Instant messaging

Our modern world’s virtual connectivity can have subtle, but arduous effects on society as a whole and for each individual. While these technologies are relatively new compared to humankind’s grand history, each year, more research is being conducted and released on the impacts that social media, video games, and virtual simulations have on the youth. All this research seems to have one main thing in common which is that even though technology does have obvious benefits, no one can deny the fact…

In middle school I would log into my AOL instant messenger account and send phrases to SmarterChild, an artificial intelligence driven chatterbot, to translate into Spanish. I recall gleefully feeling like I had discovered a big secret, a way to use recreational instant messaging as a means to learn. Now, as technology becomes a more integral part of day-to-day life, the distinctions between what is purely fun and what is educational are becoming less clear. My own work in various educational…

greater and more importantly, easier. The innovations and growth that have been made through recent years are astounding when compared to where the world was only a couple of years to ten years prior. With the web and everything connected to it, messaging, video calls, educational programs and shopping- the potential outcomes for technology later on are practically innumerable. With growing technology, there are risks and benefits preserving an online existence. In M.Fawcett’s essay, Google…

Exposure to the internet makes children more knowledgeable and social. Children that are exposed to the internet become more knowledgeable and social. There are many tests on this subject and there has been widespread debate for quite some time. Many questions involving the benefits and risks of internet use as well as the safety of children online have been brought up recently, especially with young people’s access to the internet steadily increasing (Buckingham, 93). To answer the questions…

When I first embarked on my adventure with the internet I was in fourth grade. I remember one day after school my dad, who works with technology, sat me down and told me that I should get an email account. Thinking back now I wonder why he thought a fourth grader would need an email account, but I signed up for one without hesitation. After that moment you could not drag me away from a computer if you tried. I surfed the web before school, after school and sometimes at lunch with my friends. I…

Technology can easily be argued to have a profound effect on how we manage and create our personal and professional relationships. You can reach practically anyone in the word with the click of a button. You can forge relationships with people you’ve never met in face-to-face. Friendships are easier than ever to cultivate with the help of social media. It is possible to make a friend while alone in the comfort of your home. This outside connection available to us gives us undeniable freedom.…

fact that most people in the world own or have access to a digital device that has instant messaging capabilities. When utilizing instant messaging, people use graphic representations of emotions called emoticons. In other words, emoticons are a construction of the words “emotion” and “icon” that represent facial expressions using standard keyboard characters (Skovholt, 2014). With the prevalent use of instant messaging, business communications have shifted with the times where it is now common…

Cyberbullying is hurtful and to do nothing about it is unacceptable. Despite that, there are the action plans set in place to stop cyberbullying. Are they doing too much or not enough? Suzanne Phillips the writer of “Cyberbullying is dangerous” believes to deal with the problem with more prevention and control. Tim Cushing the writer of “cyberbullying problem is overhyped” speaks of them doing too much and actually causing more harm than good. Suzanne Phillips and Tim Cushing both approach the…

The Other Side of E-Mail, Robert Kuttner stresses on the fact that although E-mail and online, instant communication have many advantages, they also have a “dark side” (243). As he puts it: “When talking to someone, you pay attention to tonality…But e-mail is tone-deaf and all too instant. It is ephemeral, yet irrevocable” (Kuttner 243). Online communication can cause problems precisely because it is instant and easy to…

groups” (Vanderhooven 124). The second risk that can occur because of cyberbullying is contact risks, which happen when someone communicates with another person through social media, the most common place for cyberbullying to occur is through personal messaging or posting something for everyone to see or through groups of people. And last, commercial risks are when someone’s information is being shared for a purpose that it was not originally meant to be used for, such as someone sharing a…