Facebook, Violence and Red Heads

Recently I read an article that made me think about how the internet can once again, get you into quite a load of trouble. The article was discussing a Facebook event, Kick a Ginger Day. First, I'd like to say that I do not understand the obsession with red heads that the people of my generation seem to have. The article mentions that South Park, a show I have never seen, has something to do with this hatred for gingers urging people to kick gingers on November 20th. Many people (as far as I know most people) are all joking when it comes down to making a ginger joke, but one Canadian student is said to have taken it too far.

This past Thursday was marked to be Kick a Ginger Day. Ironically enough, it fell right in the middle of international Ant

i Bullying Week. People all around the world had joined to Facebook event, and the majority thought little of it. Little did the student who created know that he could soon be facing charges, “We do treat this sort of thing seriously,” she said. “This is sort of inciting hate. It’s a hate crime really.” News of this event traveled quickly, and people began to react:

In St. John’s, N.L., schools warned students they’d be disciplined if they acted on the joke.

Tony Stack, principal of St. Peter’s, a grades 7 to 9 school near St. John’s, said they were told about the event by parents of red-headed kids.
In Flin Flon, Man., an elementary school sent a letter home to parents alerting them and their children to the possibility of disturbances.

And in Sylvan Lake, Alta., one red-haired student said she and her 13-year-old sister were punched and kicked by their peers when they got to school.

It is amazing how the Internet can cause such a reaction from the public, and cause so much to happen internationally with just a couple minutes and a few clicks of the mouse. One poor red headed student left school that day covered in bruises. He had no idea what was going on when he was moving through the halls on the way to his next class, as he had only heard of the Facebook event in passing, thinking nothing of it: “Three people saw me and they decided they would kick me. They were much older than me, maybe like 15, 16 years old,” he said. “I became trapped trying to get through this press of people. And that’s when they kicked me from behind and I fell over.” Although this is a rare case, we must still consider the consequences of our actions on the Internet. The group leader has been apologizing profusely, as he did not realize that this would lead him into so much trouble: “It was a joke,” he said. “I’ll message everybody and say I’m sorry that this offended people.” Unfortunately, this joke was taken a step too far, and may lead to punishment by law.

I feel that this goes to show that even something as small as a Facebook joke could lead an Internet user into more trouble than they could have ever dreamt of, and that the Internet is just as close to reality as any other open forum.

-A

Sports and the Virtual World

Tony Hawk, the renowned skateboarder, has recently been working with X-Games to create something entirely unique. Hawk, who is known for the "900" he maneuvered a decade ago is working on a way to bring the movements of skateboarding to video games. Tony Hawk has collaborated with video game companies for 10 years now, and his name has already been franchised. What's unique about this new game he is working on is the fact that an actual skateboard will be incorporated into playing the game. Work is being done to integrate a wheel-less skateboard that will stimulate skateboarding on the screen as you play. The question is whether this new addition will be able to revive Hawk's ten year old series. Tony Hawk's games have generated $1.5 billion worldwide, selling 43.5 million units for its publisher, Acitivision Blizzard. Sales have slipped in the past two years, and Hawk is hoping this will be the solution to the drop in sales. I find it really interesting (as a girl who does not play video games) that many games are going out of their way to make virtual gaming feel real. I feel that Guitar Hero started this trend, which has now exploded. Tony Hawk has a bit to say about the creation of this new type of skateboarding game and how it compares to similar things on the market:

On the creation of the actual skateboard:

"We have a graveyard of prototypes. The first version was a blank skateboard with the equivalent of a Wii remote. We tried roller balls that you could slide your foot on and digital compasses that can tell which direction your board is pointed in. We also tried adding a camera. We also had a board with buttons that you could step on, like with Dance Dance Revolution. With one of our first prototypes, I tried to do a kick flip on it. It’s a maneuver where you jump in the air and make the board do a full rotation. The board snapped in half."

On how his skateboard compares to other virtual games that have real life interactions (such as Wii Fit Balance Board):

"The Balance Board only measures weight distribution. Our controller captures every motion. Every time you..."

(image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/geeewocka/3377730175/sizes/o/)

-A

Loose Words

"Computers are the devils work! Praise Jesus!"

"Technology is against my religious beliefs."

"Technology bores me. Mobile phones bore me. Connectivity bores me. Accessibility bores me. Television bores me. Survey monkey both bores me and tires me, and reminds me that connectivity demands accessibilty and inaccessibility is inconcievable in this little world of ours. I think I'm going to move to the country and each peaches. Though that may bore me."

These are just a few of the many "interesting" responses and comments I receieved when a classmate and I emailed a short survey to our school. If you were to walk into the school I attend you would find that the students are polite and intelligent people, but when they take to the internet the case is entirely different. I feel this is the case for most people, not just my classmates. Take chat rooms for example. Many debates and arguments that have taken place online would have never occured had these people had actually been together. The people that are the most outspoken on the Internet, at least to me, are most commonly timid in person. Although they may thinking things that are not polite they refrain from speaking their minds due to the fact that they knows it rude or they are just plain intimidated by other people.

The Internet is a place where these shy people can thrive. In addition, it is like a blank canvas for the aggressive, waiting to be voilently splashed with paint. All types of people seem to grow a spine when posting their thoughts on the Internet. I can almost gaurantee you that 95% of the rude comments I received on my survey would have never been said to be in person. This is becasue people know better, and most likely know who I am. I am not saying I intimidate people, but I know that people have more respect for as a person offline rather than on.

Ask yourself this: if you were to express negative feedback would you rather do it in person or through writing? To most the answer is simple, and it is through writing. Not only is it less awkward, but your thoughts flow more easily as you feel no restraint. What I wonder is whether this theory I have is true. I want to know how people feel about things when it come to the Internet. Do they feel stronger when seen as an anonymous Internet user, giving them the drive to say things they would normally keep to themselves? To be honest, I have been that aggresive person before. I feel that we have all had out lashing outs on the Internet whether it be a disagreement with an arat review to an argument with a friend via instant messenger. The Internet is like a fair ground to anger in some sense, and while it is a place to express honest opinions, should this be restricted?

The comments I received were mildly rude. Being the person I am, I was able to laugh them off with little shock. It was the initial receiving of these messages that triggered these feelings I am blogging about, as I never could have predicted such reactions from my peers. What I wonder is this: what if the level of the comments had escalated? What if they were a hundred times more intimidating? Honestly, I would have become extremely upset. What people have to understand is that on the other side of this Internet relationship is another REAL person with REAL emotions. I react to anger in the same way, whether it is written or verbal and believe that the Internet should not be open grounds to aggression. If someone wants to disagree with something, be my guest but do it in an educated and well stated way. As people we have to respect boundaries, even if they may be hard to define when they are not visible.

(photo credit: http://www.electronichouse.com/images/uploads/kids-computer.jpg)

-A

Exploitation

Should people be able to control what is said about them on the internet? Should media be controlled, or is this against the basic rights of people? It can be argued that sometimes the Internet provides people with a great amount of information that isn't correct in any way, but purely the opinions of the person who wrote them. Other things that may be found on the Internet are the harsh reality that people rather hide from revelation. Recently in Argentina, a powerful court judge and Diego Maradona, the legendary footballer, worked together to limit what large search engines such as Yahoo! and Google may show in their results. Maradona had been fed up with the amount of information circulating on the Internet about his troubled past (ranging from women, cocaine and his exile from Italy, where he is seen almost as a god in some areas). Maradona wanted to stop people from reading about his past, and attained this right. If one were to search his name on Yahoo! they would find a page containing a disclamer, stating that the search was unable to be performed at the time. While this seems like an affective result, the reality is that there are hundreds of smaller search engines availible on the net, including in Argentina, that do not have a restriction on this particular case. One can argue that Maradona's case was completely pointless as all the information could easily be found even without major search engines, but I disagree. I feel that what Maradona did in Argentina is exremely important. Although the results were not perfect, Maradona is making a point. Americans may argue that banning the freedom of speech and press but limiting what can appear on the Internet is against the first amendment. This is true, but the bigger picture is this: should journalists and bloggers be able to post anything they like about others without the slightest consequence for lying? I believe that there should be a consequence, but this information should not be fully limited. I find myself somewhere inbetween the two extremes: one being jail time for journalists who casue trouble (this can be seen in countries such as South Korea) and complete freedom to write whatever one may desire. I believe people like Diego Maradona should have their rights, as it is their own reputation and name being exploited and put at risk. To conclude, I feel that what is written on the Internet shouldn't have heavy ristrictions, but rather be completely avoided with a law that punishes those who post things that are false.

(photo 1: Maradona by pierodemarchis on Flickr.com)

-A