Another part of the text mentioned in class was the idea that the Internet is all about attention. I completely agree! The internet is the perfect platform for people to get attention! People can spill their guts on a blog or online journal, share their pictures with flickr, Facebook, or one of the other hundred photo sharing sites, talk about their day on Facebook and Twitter, get naked on websites and chat roulette, and share every aspect of their life with the rest of the world. Companies also use the internet for attention in order to advertise and gain market share. Its all about the "look at me" factor and the hope that other people actually care about your perspective and want to hear your story or keep up with your life... which in most cases they don't! Most people want everyone else to care about him/her and his/her life, but don't care about anyone else's! The internet is a way to show how self absorbed people can be in a completely acceptable manner!
The internet has been a revolutionary discovery and while it has transformed from an academic and research based platform into a look at me platform, it is still a vital tool. Despite the attention seeking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Livejournal, YouTube, Blogger, personal porn sites, email, photo sharing sites, advertisements, and the classifieds, the internet can provide people with research, history, and information with convenience and ease. Not all attention is bad either, people can easily and effectively use the internet to sell things on Craigslist, read news articles, research for papers and general knowledge, and connect with one another. While the majority of the content on the internet is about getting attention, being seen, and showing the world a certain perspective it is not all bad or trivial. Because while I don't care whether or not my parent's friend's 14 year old daughter "likes" 700 silly sayings on Facebook or what her step by step plan is for the day, I do like the internet and am addicted to the phenomenon that is Facebook!
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