Apr 21 2011
You Couldn’t Make It Up: The Dangers of Misunderstanding the Power of the Internet
I recently wrote a guest post on why Common Sense is so vital within any SEO campaign as, unfortunately, this is something that seems to be dwindling in recent generations. So following on from that slightly, I want to discuss how the power of the internet has greatly affected lives across the globe; simply by misusing what is the most powerful tool today.
The internet can make people that wouldn’t have necessarily become famous, worldwide superstars, one news story can become a trending topic on one of the most widely known social mediums in a matter of hours, and relationships, jobs and sanity can all be taken with one click of a button.
Here are some funny, sad and downright stupid examples of why the Internet must be used wisely.
Facebook: The number one passion killer.
Since the arrival of Facebook and the word got around, it’s since overtaken Google as the most visited website in the world. For the most part, people use it for chatting, the occasional profile snoop and of course, organising intimate social events in the wide open space of the worldwide web.
Unfortunately, some people have decided that they’d rather use the website to pick up dates, which is fine; except when they are already ‘In a Relationship’.
Recent studies have shown that many marriages have ended in divorce due to Facebook infidelity. Whether it’s by finding previous love interests or simply striking up new ones by ‘Poking’ ‘Lol’ing or ‘Liking’, the truth is the number of people thinking they are being discreet (again by using the WORLD wide web) are rudely mistaken. Private messages and outright flirting via Facebook has decreased trust within relationships and increased the legal fees for divorce lawyers.
So, next time you wish to ‘Poke’ the boy from school who always had lovely blue eyes and borrowed a pencil from you in Maths, think of your partner on the sofa next to you, probably snoring, farting or both, and perhaps weigh up whether it’s really worth it?
The YouTube Success: “Leave the Camera Alone!!”
You may not know the names Chris Crocker, or the kid from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, or even Harry and Charlie. But I bet if I mentioned “Leave Britney Alone!”, Star Wars Kid and “Charlie bit my finger!” you’d all know exactly what videos I was talking about.
As annoying it is to know who these people are, they prove outright what power the internet has over the destiny of some people in the world. Whether or not you yourself have seen these videos, you’ll most certainly have heard someone talking about them; most likely from watching Channel 4’s RudeTube.
The sad thing is, they haven’t just had their 15 minutes of fame – they are online for life. So next time you think about uploading a video or your friend skateboarding with a firework in his back pocket, maybe just rethink about the consequences and keep in mind the mental affect this will have on your future children.
Call a Doctor: Or just get an online Medical diagnosis
Even i f you are normally a rational person in everyday life, finding something abnormal on your body may spur irrational panic. Unfortunately, this is where every computer should be buried and never dug back up.
Sadly more often than not the first thing people do is log on, type in the abnormality and self-diagnose their rash, lump or spot; often with frightening consequences.
Whether you know of a ‘reliable’ website or not, the internet is the worst place to turn when calmness is required; it’s likely to provoke the complete opposite. If you are ever in doubt in regards to your health, go old school and pick up the phone, make a doctor’s appointment or if in a real emergency, get down A&E rather than relying on Wikipedia.
Email: To, CC, BCC and downright foolishness.
We’ve all done it. Sent an email to the wrong person and then sent a follow up email explaining that we’ve sent it to the wrong person; just in case they didn’t know.
However, there has been recent news in the UK of two men being suspended from their place of work due to emails regarding one of their female flatmates.
Harry and Sebastian swapped emails discussing Jenni, the ex-girlfriend and current flatmate of Harry. Sebastian was interested in dating Jenni and was finding out if Harry would mind. Unfortunately Harry CC’d Jenni in on the emails in which he used offensive language to describe her and the fact they didn’t get on.
As with everything online, it didn’t take much for this to then go viral which then led to the suspension.
Lesson learnt; if you don’t want the whole world to know what you think of someone – don’t put it in black and white.
So, whether you want instant fame and to be mocked in a satirical episode of a new 20th Century Fox cartoon, or like to feel the fear of dying from what is actually prickly heat rash, then the internet is the perfect tool to carry on using without common sense. However for those of us that are mostly sane, we’ll keep using it for finding great holiday deals, arranging house viewings and researching the latest Jamie Oliver recipe.
I hope I’ve highlighted just some of the misuses of the internet and I promise you there will be more; just make sure it’s not you I’m reading about next, please.
Written By:
Jenny Pilley | Internet Marketing | @crearegroup
Jenny Pilley is head of the Content Writing team at Creare who specialise in SEO, web design, ecommerce, internet marketing, email marketing and video production.
More Posts By Jenny Pilley
WOW awsome…and so true, you hit it on the head!
“Facebook infidelity”: Now that is a new one!
“think of your partner on the sofa next to you, probably snoring, farting or both, and perhaps weigh up whether it’s really worth it?”
Not the most compelling deterrent!
Always amused when guys try to pick up your girlfriend on Facebook. You’re sitting there, reading their messages, “Hey babe, you deserve better, OMG…yadda yadda bla bla bla.”
I miss university-only Facebook. Frankly the whole thing fell apart when they let the commoners in.
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