Reading Annotation Journal 1.2

In addressing the recent readings, there are two things that stand out to me specifically; 1. Amanda Todd; This article is a bit short on information to make a sound and full judgement on cyber bullying. I believe that cyber bullying is very real, and can have quite an impact on individuals. One of the issues that I feel promotes this is the disconnect; attackers get to be distant, and only know what they choose to know or what is presented and available in social media about their victim. They have no appreciation for how isolating a campaign can make a person feel, especially since information can become viral quickly and overwhelm on a platform that takes no breaks. It can feel overwhelming, and inescapable. The best defense, by and large, is vigilance. Parents should be monitoring accounts (yes, monitor their kids' phones, emails, etc.) and they should know about the environments where their children's friends are. It would behoove parents to establish open communication with people in their children's lives, and discuss expectations. 2. Re; "There is no real need to undertake ethical reflection on new situations confronting us...we can generally rely on people's common sense and ethical experiences..." I believe that this is the train of though most people subscribe to en masse. There is some practical wisdom behind it. When looking at the technological developments of the past 200 years, there are a great number of advancements that had no predecessor. There is almost no way to anticipate the entire scope of things that could return negative results, so we have to default to the trial and error method. It is imperfect, and there will always be a learning curve that affects the outcomes even further as tech continues to develop and evolve. One major difference between previous technologies and the ethical dilemmas facing us is the integration of identity; this is all still new, as there is increasing interplay between informational sources that used to remain exclusive in in their own respects. A digital copy loses no quality, shared information loses no potency. It is now possible to pay a bill, register to vote, schedule doctor's appointments, and speak with a relative while answering an email or doing homework. This is the new normal. In response, I do not disagree with this method of trial and error. Where I find fault, is that people will agree to sharing their data without so much as skimming the terms of use agreement or see what a certain website does with it's information gathered. It's my belief that the fine print should be emphasized further, as most people are willing to share at least some personal or demographic information prior to knowing the full scope of possibilities. Informed consent shouldn't be something that just sounds good; it should be diligently practiced. Listening to the Senate inquiry of Mark Zuckerberg try to explain how the platform works is evidence enough to me that it is not.