"The Machine is Us/ing Us"

      In the video “The Machine is Us/ing Us.” created by Micheal Wesch it starts out by giving information about websites, text vs. typing, etc. and throughout the video it really becomes more about how the web has changed who we are as people. The web has become something more extensive then anyone could have ever imagined based off where it started and what it was when it did start. The things that it gives us access to are uncountable and that just amazes me. And it makes me wonder if this extensive thing we have really is for the better of us.

      We all know the benefits of being able to email, Facebook, Twitter, research, read, watch and so much more on the web, but at what cost? The internet has become a dangerous place for people. Maybe not as much so for adults, but for the kids and teens constantly using it it could be a serious endangerment. We've all heard how we aren't supposed to give out any of our personal information on the web, but how many of us really think twice before we post something about ourselves or start talking to someone we have never met. Do we really think about how someone could be constantly watching the things we say and do? Or that the people we are talking to might not be who they say they are at all? For the most part the answer to that is no. Then again we are usually smart enough not to give out the obvious information like our numbers and addresses, but then there are the people that still continue to do that. They don't do it just to put themselves in a bad position, they do it without a second thought, because they feel like they know who the person they are talking to is, but really they have no idea.

      Another downfall to the progression of the web is something a lot of us are all too familiar with, cyber bullying. It's happening everyday all around us. None of us as teens can say we haven't seen it happen because it's just all to common. And for the most part it doesn't seem like any of us do too much to stop it. It's not like we don't care or we think it's okay to do. It's that we don't think it is our business or our problem so we try to avoid it and stay out of it. That's completely opposite of what we really should be doing though. We hear all the time about suicides of kids around our age group because of harassment and bullying; a lot of which is done online, over text, etc. It is a constant problem and we really need to stand together as a generation if it ever is going to stop.

      This really was brought to mind for me towards the end of the video when it said ”We need to rethink...ourselves.” because the web really has made us do that. I look at myself in a completely different way when I am on the internet because of how I respond to things and people online. I know I can be a lot more brave with the things I say online because it's not to anyone’s face. Then again I also know I can be a lot more closed off with some of my thoughts because I honestly have no idea who is going to be reading that and what they will think of me and what I stand for when they do. I really think this video was an eye opener in lots and lots of different ways and I think it was very connectable to our day to day lives.