Dani's Blog (DJ)

In recent years, "fake news" has been a big concern for the general public. News articles posted online may or may not be based on fact, and when misinformation spreads, it's like wildfire. Is this good enough reason for legislation and regulation? In the United States, we have the first amendment. With this, the constitution states that we have rights to free expression that the government cannot infringe upon. If we were to try and pass legislation like what is currently being considered in Singapore, it would have little chance of passing. That is because the regulation being called for n Singapore is so restrictive that tech companies like Facebook could get into huge legal trouble if articles deemed by the Singaporean government as "fake news" are posted on their platform. When the government has so much power that they can deem articles as "fake news" and ban them outright, this is a problem for those concerned about freedom of expression...

The way we tell stories has changed drastically over the years. At the beginning of man, oral storytelling was the only way, and then we began making music and art. By the time mass media came around, the stories we told were starting to become more complex. However, all of these examples were limited to its original medium: a painting, play, opera, movie, TV show, etc. New media has changed the way we tell stories in a big way. Online media has given storytellers the opportunity to expand their universes outside of their base piece of art. No longer does the story have to stop when the credits roll, and no longer are we confined to information given by the writers. Jenkins gives the great example of the movie, 2012 , where the creators made an entire website of backstory. Instead of filling the film up with backstory, they took the opportunity that the internet provided them to give viewers all that information in an entirely different way. By using multiple mediums, artist'...

Cyberbullying has been a hot topic among parents and school administrators for a long time, and recently, Michigan passed a law that criminalizes online bullying. Is this the best way to handle these situations? In many cases, the involvement of parents or teachers worsen bullying situations. Simply punishing the instigators does little good for the harassment victims. Based on this information, plus all that we know about why kids pick on each other, I do not believe that this is the right course of action. Sending kids to jail or fining them (or their parents, rather) for being mean to other kids will not be effective in helping either party. My suggestion is that any immediate threat to physical safety is taken care of swiftly, and a more careful handling of the social problems can then be carried out. Adults with expertise can evaluate what to do in detail, but cracking down on kids being mean to each other at all times is not a realistic or productive way to control young ...