The Future of Truth and Fake News Online

So many questions can be solved through the Internet. If someone has a problem, that person can search in the Internet about it and receive so many pages to the topic. The Internet really helps someone in the daily live. Someone can go with so many mobile devices online and search with for a term. The database of the Internet gives hundreds of helpful results and background information about the searched term. In the article, “Google, Democracy, and the Trust about Internet Search” Carole Cadwalladr argues that our society is affected by the internet results. As Cadwallardr points out the Internet is not only a big database, but human experiences are shaped and changed by the Internet.

Nowadays, the development in new technologies like internet of things has increased sharply and make these networks more complicated. In addition, the database of the internet is extremely huge, and it is hard to handle with that big data. To find the right term Google has a large database in the background, which will be big data in the future. This big data has a huge data volume which could grow up to yottabytes. In total, the size is so huge that one needs a lot of storage to save the petabytes. This data variety can be a text, picture, videos or unstructured data. Furthermore, the big data comes in a huge velocity, because a lot of devices are online and give information in the Internet. For example, the data could be saved in real time per every batch. All in all, Google must handle with the increasing data in the future. “Search was the foundation of the company but that was just the beginning” (Cadwalladr 485). In addition to the big data, the database uses complicated algorithm to collect the big data from diverse kinds of devices (Jammel 2058). Specifically, smart homes and internet of things brings a lot of new data, which must be analyzed. These technologies and algorithm are important for all kinds of industries, for example “smart metering, smart energy, security, in automotive by improving vehicular fault detection [or] in healthcare by instant patient health report” (Jammel 2058). To sum up, the strongly raising technology development helps the users and Google to handle with the big data.

Overall, the goal of the internet in the future is to collect the right data about customers and to have the right algorithms. With the data, Google can create value for them, for example they can influence people every time. Trough the new technologies, the internet knows your preferences and your desires. With the increasing development, companies can push personalized advertisement to the user. For instance, Amazon has a lot of data about you and knows what you might buy. If users look at a product on amazon, it will be shown later in their search pages or timelines. Another example is Facebook, who knows your contacts and can know which friend’s users like. Also, Google has good algorithms and knows what you like to search for. This largest search machine can list the product which you may like on the top. For example, if they know your favorite color, they will list it first.

Firstly, data of the customer leads to more value for a company in the future and make them effective and useful for decision making. With more knowledge about a customer, a company can plan in detail in the future. “Users don’t have to make decision on their own, machine become more efficient to help the users for different decisions” (Jammel 2058). For example, a company can plan easier the profit in detail in the future like the Cashflow. Secondly, if a company knows its customer, it can send him personalized advertisement, and the client feels like a unique premium customer. For instance, if users look at a product on Amazon, it will be shown later in their search pages or timelines. Another example is Google, where the product which you may like can list on the top. Third, equally important is the unique algorithms which will never be public because this is the big secret for the company.For Google or Facebook, the algorithms are the business secret that makes Google unique. “Neither Google or Facebook make their algorithms public” (Cadwalladr 491). In conclusion, data about customer helps the companies to make more profit because there can influence the customer with a special product at the right moment.

Furthermore, there is a significant potential for harm form online behavior. Especially teenagers must watch out on the Internet, because there are grow up with it and in their age, they can`t assess thoroughly the Internet results. Sexual harassment that occurs in cyberspace can influence through the electronic forms of communication massively. Parents let they children or teenager play an online game, but with an Internet access they are in danger of online sexual solicitation include exposure to pornography. Even text messaging can be dangerous because teenager could be requested to disclose personal information especial private information. Peer initiates an online relationship and seduces teenager into sexual acts. They are in such a young age and don`t search critically through the Internet and can affect hardly. Another example are the dating apps like Tinder which are even worse because you can receive chats with sexually explicit content online. Even for young people cyberbullying is dangerous, but internet access provides access to suicide content and violent imagery.

Secondly, young people are affected of cyberbullying, which could be very destructive for them. Peers could be insulted on the Internet, put each other down or stalk each other. Classmate could take a photo of a classmate where she changes in the sport dress. After posting this photo on the social media platforms and a lot of negative comments, she will have a trauma for her whole life. The hateful words or treats can spread easily from unrecognized people in social networking sites, blogs and chat rooms. This victimization can lead to long-term psychological harm. Further, people are all the time online and can lead to an internet addiction. For instance, people are travelling around and only think about online posts and do not enjoy the view any more. People want to be online all the time and, additionally, one feels lonely and unsatisfied without internet connection (Marchant 16). Finally, online sexual solicitation, cyberbullying and internet addiction can lead to a huge damage in teenager’s life.

Moreover, internet is driven by its users and as a result pages are wildly out of control. Because of that, fake news can spread out easily on the internet, which has a negative effect to the population. One reason to lose the control over the internet are the rights of everyone like editing pages because everyone can put their option online to convince people. Therefore, the database of the internet is a huge diversity of sides, and no one is in charge and the challenge is to protect the user from cybercrime or fake news. Normally in a physical world the present set of biological laws such as natural selection. But in comparison to this, the online ecosystem regulates itself and is a free market. The online platform offers users the possibility to reach thousands of users with only one post. For example, in the social media, like Facebook, one can offend or harass one another. As a result, everyone has the right to write in blogs, one can post in blogs “potentially harmful information related to self-harm” (Marchant 17). But to protect themselves, users can signal abusive remarks, and the owner of the social media website can delete it. Another example are the students a college, who can write his or her own positive or negative opinion on the internet. For some people it seems that Google, for example, tries to have the control over the internet, but the internet is much bigger than the Google research. After all, it is showed that no one has an overview over the internet or is the head of it because it is a never ending world-wide conversation.

Furthermore, users of the Internet must watch out because the Internet includes fake news, which has negative effects. On the one side, people trust posts on the Internet, instead of a growing mistrust and falsehood. The conversation and lies grown, but we become more emotionally social, politically, economically, dependent on the internet. For example, Facebook and Google really have a lot of power as perceived authoritative sources. Also, people use the social media so often that they don`t expect to be lied to. For example, in Facebook one may find a lot of wrong posts. On the other side, it is hard to know which source tell you the truth. Platform users should look on the source of the post or do some research about the source, if they can trust them. Unfortunately, there is no agency that confirm trust in the internet. Users must examine how best to ensure that the conversation is the truth. For instance, the New York Times, Washington Post or the Wall Street Journal have professional Journalism center. In comparison to that, in Facebook or Wikipedia everyone can create content. At the end, it is important to see Internet news critical because users don`t know if it’s` the truth.

In contrast to the negative effect, the internet brings also a huge potential for a “positive influence” (Daine 4). In a positive way, the usage with the internet can give someone a good network. Through the internet people can find good connections, which could be helpful in the future. Platforms like LinkedIn can lead you to very good job contacts to find good job position. One the one side, it is a good way for people, who search for a job, to get in touch with companies. On the other side, companies have the chance to see a lot of profiles with information about the work experience and education. In the same way, the internet can connect people who are social isolated. The internet provides everyone to connect with each other and find other people who share the same interests and hobby’s. Especially, mobbing victims, who are alone in real life, can find new friends worldwide. Overall, “internet is also used as a support network” (Daine 5) and can help people to get in contact with each other. Consequently, people can build up good relationships and “may alleviate psychological distress” (Daine 4).

To sum up, companies in the internet collect a lot of data and with the new technologies they can influence internet users. Human experiences are shaped and changed by the Internet in a negative but also in a positive way. All in all, it is very important to have an overview how the internet influences the life of users because the influence is in subconscious and one does it not realize. It can affect everyone, because nearly everyone uses an Internet.

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