Now that we have the Internet in our homes, are we being intimidated and controlled more than ever?

Question

Do you think, now that we have the Internet in our homes, that we are being intimidated and controlled more than ever?

This question was asked at the Dropping Knowledge event on 9th September by Anonymous, Stoke-on-Trent, UK.

To find out more about Dropping Knowledge check out our blog:

Dropping Knowledge in the UK: http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-qT1KKPQoRKdVT4lowpJCljbFokkuIzI8?p=1048

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To discuss this subject in more detail follow this link to the official Dropping Knowledge website: http://www.droppingknowledge.org/bin/posts/focus/6404.page

Answer 1

No, not at all!

I think it's an oprotunity of freedom!
;-)

Now, I can understand why someone would come to a conclusion like your self to ask such a Q. It's because of all the privacy invasion that not only criminals are seeking to exploit this new technology but our very own governments ... the people we trust even some of our parents...
Yes there is the tools to spy on people, and to attempt to censor the internet...

however, anyone who trys to control it and intimidate people with efforts of spying on them... they are loosing a battle they will never win.

It's all about EDUCATION!
People just need to know how to protect themselves from people who are trying to missuse the technology it is as simple as that. Also there is ways to get around censorship, again education. We can not only stop people from being intimidated but we can put the power in their hands. It's not just passing out computers and internet connections to close the digital divide anymore, it's about how to educate people using them and give them access to the CURRENT technology and tools so they can continue to learn and grow on their own with or without out side help constantly. To teach people how to stand on their own, so that they don't feel illiterate when it comes to technology.

;-)

People need access to such education and tools whether it be software or hardware or knowledge itself. People need to be reminded of their self confidance, it's our fault for making computers sound like a forign language to some... there are many concepts that ANYONE can understand if someone just took the time to break down the jargon and use real life words and concepts to covey the ideas, methods, and what not...

Then people will not be intimidated... and people themselves will be in control of such technology (or people who wheeld that technology, or try to hold it hostage to control people's uses and access of it).

;-)
(A)
::: Peace :::

Answer 2

At first, when common folks were getting onto the Internet, there was a great deal of intimidation and control through the use of very technical terms and rules and pop ups and folks were terrified of going on line. Much of that has gone away...for now. It IS only a matter of time; though, before mass media folks who have lost their viewers, readers, and listeners to the Internet come after them...with a vengeance. It has actually already started. Why is it that when folks talk about the Internet they compare it to news papers, TV and radio? Their line? "I get the news I want when I want it." Whoa baby! Check it out all you mass media guys... Oh!? ...you already heard? These are the people who put those nasty little cookies in your machine.

Those cookies tell all the big corporations where, you have visited sometime or other, what your habits are, right on down to the last key stoke. Next time you log into your Yahoo or MSN or Hotmail, you just take a long hard look at those ads they have cluttering up your screen. Do they look familiar? Have you ever noticed that the surveys and tests they want you to take are in areas that you are interested in? They are into our heads better now than before because now they get better feed back than those Neilson ratings could ever do?

Yipes!!! There's that naked girl pop up again!!! Damn, how did they know I saw that site two years ago?

Regards
Jon

Answer 3

You need to get out of this relationship as soon as possible. Yes, I have no doubt at all that he will become physically abusive... and I think you know that, too. He's already emotionally and verbally abusive: 1. You have to call wherever you go. 2. You are too stupid to do anything on your own. 3. He controls every move you make. I am not racist, but you need to not date mexican guys. I live in TX and I know a lot of women that have dated mexican men - EVERY single one (except for 2) were abusive. Those aren't good odds. I have no idea why they are that way, and while I agree there are a lot of handsome ones, it just isn't worth it. Again, I'm not racist and I dated a mexican guy for 8 years... but he was from here, he was educated, and he came from a very good family. Would never be abusive, but the kind of guy you are describing isn't the same. I can almost guarantee you that things are going to get very ugly when you try to get out of this. He already knows you are afraid of him and he can completely control you, while he (I'm sure) comes and goes as he pleases. He has his bluff in and he will try to make sure that he keeps it. There is nothing you can call the cops on him for at this point - from what you describe here. If you have family or friends to count on, you need to get prepared and have them come get you when he isn't there. Then you need to get a restraining order. And if there has already been abuse, you need to go file a police report. And if he violates the restraining order (and he probably will because women you can completely control are few and far between, so he won't want to lose that), you call the cops EVERY single time. Once he sees bullying won't work, he will probably start being sweet and tell you he was wrong and how he's changed. Don't believe him and go back. Stay away from him. Abusive men don't change without help, and many hispanic men think it's their God given right - they don't think they are abusive. They are a lost cause. Get out of this while you can, and date someone long enough in the future to figure out what kind of man they are. You've been dating him for six months and you are already living with him? It doesn't matter if you've known him for a couple of years, that's dumb. Now you have put your children in a very bad position and they are seeing all of this. Next they will see him beating you. He's not beating you yet, because you've been following the rules. Soon following the rules won't be enough. He's just looking for an excuse to be mad about something, and eventually whatever you do won't be good enough. You picked a bad person to get involved with. Get out of it while you can. Sorry so long, but I've been where you are and I should have gotten out sooner. Nothing but physical and emotional harm will come to you and your children from this.

Answer 4

Considering we've had the Internet available in our homes for about fifteen years... even at the beginning, back when people were connecting using 2400 baud modems, we've always had the option to disconnect. Intimidation and control is something that the Bush administration is trying to push on the American people through fear of terrorist attacks. If you're saying that the information that is available on the web is a form of propaganda, it'd be the same thing as watching a news story or reading a magazine article. Everything should be further researched before you jump to conclusions. It's like the email hoaxes that get spread... easily debunked. As for control... being connected is a wonderful thing. But before the Internet, there was the telephone, the telegraph... radio and television. Are we being monitored by a secret government agency? Will the advancement of technology make it easier for the government to keep tabs on us through ID circuits? Locating where you are at all times, what stores you shop in, what items you purchase, where you vacation, what you read... are we all really blinded by a false sense of security and controlled by a socialist government?

I have to go. There are men in suits at my door.

Answer 5

The Internet is a strange media its possibilities are limited only by the imagination of the user.

Unfortunately the amount of information available to the user is endless there are a great many links that to be able to properly research a topic ends up taking an infinite length of time. The control of a one stop solution in the electronic age has meant that organisations such as wekipeadia has given an answer that is centralised and therefore controllable. Monopolies do not occur just in the business model.

An individual can get an idea circulated as quick as a electron, a whisper campaign can now have large effects. Textting has been used to start revolutions.

The ability of centralise organisations to track an individual for marketing or more sinister purpose's has increased exponentially. When will Blair or his inheritors start rounding up children of "undesirables" after socio profiling of parents?

Thankfully I personally see that as a remote possibility as Key Phrase searches by GCHQ leads to many red flags being unchecked. Too many flags not enough operatives. Also government is a inept user of IT. Radical Free Thinkers seem to be more creative than their counterparts in hierarchical organisations.

Democracy or mob rule has always been manipulated by the vagaries of Demagogues, Hitler managed it prior to the Internet. Society now is no more easily swayed than any other society.

Should we or can we as a society place restrictions or limits on the Internet when we don't know whats its limit are.

Answer 6

PhoneDetective is a caller ID application that covers landline numbers, cell phones, and business lines in the United States.
Check here ( http://reversephones.info )

The way it works is simple:
Step 1: Enter a phone number into the search box (you can begin a search here)
Step 2: Preview your results (basic information about the number, such as city/state)
Step 3: Pay to view full results (name and address of owner, if available).

There are many reasons why you might want to conduct a reverse phone search:
1- Find out the source of a harassing ("prank") caller.
2- Research a number that appeared on your phone bill.
3- Locate an old friend from high school or college
4- Research "missed calls" on your caller ID that you don't recognize.
5- Verify an address.
-6 And more...

This is the link for Reverse Phone Lookup / Cell Phone Number Search ( http://reversephones.info )

Answer 7

This question is intimidating and I think the Dropping logo has something to do with mind control.

On the serious side, Internet is just more info faster. So if the info coming through happens to be intimidating or controlling than it could be, but it's not.. just like as TV and Radio is not controlling and intimidating.

However, in relation to control, we do hear about people addicted to the internet, or filling out way to many Yahoo answers.. so there is that factor.

Answer 8

I was reading the responses and I was disappointed... The Internet helps control the world.. No different from a television except that fact that people have more of a voice on the Internet..
You have to search for those voices.. So in essence the Internet for now has allowed us an abundant amount of information accessible at our finger tips.. The thing is we are programmed not to use it or believe it.

intimidation -- sure the Internet is a great tool that you are forced to use in a modern world.. No doubt that if you own a cell pone you still holding a computer..

In a world fill with violence people are force to use another great tool that protects them -- weapons

It's still intimidation.. If it wasn't you would have a choice.. Then again you do.. It's called being Amish...

Answer 9

Quite the opposite, in my view. We now have more control over media that we allow into our homes (e.g., can buy a single song via iTunes rather than having to buy an entire cd). In addition, I can send a message to someone at work any time I want, rather than having to wait until I see that person or wait until a respectable time to phone; the recipient will retrieve the message whenever s/he prefers to check the e-mail account. This is freedom of choice, and not at all intimidation or control.

How we manage those choices is entirely up to us, and it's certainly not the fault of computer technology that some people have a hard time managing those choices: people had a hard time before the Internet. That's a human issue.

Answer 10

I don't think so...but it depends on who you are asking...
If people are easily controlled and intimidated because they have no real opinions of their own and don't know themselves, then those people get swayed no matter what, if they hook into certain sites I would imagine they could be swayed any which way.

I'm pretty sure I have a good grip on reality and think for myself.
The point is, All the information is out there. It is for YOU, the individual to gather the information available to you and make an informed decision if you care.
If one doesn't, that is their fault, but it wouldn't be any different than how easily persuaded they were before, just a different medium.

Answer 11

How are you being intimidated and controlled? You have the power, you decide what you look at and what you don't, you've just used the internet to put your question to countless numbers of people that you couldn't have done before. Read some of the questions and answers on here and I'm sure you'll discover something new that you didn't know before, so the internet is increasing our knowledge. It's all about how you use the internet, but that's the same for anything in life.