Media and Information Literacy: Day 16

        For the sixteenth day of our MediaLit1718, Mr. Opiana discussed about the Legal, Ethical, and Societal Issues in Media and Information Literacy. To introduce the topic, he flashed the following picture on the screen and asked us the following questions:


Which ones do you understand? Which are the ones you don't know?
        The ones that I were able to understand were the hackers, illegal downloads, illegal activity, XXX sites, drugs, sexting, identity theft and bullies. The ones that I don't know much about about are the avatars and gambling online.

What possible dangers and issues of unguarded use of the internet are depicted in the picture?
        People, especially children, who are still unfamiliar of these dangers may become victims of these kinds of activities on the internet. People need to be aware that these dangers lurk on the net and they fall victim to it.

Which of these issues have happened to you or to your friends? Why did they happen?
        I had a friend that had her profile hacked by an unknown person. It happened because she accidentally left her Facebook profile open on a public computer shop. The person ended up sending messages to her friends on Facebook and posting malicious things on her profile.

After exchanging answers and opinions with our classmates, our teacher discussed the following terms:

Copyright
-a legal device that gives the creator of a literary, artistic, musical, or other creative work the sole right to publish and sell that work.

Plagiarism
-an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thought of another author without authorization.

Cyber Bullying
-bullying that takes place online, or using electronic technology such as cell phones, computers, and tablets over communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites.

Computer addiction
-the excessive use of computers to the extent that it interferes with daily life.

Digital Divide
-an economic inequality between groups in terms of access to, use of, or knowledge of ICT.

        Shortly after this discussion, we were divided into 4 groups and were assigned to Case #2 that talked about Cyber Bullying. Our group was tasked to report about the case of Robert Blair Carabuena, who became a victim of cyber bullying. Our answers to the questions that our teacher provided can be found below:

What did Carabuena do that made netizens angry?
A video was uploaded on social media showing Carabuena allegedly abusing a traffic enforcer after being pulled over for a traffic violation.

Describe the acts of cyber bullying that the netizens did to Carabuena. Do you think their actions are justifiable? Defend your answer. 

        The responses of the netizens on Carabuena's abusive act are not justifiable. Having a crime committed doesn't mean that everyone automatically has the power to bully and shame him by posting and editing pictures of him on different social media. Further degrading and public shaming won't solve his immoral act towards the traffic enforcer, but will patronize the mindset of bullying people that has committed atrocious actions. The law gets to punish people, not us.

How did the incident affect Carabuena’s life?

        The incident affected Carabuena's life that it came to the point where he was rushed to the hospital after feeling discomfort from the offensive comments that several people gave him while he was at the Quezon City Fiscal’s Office. Furthermore, it has greatly impacted his life and his reputation.

Do you think technology and the Internet has made bullying easier? 

        Technology and Internet has made bullying easier because alongside the development of communications and its benefits, were the adaptation of hurtful and degrading comments and opinions by the public. Verbal and physical bullying turned into anonymous online harassment, which inflicts far effects to the victim. 

        Through the use of technology and Internet, bullying such as blackmailing has been made easier. With the Internet, embarrassing pictures and information could be uploaded any minute and ruin a person's life. Bullies can hide their identities and threaten someone's 
life. It can even lead to suicide.


Give one suggestion to avoid cyber bullying. 

        In preventing situations like cyber bullying from happening we should be cautious on the privacy of our personal information like name, address, contact number, school or work place, and passwords that can be used for bullying and blackmailing. 

        Sharing and posting others' personal information including pictures and photographs without permission can be considered as a criminal offence. Make sure that the pictures you are posting 
can only be viewed by the people you know. ‎Avoid responding to angry messages with a rude and vexatious tone. 

        ‎“Think before you click “. Step away from the computer and take some time to relax, think and analyze the situation. Adding fuel to a fire sometimes bring further chaos and no problem will be solved. Sending threatening and harassing messages will make you a cyberbully.


Sources for our answers:




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts