An Influential event

When I was 15 years old, I had the opportunity to go on a Community Involvement Program (CIP) trip to Batam, Indonesia with a group of girls from my secondary school. I immediately jumped at the opportunity, as the thought of being able to go on a “holiday” with my friends was so appealing. Little did I know that the 4 days 3 nights trip would change my life forever. A group of us were assigned to visit an Indonesian Christian orphanage called “House of love”. The House of love was an orphanage built specially to house children who had been left home less and without a family after the 2004 Tsunami that hit the coast of Indonesia. We taught the English language to the children, played different games with them and even helped to clean and paint the walls of their bedrooms. What struck me the most throughout the trip was when a 6 year-old boy by the name of Richy started singing the Christian song “give thanks”. The lyrics go something like this “give thanks with a grateful heart.. let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us.”

Although I doubt that at such a young age he would have known what the song really meant, he taught me a valuable lesson that day. If an orphan can be thankful for the little that he has, surely I can be grateful for everything that I have.

(252 words)

Essay Draft 1

Main problem:  Social media such as facebook as a platform for anonymous vigilante groups in Singapore to target political groups and popular social media influences. In the past year, these vigilantes have overstepped their boundaries by exposing private details such as the home addresses of their target victims.

Affected target group/stakeholder: Government, political leaders, social media influences

Agent of change/stakeholder: Educational institutions, the government ( in the form of legislation and law), social media platforms.

Solution 1: Protection from Harassment Act 2014 to protect online users from cyber-harrasment.

Evaluation 1: Vigilante’s garner support from the masses through their ability to empathise with their struggles. They give ordinary people a platform to voice their opinions about political or social issues that otherwise will not be heard. As such, placing a restraining order on these groups does not stop their supporters from continuing the harrasment online. It is not possible to place a harrasment act on such a large mass of people. Also, the protection order does not require vigilantes that are anonymous to reveal their identities, meaning these groups of people are able to set up multiple social media accounts to attack their victims without getting caught or punished for it.

Solution 2: Perhaps what the government needs to do is to implement laws that criminalizes the posting of other’s private details without their consent. They can also work closely with social media organizations to monitor the content of what these vigilantes post on their social media platforms. Any violation of rules should result in punishments.

Implication/Conclusion: This may however stir anger amongst the vigilante groups supporters as they feel that they no longer have the freedom to voice their opinions online.This may result in an even bigger issue such as protests or supporters taking things Into their own hands

Thesis: Social media platforms have increasingly become a platform for anonymous vigilante groups to attack political groups and popular social media influences in Singapore. Cooperation between the government and social media companies are needed to combat this growing problem.

Reader response draft #3

"The perils of over-sharing in social networks" by Emm (2014) is against the increasing dependency society has on the internet. In the article, Emm shares about his concerns over "government snooping" which allows authorities to spy on personal e-mails, text messages etc. He discusses the impending dangers that an over reliance on social media poses on people. For example, the jeopardization of our personal lives when confidential details land in the wrong hands. These information can be manipulated in different ways such as to find out our bank accounts or our home addresses, putting the safety of our money and family in danger. The author also believes that the over-sharing of private information can have adverse effects on companies that users work for. The authors opinions reflect my own to a certain extent. Like the author, i believe that the internet is not an entirely safe place for the sharing of personal details. However with proper safety precautions, it can bring about positive effects. 

The author states that the Internet “exposes the minutiae of our daily lives”. Putting personal information online such as posting pictures or tweeting about our current location makes us easy targets to cyber-criminals. A popular social media platform “AskFm” allows strangers to ask users questions. Increasingly, anonymous characters have used this medium to convey abusive and sexualized content to its victims. Askfm has been linked with some of the worse cases of cyber bullying and has been the reason for several suicide cases. (Younger, 2013) Just as Emm puts it, what is seemingly harmless can quickly turned into an avenue for crimes to take place.

The author also believes that over-sharing on the Internet can “jeopardize the security of the organization we work for”. Sharing of confidential details online can result in rival companies attaining vital information required to sabotage an organization. In addition to Emms point, the over-sharing of information on the Internet not only compromises the security of a company but also it’s reputation. In 2012, director Amy Cheong of the National trade union congress (NTUC) was fired after posting racist comments about the traditional Malay wedding on her personal Facebook account. (Durai, 2012) The incident caused an outrage amongst the online community. Netizens were upset that NTUC would give authority to someone who publicly displays racism. NTUC’s Facebook page was bombarded with angry comments demanding explanations. Needless to say, the incident tarnished NTUC’s reputation as being a wholesome organization. As such it is clear to say that over-sharing on the Internet can affect both the security and reputation of the companies we work for.

Emm also voices his worries over “government snooping” on the Internet. The ability of institutions and the government to “intercept emails, text messages etc.” leaves users with barely any privacy. However "government snooping" does have some positive impact on society in that it combats terrorism to a certain extent. The National Security Agency (NSA) gathers phone data and online communications in order to sieve out potential threats. In the US alone, The National Security Agency's "controversial intelligence-gathering programs" have helped to prevent 13 terrorist attacks from taking place. (Kelly, 2013).

As such, the internet is most definitely not a safe place to share personal details of our lives due to the many possible dangers. It does however have its positive impacts as well such as providing convenience and helping countries to combat terrorism. Like the author states, safety measures such as being vigilant or using safety softwares are therefore needed to ensure that users are able to reap the benefits of the internet without falling victim to cyber crimes.

References:

Durai, J. (2012, October 8). The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/ntuc-assistant-director-sacked-racist-remarks-20121008

Kelly, H. (2013, August). CNN. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/31/tech/web/nsa-alexander-black-hat/

Younger, S. (October, 2013). Tweenus. Retrieved from http://www.chicagonow.com/tween-us/2013/10/facts-about-ask-fm-parents/

 

Reader Response Draft 2

"The perils of over-sharing in social networks" by Emm (2014) seems to be rather against the increasing dependency that society has on the internet. In the article, Emm shares about his concerns over "government snooping" which allows for institutions and authorities to spy on our personal e-mails, text messages etc. Emm also goes on to talk about the impending dangers that an over reliance on social media platforms poses to people. For example, the jeopardization of our personal lives when confidential details land in the wrong hands. In addition to that, the author also believes that the over-sharing of private informations online can have adverse effects on the companies we work for. The author's opinions resonates with my own to a certain extent. I have personally witness friends getting cyber-bullied or falling victims to cyber-crimes. And as such i strongly believe that the internet is not an entirely safe place for sharing personal details. 

The author states that the Internet “exposes the minutiae of our daily lives”. Putting personal information online such as the posting of pictures, sharing of details about our daily routine or tweeting about our current location makes us vulnerable and easy targets to cyber-criminals. While reading the article, I was reminded of an incident that rendered a close friend of mine a “cyber-crime victim”. This particular friend was attacked on a popular social media platform known as “AskFm” where strangers are allowed to comment or ask you questions. She started receiving provocative and rude comments from anonymous characters, some even claiming that they know private details of her life such as her home address. It was both a shocking and frightening experience for her and she eventually shut the account down. Just as Emm puts it, what is seemingly harmless can quickly turned into an avenue for crimes to take place

While the author believes over-sharing on the Internet can threaten the personal lives of users, it can also “jeopardize the security of the organization we work for”. Sharing of confidential details online can result in rival companies attaining vital information required to sabotage or attack the organization. In addition to Emms point, the over-sharing of information on the Internet not only compromises the security of a company but also it’s reputation. In 2012, director Amy Cheong of the National Trade union congress (NTUC) was fired after posting racist comments about the traditional Malay wedding on her personal Facebook account. (Durai, 2012)The incident caused an outrage amongst the online community as people were upset and disappointed that NTUC would give such authority and responsibility to someone who publicly displays ignorance and racism. NTUC’s Facebook page was bombarded with angry comments demanding for explanations. Needless to say, the incident tarnished NTUC’s reputation as being a wholesome organization. As such it is clear to say that over-sharing on the Internet can affect both the security and reputation of the companies we work for.

In the article, Emm also voices his worries over “government snooping” on the Internet. The ability of institutions and the government to “intercept emails, text messages etc.” leaves users with barely any privacy to call their own. However "government snooping" does have some positive impact on society in that it combats terrorism to a certain extent. The National Security Agency (NSA) gathers phone data and online communications in order to sieve out potential threats. In the US alone, The National Security Agency's "controversial intelligence-gathering programs" have helped to prevent 13 terrorist attacks from taking place. (Kelly, 2013). I personally believe that the government need not resort to "snooping" to retrieve private details of our lives such as our home addresses or even our bank account. And even if they do not, they have other means of retrieving them. The only reason why anyone should be afraid of "government snooping" would be their fear of getting exposed for crimes such as company embezzlement etc. in which case they should in fact be exposed. As such government snooping does have its upside as well

Bibliography

Durai, J. (2012, Octrober 8). The Straits Times. Retrieved 2014, from www.straitstimes.com: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/ntuc-assistant-director-sacked-racist-remarks-20121008

Kelly, H. (2013, August). CNN. Retrieved from www.edition.nn.com: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/31/tech/web/nsa-alexander-black-hat/