A Few Broad Questions

Our posts have largely been about specific topics, but I would like to address three assumptions or questions that are part of the thread of many articles I have read about social media and ethics.

1) Is the abundance of blogs and free, user-generated content like Wikipedia threatening information, education and the role of 'professional' media and experts? Is this an age of  'copy and paste' instead of research and learn?

2) How far should companies and governments go to protect user data on the Internet, or is up to the individual?

3) Does piracy or even legal purchasing of art on the Internet threaten copyrights, artists, talent or industries?

Discuss.

Here are my thoughts.

1) No, most people understand that you cannot believe everything you hear on the web, and most people who read blogs or Wikipedia use it for entertainment, to get a handle on what ordinary people are saying, or to lead them in the direction of more reliable research sites. In my experience very few students at uni plagiarize, because it is easy to tell if a work is not yours, especially with Turnitin, and you won't really learn anything by cheating. Also, morals are not completely absent from people nowadays, nor is pride in one's work. There are places on the net where you can find reliable or academic articles you just have to be careful, and many people still use books and traditioanal media for information.

2) This is very important, especially when it comes to protecting children's rights. The govt has to establish regulations regarding online information gathering and security standards, especially for sites that store massive amounts of personal data. Social media sites should not be shut down however, as there are people wise enough to know how to use it.

3) No. While I am against piracy, I think figures about how much money piracy costs the economy assume that every item pirated equals to dollars lost. I think the reason why pirates rip off so many goods is that they CAN do it for FREE. They would not be willing to pay money for art. Even if you stopped piracy, all the former pirates would not suddenly start paying money for goods, they would find another scam. They were never potential customers. Legal purchasing of music, games or movies is a wholly positive thing in my opinion. It is cheaper than retail because we don't have to purchase the pre-packaged over-priced sets forced on us at retail, we can choose which individual music, games or movies to download at our convenience. Copyright is still protected, and artists make money. Artists can subvert the traditional talent scouts and producers, who in my opinion probably overlook a lot of talent. If traditional retail companies suffer, that is too bad, there are new companies making money and if a quality product is offered people may come back to retail somewhat.

Now let's hear your opinions.