Blog # 6 The Internet as the Enemy?

Along with Keen, I believe that people should force themselves to think critically and intellectually, without the help from the internet. Even though the internet has errors and flaws, it often has the ability to educate people if used properly. If people are thinking critically while using the internet, they should be able to filter out certain information that seems to be imprecise. In other words, as long as people are using internet sources to enhance some of their previous knowledge, students can often benefit from these sources. I agree with Lessig that some websites should be seen as a “social benefit.” People should be able to learn from one another, even if it does come from an online source. Many professors even enforce their students to educate themselves from different online sources. On the other hand, I can see how the strong demands from professors often temp students to “plagiarize.” Websites such as Wiki, can teach users the significance of the technique to filter out certain false or inaccurate information.

Keen states that if we don’t give credit to the creators, than soon a large part of our culture will die out. Yet, as Lessig states, Keen seems uneducated about the economic issues that would cause this to happen. I think the internet has the ability to spread art and culture around to an extremely diverse group of people. I believe that if the public enjoys the creation enough, the talent, artist, or creator will make money either way. As long as people use the internet merely to educate themselves, rather than “steal” information, certain online sources can be seen as very beneficial.