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MODULE 3:

DARK AND LIGHT SIDE OF THE INTERNET

THE DARK SIDE

Lesson 1: Utopian and Dystopian Views of the Internet

INTRODUCTION

The Internet has had a profound effect on the way modern society functions.
Its meteoric rise has had a profound effect on numerous facets of how we learn and
interact. It is self-evident that the Internet has the potential to transform how people
interact and to expand access to information. While neither of these factors is known
to have an effect on the social landscape, this has not deterred many from
forecasting the effects of technology on society. The last decade has seen significant
change on a global scale. All of this is made possible by the expansion of broadband
internet connectivity and the availability of a diverse set of software and hardware
tools. In other words, technology has become inextricably linked to the way people
live. Technology has altered our way of thinking, communicating, and planning
events with family and friends. This lesson provides context for several of the most
contentious Internet issues.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Know the usage of the Internet.
2. Enumerate challenges in making materials available in public through the
World Wide Web.
3. Understand the utopian and dystopian views of the internet.
4. Analyze the impact of internet to the society.

LESSON PROPER

Science and technological advancements have always elicited both hope and
fear in society. Science fiction, by fusing the rigors of science with the imagination of
fiction, contributes significantly to the expression of these emotions. At the dawn of
the Internet era, there was great hope that the new medium's interconnectedness of
information would result in a more diverse discussion agenda. It would be an ideal

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forum for discussion and dissemination, providing everyone with completely free and
instant information.

The World Wide Web

The creation of the World Wide Web accelerated the Internet's growth in popularity.
Tim Berners-Lee, the Web's creator, originally proposed the Web as a
documentation system for CERN, the Swiss particle physics research center, but the
development of simple-to-use Web browsers made the Web accessible to "ordinary"
computer users as well. The Web is a hypertext system: a dynamic database of
information that enables the linking of Web pages in any way. People can easily
navigate this hypertext system using web browsers such as Chrome, Internet
Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.

Two characteristics contributed to the Web's evolution into a global tool for
information exchange. To begin, it is a decentralized system. Without the permission
of a central authority, an individual or organization can add new information to the
Web. Second, each Web object has a unique address. By referencing another
object's address, any object can establish a link to another object. The address of a
Web object is referred to as a URL (uniform resource locator).

The Rise of the App

Individuals are spending increasing amounts of time on smartphones and tablets and
decreasing amounts of time on laptops and desktop computers. Utilizing Web
browsers on mobile devices can be inconvenient, which is why businesses are
developing mobile apps: software programs that are downloaded and installed on
mobile devices. While some mobile apps operate independently, others connect to
the Internet, enabling users to download and upload data. Mobile apps are becoming
an increasingly popular method of Internet access due to their ability to optimize the
use of a mobile device's resources (limited screen size, touch interface, etc.).

How We Use the Internet

With the advent of intuitive Web browsers and mobile applications, the Internet has
become accessible to individuals with little or no formal computer training. Millions of
people use the Internet for a variety of purposes these days. The following are a few
examples of how people use the Internet.

1. We shop.
2. We socialize.

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 3. We contribute content.
4. We blog.
5. We help each other avoid traffic jams.
6. We learn.
7. We explore our roots.
8. We enter virtual worlds.
9. We control the Internet of Things.
10. We take humanitarian action.

Censorship

Censorship is the practice of attempting to prohibit or restrict public access to

material deemed offensive or harmful. Historically, governments and religious
institutions have exercised the majority of censorship. For instance, the Roman
censors exiled poets Ovid and Juvenal for their works. Throughout the Middle Ages,
the Inquisition prohibited the publication of numerous books, including Galileo
Galilei's work.

With the invention of the printing press, censorship became a much more
complicated issue. The printing press ended governments and religious institutions'
virtual monopoly on material distribution to a large audience, and the increase in
printed material resulted in an increase in the number of literate people. For the first
time, private individuals had the ability to broadcast their ideas to a large audience.

The gradual separation of church and state in Western democracies left the
government as the sole institution responsible for censorship. Religious institutions
continue to play a significant role in determining what material should be accessible
to the public in other parts of the world, such as the Middle East.

Challenges Posed by the Internet

Five characteristics of the Internet make censorship more difficult:
1. Unlike traditional one-to-many broadcast media, the Internet supports
many-to-many communications.
While it is relatively easy for a government to shut down a newspaper or radio
station, it is exceedingly difficult for a government to prevent an idea from
being published on the Internet, where millions of people can create Web
pages.
2. The Internet is dynamic.
Millions of new computers are being connected to the Internet each year.
3. The Internet is huge.

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 A team of human censors simply cannot keep track of everything that is
posted on the Web. While automated tools are available, they are not
impervious to human error. As a result, no attempt to control access to
material stored on the Internet can be guaranteed to be completely effective.

4. The Internet is global.

National governments have limited authority to restrict activities happening
outside their borders.
5. It is hard to distinguish between children and adults on the Internet.
How can an “adult” Web site verify the age of someone attempting to enter
the site?

Cyber Utopianism and Cyber-Dystopia

Cyber-utopianism – he belief that online communication is emancipatory in

and of itself – and that the Internet favors the oppressed over the oppressor – has
accompanied the Internet since its inception, and was criticized by the Critical Art
Ensemble as early as 1995. Utopians argue that cyberspace will facilitate
communication on both political and non-political levels. The utopian position
frequently argues that the communicative action that emerges as a result of this
interaction can help limit the market's subversion of deliberative democracy.

While the Internet undoubtedly has an impact on society, it does not herald the
dawn of a new era in human history. It is absurd to compare it to the industrial
revolution, which displaced nearly everyone from the farm and deposited them in a
radically altered urban environment. The "digital divide" is significantly easier to
bridge than the divide between city and country in a society without telephones,
televisions, or automobiles. If, on the other hand, the predictions are implausible, the
humanist defense is superfluous.

The Internet can host a wide variety of social activities, as computer networking
enables group communication across a range of topics, from work to education to
hobby exchanges and the search for dating partners. These social interactions take
place in word-based virtual worlds. The Internet's "written world" appears to be a
place where humans and machines coexist peacefully.

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 Technical communities have been able to use the Internet to coordinate their
demands for a more comprehensive representation of their interests. The new online
politics has expanded the public sphere to include previously regarded as neutral
issues that were left to experts to decide without consultation. This has resulted in
the creation of a social and technical environment conducive to the recovery of
agency in the traditional domain of politics, despite the Internet's increasingly
centralized organization.

In contrast to the utopian perspective, which is concerned with the effects of

the Internet on society, the dystopian perspective is concerned with the phenomenon
of experience. Rather than viewing the Internet as a tool, the dystopian perspective
emphasizes the medium's potential to affect communication in such a way that it may
adversely affect communication practices and spaces. David Nye introduced the
concept of cyber-dystopia in August 2007, which envisions a world made worse by
technological advancements. Cyber-dystopias are based on the premise that the
individual loses control, becomes dependent, and is powerless to halt change. Nye
envisions a society in which the elite use technology to oppress and control large
populations. Additionally, he portrays technology as a source of false hope,
promising success and change but resulting in pain and inconvenience when those
goals are not achieved.

The dystopian argument asserts that democracy erodes as society's social

fabric fragments and people become increasingly isolated from one another. Along
with the breakdown of strong bonds between society's members, many critics agree
that the Internet will stifle connections between central and peripheral actors.
Participants at the center of an information-based communicative structure will be
less connected than ever before.

Today's Internet is no less replete with dystopian interpretations. Both privacy

and content on the Internet have long been a source of social concern, serving as the
focal points of two of the most heated debates about the potential negative
consequences of this communication technology. There are numerous stories about
cyberlurkers and the theft of personal information via the Internet. Internet users from
all sectors of society face content-related concerns. At a recent conference, for
example, an academic argued that, given the amount of indecent information and
cybersmut on the Internet, it was debatable whether the Internet should be used for

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the publication or distribution of scholarly work. Similarly, the popular media have
recognized the Internet's dystopian aspects.
Whether or not one views the Internet and all of its technological
accoutrements as a panacea for democratic problems, the truth about the Internet's
capabilities, like most truth, lies somewhere in between these utopian and dystopian
interpretations. To grasp this technology's impact on society realistically, we must
acknowledge the extreme readings of its effects for what they are: the result of a
cultural lag between the spread of the Internet and the technology's adoption.
ASSESSMENT

Creative Work: Create an infographic revealing the impact of the internet to your life,
your family and environment in an A4 bond paper. Provide a brief explanation of your
output. 

Agree or Disagree: Is Google making us stupid or smart? Support your answer.

Write it in a whole sheet of paper.

LESSON 2: MEDIA ACCELERATION AND INFORMATION OVERLOAD

INTRODUCTION

While the Information Age has benefited commerce, entertainment, work,

communication, and education, it has also had serious negative consequences,
including pornography, opportunities for hate groups to grow, sexual predators, and
cyber bullies. However, for the average citizen, too much of a good thing is not
always beneficial. Due to the vast amount of heterogeneous information available on
the Internet, this medium may present difficulties for users. The difficulty of evaluating
and selecting relevant information increases as the variety of sources and content
available increases. As a result, information overload (IO) may occur. It has infiltrated
our lives and is amplified exponentially when we are forced to sift through dizzying
amounts of data in order to make simple daily decisions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Understand the relationship of the usage of social networking sites (SNS),
information overload, depressive symptoms, and well-being.
2. Identify examples and reasons of oversharing.
3. Discuss the relationship of media acceleration and information overload.
4. Identify effective strategies of dealing with information overload.

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LESSON PROPER

Adolescents described both positive and negative uses of social media in the
journal of adolescence. Positive uses included looking for positive content (e.g., for
entertainment, humor, or content creation) or connecting with others. Negative uses
included sharing risky behaviors, cyberbullying, and comparing oneself to others.
Adolescents elaborated on three distinct types of use, including "oversharing"
(frequent updates or sharing excessive personal information), "stressed posting"
(sharing negative updates with a social network), and encountering "triggering posts”
(Radovic et al., 2017).

Mobile social networking sites (SNS) are frequently blamed for perceived
information overload, which has been shown to have a detrimental effect on an
individual's well-being. According to research, the following findings demonstrated
the cumulative effects of mobile SNS use, information overload, depressive
symptoms, and well-being (Matthes et al., 2020).

1. YouTube use increased perceived information overload over time.

2. WhatsApp and Snapchat use only increased information overload for older
adults.
3. Facebook as well as Instagram use were unrelated to information overload.
4. Information overload was significantly related to depressive symptoms over time.
5. Depressive symptoms decreased overall well-being over time.

In many ways social media does connect people-which overall is a good thing.
It helps connect old friends, helps inform and gives sense of human connection when
one is alone. It has given exposure for personalities who were surprisingly
discovered by the whole world such as the famous “Carrot Man”, “Cabbage Man” and
“Miss Everything”. Facebook Events allow consumers to make a movement in a
quick and transparent way. Facebook Live can show an event or happening via live
streaming video to the social media user’s network. While this technology is amazing
and does bring people together, there have been some unanticipated occurrences
with live streaming. Most notably, Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando
Castile who was fatally shot by police in 2016, posted a Facebook Live video
showing the social media world a glimpse of the effects of the tragedy on a
community and their loved ones. Of course, an argument can be made that this

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exposure made possible by live video and social media can help bring awareness to
some important social problems.

Social media is a very useful tool. However, it, like every other tool people use
in life, has its own set of risks. The dangers posed by the information people post and
obtain on social media deserve special attention.
When someone disclose too much personal information with the public or a
stranger, they are said to be oversharing. It can happen online as well as offline. It is,
however, a significant issue on social media platforms, which make "posting yourself
online" simple.

Examples of Oversharing

People overshare on social media in various ways. Here are a few examples:
 Posting intimate details about your relationships, friendships, family
matters, or personal drama.
 Using social media as a soapbox or a way to vent your emotions.
 Posting photos or videos of things meant to be private.
 Posting embarrassing photos or videos of yourself or others.
 Regularly posting your meals.
 "Checking In" to everywhere you go.
 Posting about whatever you are doing at a given moment, multiple
times a day.
 Sharing too much info about and photos of your children.

Why Do We Share Too Much?

For starters, excessive use of social media can lead to oversharing. Here are a few
more reasons why people may overshare on the internet:

1. It is encouraged by social media.

Social media sites invite users to share everything about their personal lives. With
the press of a button, you can submit a status update, a photo, an event, or a "check-
in." Unfortunately, this can lead to FOMO, or fear of missing out, an uncomfortable
emotion. FOMO is a lingering feeling that other people are doing things without you,
or that things are going by without you.

Other people's lives on social media profiles can give the idea that their lives are so
much better than ours. After all, we can peer into their lives in ways we couldn't
previously. People may check on and look at other people's vacation images, then
wonder why their lives are so monotonous. As a result, they may feel insecure about

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their own life. They may feel compelled to post their own "highlights" whenever
possible in order to outdo their friends and appear "interesting."

2. To Let Go Of Negative Emotions And Stress

We've probably all seen someone's angry Facebook tirade at some point. It can be
tempting to "spread your bad laundry" on social media because it provides everyone
a voice and a place to express it. That temptation did not exist before to the internet.

3. To Get Rid of Their Anger

"Oversharing is fostered by our fears," according to this Huffington Post article. We

are overly concerned with what others think of us and try to compensate for what we
believe others are judging us for. As a result, some people share far too much
information.

4. To Attract Attention

Many people aspire to get their 15 minutes of celebrity. Getting likes, comments, and
shares, as well as that extra push of attention, might make them feel famous. This
might lead to a desire to share items that they know will attract attention, even if they
are "too much."

Aaron Elliott listed six particular risks that can happen to anyone because of the
information they post on social networks.

1. Social Engineering

It is the skill of persuading someone to provide sensitive information. The types of

information these criminals seek can vary, but when you're targeted, they're usually
trying to trick you into giving them your passwords or bank information, or into
gaining access to your computer so they can secretly install malicious software that
gives them access to your passwords and bank information as well as control over
your computer. It can happen even if thieves have only the most basic information
available to them through social media. However, the more information people share
about themselves on the internet, the more well-crafted social engineering schemes
will become. (Webroot)

2. Identify Theft

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It is the intentional use of another person's identity, usually to gain a financial
advantage or obtain credit and other benefits in the other person's name, and often
to the prejudice or loss of the other person. (Wikipedia)

3. Cyber Bullying

It's also known as cyber harassment, and it's a type of bullying or harassment that
takes place via the internet. As the digital environment has grown and technology
has evolved, it has become more widespread, particularly among youth. Bullies might
utilize what people write on social media to further their schemes.

4. Damaged reputation

It's possible that posting content about drinking, illegal substances, or profanity will
harm your reputation. These can not only harm your reputation, but they can also
deter recruits.

5. Targeted Ads

Targeted advertising is a type of advertising that is directed towards audiences with

specific characteristics depending on the product or person the marketer is
promoting, including online. Preferences that are posted and listed may result in
targeted advertisements. (Wikipedia)

6. Real-world Threats
Posting upcoming activities on social media could expose you to real-world risks
such as burglary or stalking.

How to Avoid Oversharing?

Oversharing has the potential to become a dangerous habit. It is, nevertheless,
rather straightforward to break that habit. Here are a few pointers on how to avoid it.

1. Do not post if you are enraged.

Anger can cause you to speak things you wouldn't normally say. It can cause you to
lose focus on what you're saying. Angry posts could also transmit a message that
you didn't intend to send.

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2. Pick and choose.

Take some time to consider whether sharing something on social media is actually a
smart idea. When it comes to sharing information on social media, use your best
judgment. Determine whether posting it is too intimate, private, or contentious. Also,
consider whether this information could be used against you.

3. Keep in Mind That Social Media Is Not Your Life...

Or, for that matter, anyone else's

Social media is a valuable resource. But be wary of allowing it to take over your life.
You shouldn't feel obligated to "prove" yourself on social media. In actual life, most
individuals aren't as concerned with other people's personal lives as the internet
would have you believe. Social media does not provide a complete view of other
people's life. It's more of a highlight reel than anything else. Rather than living
vicariously through these websites, call your friends or family and spend some time
with them.

4. Take a break for a while.

Finally, if you believe that these sites are impacting your mental health, try
"disconnecting" from the internet for a bit and doing something else.

Information Overload and Coping Strategies

The majority of social media platforms do not encourage significant, timely debate.
They fixate myopically on the information of the moment—the news—and inundate
their customers with irrelevant data, robbing them of the time they need to think and
create important, nuanced opinions.

The majority of news is sent in the form of chronological feeds. Current news is
published on a regular basis by newspapers, periodicals, and journals. The news is
carried live on television and radio as it happens. Trending topics are listed on
websites like Reddit and Twitter, while Facebook feeds display your friends' updates
in real time.

Because there is simply too much information to digest at any given time, we must
compartmentalize information through feeds. The rate at which people consume
news has accelerated in tandem with the pace of news. News feeds sift through the
clutter, bringing together the most significant information from around the world.

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Despite this, according to a Pew poll, no single news audience is up to date on
current events.

Students and other people have a difficult time dealing with information overload.
There is simply a tremendous amount of data involved in many tasks and daily
activities. It can feel impossible to stay on top of things at times. The ideas below can
help you manage your overload by simplifying what comes your way and offering you
strategies for dealing with the rest.

Information Overload Coping Strategies

1. News Avoidance
2. Reducing the Number of Information Sources
3. Reducing Information Volume
4. Filtering News Information Based on Relevance
5. Filtering Based on Privacy Concerns
6. Source and Content Personalization and Customization 
7. Selecting “pull” over “push” media and topics\
8. Relying on socially curated information
9. Categorizing and sorting news topics, sources and channels
10. Seeking independence from, institutional media
ASSESSMENT

Experiential Task. Are you a netizen? How often do you engage yourself in social
media? Below are some social media sites that people most frequently visit (Pew
Research Center, 2015). Answer the following questions based on your
understanding (and your usage experience) of these sites. Write your answer in a
separate sheet of paper.

Facebook Twitter Instagram

How often do you use the site? 

Always-7days/week; Most of the time-4-6/days; Sometimes-1-3days/week; Never

Who do  you think are using these
social sites?

What information does the site give

you?

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 What does it do?

Reflection Paper: Think of 5 HOT action words that will reflect on how you should
handle the information you send and receive over the internet. Define each word
operationally and reflect how it is applicable to you.

LESSON 3: INTERNET ADDICTION AND ISOLATION

INTRODUCTION

The internet is defined as “a system architecture that has revolutionized

communications and methods of commerce by allowing various computer networks
around the world to interconnect” (Kahn & Dennis, 2020).  It developed in the 1970s
at the United States. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that it became visible to the
public. This year (2020), an estimate of 4.5 billion people who have access to the
internet has been listed. It has transformed from being a ‘want’ to becoming one of
the necessities for daily living. However, even if the internet has provided ease and
connected people through the web, it still has its own pros and cons. Addiction and
isolation is one disadvantage the people have to be wary of and thus it is deemed
important to be discussed in this Module.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Identify the different categories of internet addiction;

2. Determine causes of internet addiction and isolation;

3. Illustrate understanding in preventing antisocial internet behavior

LESSON PROPER

Internet Addiction

According to Hartney (2020), researchers have already formulated the

diagnostic criteria of internet addiction but it is not yet an officially recognized mental
disorder. There are at least three types of internet addiction specified by Hartney

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such as: 1)video game addiction; 2) cybersex or online sex addiction; and 3) online
gambling addiction.

1. Video Game Addiction

 It is a compulsive or uncontrolled use of video games, in a way that
causes problems in other areas of the person’s life.
 It is often considered as a form of computer addiction or internet
addiction and has been an increasing concern for parents because it
has become a commonplace and are usually targeted at children.
 It includes computer games, console games, arcade machine games,
and even cell phone, including advanced calculator games.
 It can be embedded in social networking sites, such as Facebook and
Google.
 One can be said to have a video game addiction if one has spent a
considerable amount of time in video gaming and if it takes over as
the person’s main way of coping with life, foregoing and neglecting
other important areas of life.

2. Cybersex or Online Sex Addiction

 It describes a group of activities that has one critical thing in common
– taking place over the internet or another electronic work. 
 Simply saying, it is fundamentally virtual and does not involve person-
to-person physical contact.
 It can be an activity for one, two, or even more, and can be anything
from sending a sexy text to exploring the use of sex toys.
 Although the interaction is purely virtual and has no risk of transmitting
STDs, one must note and should be aware of the possible loss of
privacy if the materials they share are passed on to others. Cybersex
can lead a person to have online scandals which can possibly infuse
loss of self-confidence and to some extent, depression. Furthermore,
it is important to be aware of any local laws that may be relevant to
cybersex activities. 

3. Online Gambling Addiction

 In order to fully understand the meaning of online gambling addiction,
let us first determine the meaning of problem gambling. 

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  Problem gambling involves the continued involvement in gambling
activities, despite the negative consequences. It is any gambling that
disrupts your life. If one is preoccupied with gambling, spending more
and more time and money on gambling, or gambling despite having
serious consequences, then that person has gambling problems or is
involved with problem gambling.
 Gambling addiction is then an impulse-control disorder in which
victims cannot control the impulse to gamble despite the fact that it is
causing problems in their lives, including the lives of their loved ones. 
 All gambling addicts are problem gamblers, although not all problem
gamblers have gambling addiction.
 Many things contribute to gambling addiction including but is not
limited to biological, genetic, and environmental factors.
 Although this is defined in general, online gambling addiction happens
when the person is gambling online or through the use of the internet.
The same gambling characteristics and behaviour patterns can be
seen on a general gambling addict as well as an online gambling
addict.

Categories of Internet Addiction

Another author, Hing Keung Ma (2011), categorized internet addiction into five
different categories such as:
1. Cybersexual Addiction – the addicts spend a lot of time on adult websites
for cybersex and porn.
2. Cyber-relationship Addiction – the addicts involve themselves heavily in
online relationships.
3. Net Compulsions – the addicts exhibit obsessive gambling and shopping,
also called as compulsive online gamblers and shopaholics.
4. Information Overload – the addicts display compulsive web surfing and
database searches.
5. Computer Game Addiction – the addicts are obsessive online game
players. 

Symptoms (Hartney 2020)

1. Excessive Use of the Internet 

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 2. Withdrawal – too much dependence on the internet that shows anger, tension
and depression when internet is not available
3. Tolerance- wanting and needing more and more computer-related stimulation
4. Negative Repercussions – (e.g. social interaction suffers, academics suffer,
sleep deprivation)

Characteristics of Internet Addicts (Hing 2011)

1. Excessive Use of the Internet – spends more than triple number of hours in
internet use compared to non-internet use
2. Obsessive Thoughts About the Internet- preoccupied with the internet (thinks
previous online activity and anticipates next online session)
3. Pleasant Feeling in Internet Use – having a lot of fun by using internet
4. Tolerance – needs to use the internet with increased amount of time in order
to achieve satisfaction
5. Diminished Impulse Control – tends to lose control of own behaviour (e.g.
unable to cut back or stop internet use)
6. Withdrawal – refers to unpleasant feelings when the internet is being stopped
or cut down.
7. Impact on Daily Life – sometimes risk loss of significant relationships,
educational or career opportunities because of the internet
8. Parental and Family Interactions – spends less time with parents and other
family members.
9. Friendship and Romantic Relationships – less friends and romantic
relationships
10. Health Problems – less healthy and less willing to seek medical attention
11. Academic Performance – grades negatively related to internet use
12. Lonely Character

Internet Isolation

Addiction can bring about isolation – being disconnected to the real world due
to internet addiction. This makes a person antisocial and might cause delinquent
internet use. Hing (2011) lists major antisocial and delinquent behaviour of
adolescents such as: 1) general deviance (theft, alcohol use, cheating on exams, and
coming to school late; 2) drug use; 3) defying parents; 4) antisocial acts against one’s
teachers or school authority; 5) socially undesirable sexual activities; and 6)
aggressive or hostile acts (bullying and fist fighting). These six listed antisocial

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behaviour are the ones adolescents do in the real world. The following then are
regarded as antisocial internet behaviour:

1. Illegal Downloading – downloading film, music or video clips without

permission
2. Pornographic or Aggressive Information – obtaining pornographic,
obscene, or aggressive materials through the internet
3. Cyberbullying – use of internet to bully others especially in social media
4. Cheating Behavior – use of internet cheat others
5. Online Gambling – gambling online or taking part in online casinos
(includes online poker, online sports betting, online lotteries, and online
bingo)

The antisocial behaviour of adolescents online and offline are both serious
matters that need to be attended to. Although online antisocial behaviour is virtual,
the impact on adolescents is real and affects them physically and emotionally. This
brings online/internet isolation to a serious note and must be dealt not only virtually
but also behaviourally. 
Prevention of Antisocial Internet Use
1. Self-respect or self-esteem
2. Respect for others
3. Social and civil responsibility
4. Global responsibility and world citizenship
5. Self-efficacy
6. Time management
7. Self-discipline or self-control
SUGGESTED READINGS

1. LaRose, R., Lin, C.A. & Eastin, M.S. (2003). Unregulated Internet Usage:
Addiction, habit, or deficient self-regulation?. Media Psychology, 5(3), 225-
253.
2. Kim, J., LaRose, R.,& Peng, W. (2009). Loneliness as the cause and effect of
problematic internet usage: The relationship between internet use and
psychological well-being. Cyberpsychology & behaviour, 12(4), 451-455.

ASSESSMENT

Illustrative Conception: 

In a separate sheet of paper, do the following:

1. Using a Venn diagram, compare and contrast the characteristics/categories of
internet addiction according to Hartney and Hing.

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 2. Choose one concept from the lesson and explain your understanding of the
chosen concept in no less than 100 (own) words. 

Self- Evaluation and Creation:

Think of an object that would best represent yourself and your internet behaviour.
Print a picture of that object and paste it in a paper. At the back of the paper provide
description as to why that object represents your internet behaviour. Furthermore,
include interventions that you would most likely use to balance your internet
behaviour.

LESSON 4: SELECTIVE EXPOSURE AND POLITICAL POLARIZATION

INTRODUCTION

The internet has introduced us to different websites as well as social media

platforms that show different topics, perspectives, and situations. Social media
platforms which are most known to the world include Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter. Google, which is one of the most common search engines, may also provide
an individual limitless information depending on how well an individual extracts this
information. As these social media platforms are currently on the rise, people using
the internet highly rely on these for information acquisition as well as information
dissemination. However, since these platforms are easy to use and publicly
available, some individuals use it to create false information which can produce a bad
impact to the public. An example of such impact would be political polarization.
Selective exposure theory is one of the theories that is believed to explain the belief
or inclination of a certain person to a certain information or in some cases, political
polarization.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Define selective exposure and political polarization

2. Explain the relationship between selective exposure and political polarization

LESSON PROPER

Selective Exposure
 is a psychological theory, which is usually used in media and communication,
that refers to one’s tendency to favour information that reinforces the

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 individual’s pre-existing views while avoiding other information that is in
contradiction of one’s own. It is also called “confirmation bias.”
Political Polarization
 Polarization happens when people become divided into contrasting groups. It
usually refers to how people think, especially when two views emerge that
drive people apart, like two opposing magnets.
 Political polarization then refers to diverging political attitudes to ideological
extremes. The most concrete example for this is the vast and growing gap
between the liberals and conservatives or Republicans and Democrats (A
defined American feature). 

Role of Social Media in Selective Exposure and Political Polarization

In order to understand the role of social media in selective exposure and

political polarization, please read the excerpt in the following page.

___________________________________________________________________

The Success of Socializing the News

Recognizing the extent to which people enjoy sharing news content,

social media services developed technology designed to make it as easy as
possible to endorse news content. Today these sharing services are deeply
integrated into most major news websites— endorsing a story on aggregators
like Reddit, Tumblr, and Digg, or on social networking sites like Facebook,
LinkedIn, and/or Twitter is now as simple as clicking a prominently displayed
icon accompanying a news story (see NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com,
FoxNews.com, Google News, and nearly every U.S. newspaper publisher
website). Users of social media aggregation websites and mobile applications
can see a list of items sorted by aggregated recommendations, while users of
social networking sites see these stories as status updates from their
contacts, all as part of the basic design of these platforms.

There is substantial evidence that this strategy of attracting users via

social media is succeeding. A 2011 study analyzing Neilsen data found that
Facebook was the fastest growing source of referrals to major news websites,
while news aggregators account for an even larger share (Pew, 2011a).
Furthermore, this trend seems likely to continue: Television and print media’s
role in conveying news is declining in favor of online/mobile media, and the
internet now constitutes the main source of news for a majority of Americans

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 who are under 50 (Pew, 2011b). With more than 800 million active users, of
whom 200 million are American (Facebook, 2011), sharing over 25 billion web
articles each month (Facebook, 2010), the relationship between social media
and news consumption must now be considered to be a fundamental part of
our media environment.

How Social Media Shape the Media Environment

Social media shape the modern media landscape in two ways. First,
because these websites and mobile applications display content from
different news providers in a single location, users no longer need to select a
news source; instead they select the story itself. This represents a
fundamental break from past modes of news consumption wherein people
habituated themselves to a trusted source—instead social media users can
select news from a wide range of sources deemed by friends or fellow
internet users to be interesting or important. This suggests that habitual de
facto selective exposure (Sears & Freeman, 1967) will be substantially less
common in the context of social media.

Second, these developments allow people to utilize endorsements to

assist in their selection of content even when they visit a traditional news
source website directly because social recommendations also appear on the
story’s originating website. Nearly every news provider features a list of
aggregated story popularity (the “Most Emailed” or “Most Read” lists) on its
home page, and these lists are even more prominent in smartphone
applications. Furthermore, these organizations now embed stories
recommended by a user’s Facebook friends directly in homepage of the
originating website. This enhances the ability of individuals to select socially
relevant content when presented with an overwhelming number of news
stories from which to choose (there are usually over 200 links on the
NYTimes.com homepage). 

(Source: Messing, S., & Westwood, S.J. (2014). Selective exposure in the
age of social media: Endorsements trump partisan source of affiliation when
selecting news online. Communication research, 41(8), 1042-1063.)

 ___________________________________________________________________

The excerpt proves that there is a great impact of social media in

political polarization. Unlike in the old days, most avenues for news and other

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 articles can now be found in the social media (e.g. facebook, instagram,
twitter, and other websites). However, in order to gather more views and
subscribers, some media personnel are sensationalizing their articles which
(most of the time) results in misleading statements and misleading
understanding of the reader. The public, especially those that practice
selective exposure, is then driven to become part of the political polarization.
“Fanatics” and “non-fanatics” sometimes lose their rational thinking and are
driven by their own bias which then creates conflict between the two opposing
sides. This is the danger of selective exposure especially that the social
media nowadays can be full of internet trolls that might feed wrong
information to its readers. It is then advised to exercise utmost caution and
rationality in reading online articles and be wary of “fake news” as the internet
can be flooded with those. One must make sure to extract information from
reliable social media avenues to prevent “confirmation bias.”

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Knobloch-Westerwick, S., & Johnson, B. K.(2014). Selective exposure for
better or for worse: Its mediating role for online news’ impact on political
participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(2), 184-196.

ASSESSMENT

Where Do You Stand?: Create a reaction paper in no less than 500 words
explaining how selective exposure and political polarization was reflected during the
Covid-19 crisis in the Philippines. Write this in a one whole sheet of paper.

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