Police use social media to track down criminals

Kelly, H (2012, August 30). Police embrace social media as crime fighting tool. retrieved April 11 2014, from CNN Tech Web Site: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/tech/social-media/fighting-crime-social-media/

This article's topic is how law enforcement is using social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube to gather evidence to solve crimes.  Social media may negatively affect society in some ways but it also has its positives.  The author’s purpose is to inform the public on the ways social media is being used as a tool to catch criminals.  The article claims that criminals are bragging about their crimes online, even setting up drug deals and uploading incriminating videos.  Drug dealers have been known to post public updates that include information on their location so clients, and unintentionally, law enforcement know where to find them.  Some law enforcement are even going undercover on Facebook to try and catch criminals.  They create fake profiles to attempt to befriend the suspects.  Although making fake accounts is frowned upon and violates Facebooks’s terms of service, it is not illegal and the evidence collected can still be used in court.  Authorities can also request private information directly from the social network with subpoenas and warrants, or even make an emergency request for information if they believe that there is an anticipated danger or threat.  Law enforcement’s social media effort began small, but now police are teaming up and receiving training from social media experts.  According to a recent survey, police social media use is catching on across the country.  Out of 1221 federal, state and local law enforcement that use social media, four out of five officials use social media during investigations.  The majority said social media helps to solve crimes faster.  The survey also found that Facebook is the most used social network by law enforcement and second is YouTube.   This article shows that social media can also affect society in positive ways.  Social media sites are strong resources to help law enforcement solve crimes and get dangerous criminals off the streets.  I think this article is very useful to my blog’s topic. So far I have posted about the negative effects of social media but it is also important to notice the positive.

"Is Google Making us Stupid?" By Nicholas Carr

 In Nicholas Carr’s essay “Is Google Making us Stupid” he states that he feels like the internet is changing the way people’s minds work and think.  He says that deep reading used to come naturally and that his mind would get caught up in the narrative.  But he has noticed that as he has spent a lot more time online, he’s not thinking the way he used think.  He loses his concentration, gets fidgety, and gets distracted more easily when reading.  He feels like media is reprogramming us.  Carr Supports his ideas by stating that he’s not the only one who feels this way.  Carr interviewed psychologist Maryanne Wolf, who said that the efficiency and immediacy style of reading promoted by the Net may be weakening our ability to read deeply.  Carr also mentions Friedrich Nietzsche whose writing style changed because he went from writing in pen to writing on a typewriter.  The invention of the clock has even changed the way we act and think.  Carr talks about studies that have been done on the human brain and how even the adult mind is constantly reprogramming itself and altering the way it functions and how media has affected it.  Then Carr discusses the thoughts of the two young men who founded Google.  Apparently they desire to turn Google into an artificial intelligence machine that might be connected to our brains somehow.  They think if we had a smarter artificial brain attached to our own brain that we’d be better off.  This is scary because they make it seem like the brain is outdated and not enough.  In the end, Carr wraps up by stating his fears of us turning into “pancake people” spread wide and thin as we connect with all this information accessed by the touch of a button.  We have come to rely on computers and it is like our own human intelligence is flattening into artificial intelligence. 

I think Carr’s essay really relates to the topic of my blog.  Technology, the internet, and social media all have benefits and have helped improve society in certain ways.  But Carr really points out how the internet is actually changing the way our mind thinks and works.  Just like in my post about social media addiction, social media has the ability to change your brain chemistry and the way we act. Carr made a lot of good points in his essay and it made me think from a different perspective.  It even made me realize how it’s affecting me.  I thought about it and realized that I also rarely read books anymore and that it’s really hard to focus if the reading is long and I’m not particularly interested in it. But do I think that Google is making us stupid? No. But I do agree with some things Carr pointed out.  The internet and social media can negatively affect us greatly.  But I also think it’s a great tool and can really help us.  I believe it’s all about how you use it.  

Coke Finds a Way to Cure Social Media Addiction

"Did you know that the world spends 4 million years online every month?" the soda giant asks. "If you're watching this video on your mobile phone, it's time to put it down. Look around you, there is probably someone special you can share a real moment with. Enjoy it with an ice-cold Coke.”

It seems like everyone is always on their phones now a days.  Recently there has been a lot of talk about social media addiction.  I came across a video that coca cola made about the cure for social media addiction that really made me laugh. I hope you enjoy it!

Social Media Addiction

Morrison, K (2014, March, 11). How Social Media Has Become an Addiction. retrieved April 4 2014, from Social Times Web Site: http://socialtimes.com/social-media-become-addiction-infographic_b144691

The main topic of this article is about the issue of social media becoming an addiction.  Morrison points out that social media takes up a lot of our time.  And that for some people it may be putting their physical and mental health at risk.  About 72 percent of adults use social media and the average user spends as much time on it a week as a part time job.  Social media has been found to cause low self-esteem, loss of sleep, work, and even relationship problems.  Morrison concludes that social media addiction might really be a problem with brain chemistry.  A study from Harvard shows that talking about yourself online can cause a part of your brain to light up that also lights up when using an addictive substance such as cocaine.  For some people it is very easy to get hooked.  I think this article is very useful to the topic.  Some people think there are no issues with social media, but this article shows how detrimental and harmful social media can really be.