Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Reply to comment

Deborah Hazen's picture

Can we think of it as a public park?

I wonder if we can think of the internet as a public park. If we avoid the park because there is some bad stuff going on out there--then we abdicate the park to those who would degrade it. If, instead, we clean up the park, install lights, ceate a neighborhood watch, plant flowers and vegetables, install playground equipment and use the park in large numbers--then it becomes ours and a place that we are happy to visit.

I've been looking, but haven't found it yet--saw an article a while back about how the increase in adult use of Facebook was actually positively influencing the kinds of postings that teens were making on the site---it was losing its Wild West feel and becoming a bit more polite. It was also resulting in some kids leaving FB for the next new technological meeting space. But that isn't so unusual or unique to the web--teens have always milled about looking for a space to be, think and act outside of adult purview.

Reply

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
7 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.