Online Collab: the good, the bad, and the...

One of the biggest benefits in our world-wide online system is that we can connect with people, well, world-wide. There is a blog for everything. There are several online outlets that allow you to communicate with people with similar likes or even dislikes. These "communities" are a way for people to connect with other people whom you may never had met before if it hadn't been for the internet. But then there are the downsides. You can create whatever you want, say whatever you want, to whoever you want. Freedom of speech overboard? A little.

Places like Tumblr and Reddit are places that use hashtags to categorize and make the community a bit easier to navigate. For instance, on Tumblr if I want to find a blog dedicated to cats all I have to do

is type in the search bar, #cats, and about a million pictures will pop up relating to blogs that are dedicated to cats. To be a little bit broader, you can look up #politics or #savetheplanet and you can find blogs or pictures that coincide with what you are searching for.

This week we learned that "community" can have several different meanings. Generally speaking, the eating disorder community. While some of you could expect there are several motivational blogs helping those who are fighting eating disorders, but what I never expected was that some people were using blog type websites to relate to individuals that are living with eating disorders.

Reddit, as studied previously in class, had this issue with suicide prevention strings that though they were supposed to be used to help people who were suffering from suicidal tendencies, came to realize that online "trolls" would take advantage of the vulnerability and try to bring them down ever further. Eventually, Reddit gained slight control over the situation through medical professional and supervisors that would monitor the strings to make sure no one was creating more problems for those who were only seeking a friend in a time of need.

While I completely support the idea of people seeking a friend or just someone they can relate to in a time of need, I know better than to think the internet is reliable for such a thing at all times. With the good, there is always the bad. "Pro-ana" and "Pro-mia" blogs/websites are not exactly used solely through trying to find someone when help is needed, but also for finding someone you can relate to. Not implying people all of whom view these sites are happy or unhappy with their situation, I just only think that this is a gamble that people with such vulnerability should not risk taking. Tumblr is typically a website used to blog and be utilized as a place you can use free expression. No matter what you are expressing. Places like Tumblr have flagged tags such as "anorexia" and they do not allow pro-ana websites because they can be viewed as harmful to an individual. Which it might only be that they are trying to save themselves from a tricky lawsuit, it just goes to show how no one wants to be responsible if things were to go awry.

But, freedom of speech, and the internet is a sketchy place when it comes to reliability. You can't always believe everything you read online.