by Salem Saberhagen and Hamster
N – Netflix
Netflix is the favourite website of many, many people. Films, TV series and documentaries are only one mouse click away. It is that easy. Some might argue that it is too easy, because it makes it harder to stay away from Frozen and House of Cards and focus on, for example, your homework.
O – Online/Offline
Recently, more websites have added the feature where you can see whether someone is online or offline. Some social media websites and apps even show you if someone has seen your message, and when they have seen it. Does you think this infringes upon your privacy, or is this perhaps just another aspect of digital culture that we just have to live with?
P – Privacy
On the Internet, there is really no such thing as privacy. Everyone can see or read everything you upload and thanks to social media, everyone can see personal information about you. For example, think about your date of birth, home-address and your relationship status. With all of our personal information online, where everyone can see it, what is the value of privacy?
Q – Quizzes
Are you a Taylor Swift or a Beyoncé? Are you more Prince George or Princess Charlotte? Buzzfeed quizzes: they are some of the best procrastination material in the world. But why do we love doing these quizzes and find out whether we are a Taylor or a Beyoncé? Since when do we define ourselves by Buzzfeed quizzes? Perhaps it is time to realize we are not a Taylor or a Beyoncé, we are just ourselves.
R – Reliability
When you see a headline online, do you check the source? Some information may look terrifyingly real, but may be a parody or simply false information. A simple “background check” via Google can tell you whether something is a hoax or not. Fact-checking can save you from being misinformed, and from misinforming people around you.
S – Security
Security is important and should be a vital aspect of your internet usage. This includes making sure no one can break into your social media or email account. You can do this by choosing a password only you (and perhaps a few selected others) know and by keeping this a secret.
T – Trolls
Some people online mess with others just for the fun of it (these are often called ‘trolls’). This can go from making innocent jokes to saying and doing things with the intention to gravely hurt people. When someone on the Internet starts arguing with you, try to figure out whether they are serious, or whether they are just trying to get a rise out of you.
U – Uploading
This is the counterpart to ‘downloading’, but instead of retrieving something on the web, you make your own files available for others to download. Often, this is seen as more illegal than downloading, because you are the one facilitating the copyrighted material. So, if you would hypothetically download something, be careful with the setting of your torrent software: some may start uploading (‘seeding’) automatically.
V – Virus
Just like our human bodies, our technological devices can get infected by a virus. A computer virus is a computer program that installs itself without your permission. Your computer can catch a virus without you even realizing it, so be careful with what you download and use a virus scanner to keep your computer clean.
W –Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a source frequently used by many, but is it a reliable source? Everyone can edit the pages and this means that the information can be untruthful or just plain nonsense. A smart way to use the information available on Wikipedia, is to check the references on the bottom of each page and see if the source if reliable.
X – X-rated
The Internet is not always safe for work. You might see more and more of these “not safe for work” posts pop up on your Facebook timeline, or Tumblr dashboard. What if you sit next to someone you (barely) know, and suddenly there is nudity on your screen? Would you feel embarrassed, or would you feel like it is acceptable to have nudity on your screen in public?
Y –YouTube
If there is one website that almost everyone is familiar with, then it must be YouTube. This is simply one of those platforms that is enormously diverse. You can go on there just to watch music videos, to watch your favourite vlogger talk about their life, to watch fluffy animals roll around, etc. It has gotten to the point that some ‘famous’ vloggers are able to live just for their YouTube revenue, and they even have merchandise and publish books.
Z – Zzz
Sometimes, all this internet and media business can prevent you from getting your beauty sleep. Have you ever wondered why so many social media platforms have blue as their colour? Apparently, using the colour blue keeps you awake longer, and therefore enables you to use social media for longer periods of time. Try to find a balance between (social) media and sleep, because we UCR students definitely need all the sleep we can get.
Salem Saberhagen is a student who wishes to remain anonymous for this issue of TR
Hamster is a student who wishes to remain anonymous for this issue of TR
