Key Terms:

Ok so this blog will be about key terms relating to my topic and how they are defined.

Facebook: the social media that many use for hours daily. This has now become an employer device to get more of the inside scoop on potential employees. It has become a professional device putting pressure on the users to censor and monitor what is displayed about them. Some people may even feel pressure to list professional goals and experiences on their facebook page in order to give them an upper hand when employers check out their page.

Twitter: another form of social media where users can follow other users in order to receive constant updates on that person/business. This allows users to keep in-the-know about recent news on topics, companies, and people they are interested in.

Web Pressure: The world is turning more and more digital. Just about everything can be done online these days, but it seems lately that a new trend is pushing through. This new trend seems to make internet technology no longer a luxury or a possibility, but it has now almost become a forced way of life. It's no longer an option to use internet technology-you must use it to have an upper hand in the professional world and simply to not be behind. People are almost expected to spend so many hours on line a day it seems, in order to keep up with blogs, email, websites, news, twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc, etc. You name it and you'd better be checking it everyday. People's lives no longer consist of just living, lives now consist of how one uses and is viewed on the web media!

Arguing the other side:

Ok so now I get to argue for the other side, which means I get to argue in favor of having a constant increase and pressure to keep updated in internet technology.

A few reasons why having more and more internet usage is beneficial:

1. People can chat online with anyone at any moment. Instant message through the internet.
2. People can use twitter to follow not only friends but businesses. By following a business, people can know the current updates of the company they work for or for the company they would like to work for. People can also follow news companies and get headline updates to learn the latest news without picking up a newspaper or going to the news' website. People only have to go to the twitter page for this update, and then if they want to read the article, they can click a link to go to the news' website and read the entire thing!
3. Facebook is a good tool because old friends can reconnect who may not be in contact anymore. These friends can view photos and keep up on each other's lives on their own time. Sometimes it's hard for friends to call each other or get together because of time schedule differences, but through facebook, you can check out someone's profile/wall at 2 in morning if needed to get important updates on a friend's life!

A Response to a Main Counter Argument

Sandy Hardmeier published an article online about the internet (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/technologyinternet.mspx) in 2005. She speaks about the increase in the internet and how that has benefited people. She specifically mentions the aspect of staying in touch-involving digital cameras and the internet. She explains the lengthy process people used to go through just to send a letter to friends or family. People would have to put it in the mail and pay postage and the letter would not arrive instantly, and then if the sender wanted to include photos, he or she would have to develop the film which takes time and then send it off. With the use of the internet and digital cameras, people can keep in touch instantly-no more waiting for hours or days, etc. Life is instant with the internet. She wrote about handy online programs that have sprung up regarding the use of digital cameras: EasyShare Gallery, Google's Picassa, and the Photo Gallery on MSN Spaces. Now granted this article was written a few years ago and the hottest programs and newest uses of the internet may not be these photo applications today, but the idea is still the same that the internet has so many options. And once again, I counter the hype the excitement that goes along with all these options. I am not saying that all internet should be done away with, but I am saying that some things should be eliminated or slowed down or only available but not pressured to use most, or all, of these constantly increasing online media programs. The pressure is great to be connected and literate in all forms of the internet. Maybe postage was slow...but too much technology on the internet takes away from more genuine and thoughtful contact with others. Some may consider internet technology just something to do now when you're bored or just because you feel like you have to. Sometimes too much technology and too many options to do much of the same thing, can be too much.