the people to blame and call stupid are their parents. The parents are supposed to be checking what sites their kids visit and informing them about safety. Just letting them go wherever they want on the web is about the dumbest choice they could ever make.

I also agree that the Internet has been more bad than good for me. I can post my photos on a gallery and get feedback, and I can do the same with my stories. If I run into weird people, just put them on block or ignore! It ain't that hard.

Yes, we'd all like to see that on the news. But news stations generally have a liberal spin, and they'd never want to admit there's an area where Republicans prosper

whence wrote:Yes, we'd all like to see that on the news. But news stations generally have a liberal spin, and they'd never want to admit there's an area where Republicans prosper

LOL.

whence wrote:Yes, we'd all like to see that on the news. But news stations generally have a liberal spin, and they'd never want to admit there's an area where Republicans prosper

Liberal radio stations? Never heard of 'em.

There's only one semi-liberal station in San Diego, and thats KLSD (which is what I mostly listen to).

Yes, but TV stations are generally liberal. I think that's what Whence meant. Generally radio is dominated by conservatives, and television by radio. So far, anyway.

^^that's exactly what I meant.

I listen to Michael Savage every once and a while. His idealistic bubble-of-a-country makes me laugh.

In a 'wouldn't that be Nazi-esque!' sort of way

I read a statistic once that said 10% of the internet is porn.
Yeah, I agree with you though. Most of the stuff is just common sense.