While we all know that everything on the internet is not real, this article made me think twice about how I consider websites to be “real” or a hoax. The underlying details of Martin Luther King’s website, although I may have thought it sounded fishy while reading, it probably would not have occurred to me to check out the email or web link design to verify its truth. Many of the websites this article sites as fake are websites that many students could use for school purposes and research, making it even scarier.
Likewise, I personally would think of the news as pretty verifiable information. The part in the article about news professionals reporting false information found on an Associated Press report that ended up being a spoof also will make me think twice when hearing the nightly news. I think it is disgusting to think of people scamming money off of others asking for “donations” in times of crisis; these websites only make people more cautious of giving away their money to those that really need it.
As for the medical hoaxes and misleading information, I do not listen to any medical advice online, no matter how credible the source is. Although I have looked up medical questions, if it was an issue I was seriously concerned about, I would most certainly go to the doctor for clarification, not the internet. In the end, I think it is very sad that the internet has the potential to be a great wealth of information, and instead has become something to be constantly questioned and misused.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
News Report 1
Virtual Farm Games Absorb Real Money, Real Lives
August 27, 2010
By: Josh Lowensohn
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20014817-248.html?tag=topStories2
Many people save their extra money on vacations and other luxuries. Now gaining popularity, people are starting to spend their money on keeping their online games alive by buying “crops” in virtual farming games. Besides spending money on frivolous online games, these games are also highly addictive, where people tend to “play” anywhere for at least once a day to hours at a time. While this may seem fun at first, it has now become an obsession. For example, last year it was reported that social games generated more than $725 million in solely the USA, and it is projected that three times this figure is expected in 2011.
These games, such as Farmville, are free to play, yet they count on people getting addicted and spending on money to enhance their farms. While Farmville ran the online gaming market in 2009, a new game called Mojo, which is available only through the iPhone and iPad, is beginning to make a pretty penny. The most anyone has spent on Mojo thus far is $12,000. This article discusses whether this new fad is a hobby or addiction. In my opinion, this is frightening and somewhat repulsive. Although it could be argued in spending money on games is reasonable (if someone has the money to spend, who is to say what they spend it on?), however the amount of time people spend playing these games is obscene. I know people who upon getting on a computer automatically log in to check their Farmville. I think Farmville is just one example that shows what America’s culture is turning into.
August 27, 2010
By: Josh Lowensohn
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20014817-248.html?tag=topStories2
Many people save their extra money on vacations and other luxuries. Now gaining popularity, people are starting to spend their money on keeping their online games alive by buying “crops” in virtual farming games. Besides spending money on frivolous online games, these games are also highly addictive, where people tend to “play” anywhere for at least once a day to hours at a time. While this may seem fun at first, it has now become an obsession. For example, last year it was reported that social games generated more than $725 million in solely the USA, and it is projected that three times this figure is expected in 2011.
These games, such as Farmville, are free to play, yet they count on people getting addicted and spending on money to enhance their farms. While Farmville ran the online gaming market in 2009, a new game called Mojo, which is available only through the iPhone and iPad, is beginning to make a pretty penny. The most anyone has spent on Mojo thus far is $12,000. This article discusses whether this new fad is a hobby or addiction. In my opinion, this is frightening and somewhat repulsive. Although it could be argued in spending money on games is reasonable (if someone has the money to spend, who is to say what they spend it on?), however the amount of time people spend playing these games is obscene. I know people who upon getting on a computer automatically log in to check their Farmville. I think Farmville is just one example that shows what America’s culture is turning into.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)