The Victorian Internet: War and Peace in the Global World

     I found this piece really interesting. I really enjoyed the second reading that we did titled "War and Peace in the Global World". To start, I think the first sentence that really caught my eye was "Congdon tells of one editor that refused a journalist's request to visit a nearby town to report on a speech saying, "somebody will send us something about it in two or three days." I found this part of the chapter funny mainly because as journalism students, we are taught the need to report on things in a timely manner and the importance of reporting breaking news events. I think it was funny to see the way how things have changed over time. Back then the telegraph changed the speed at which journalists were able to transfer information to the general public. Now, the speed at which news is spread is almost laughable. It gets to a point where it sometimes seems as though news isn't created, stories and events just seem to appear. It is weird to think at one time that people didn't hear of things until two to three weeks after they happened when today, if you don't hear about a breaking news story within a day you feel totally out of the loop.

     Another part of the article that I found interesting was when the author brought up the idea of who should be doing the reporting? They thought that telegraph operators should be doing the reporting, mainly because news was coming from all over the world and the only people quick enough to decode the messages were the telegraph operators. This makes me think of reporters and journalists today. In an age where anyone can spread information at the touch of a button, who in our society are real journalists or reporters? It makes you think that we live in a society of reporters although very few would actually call themselves that. I think that it is funny to see how far we have come from the age of putting out information so slowly that it was untimely to an age where we put out so much information so quickly that we can't seem to sort through to find the correct information.

Personal Connections in the Digital Age Response

     I think the part that stood out the most to me from this chapter was in the very beginning- I assume that is why I enjoyed the reading so much. In the first chapter, the author talks about some major questions that living in the digital age brings up. The first question that the author asks is "what do private and public mean?" For me, I don't think that I ever thought of the digital age in that way. Most people always assume that if you set your profile to private, it is just that, private. When in actuality, it can still be accessed through different loopholes. While I have always heard the saying "whatever you put on the Internet isn't private" I never thought how real it actually was. I also never considered how much the Internet and the digital age blurs the lines between both public and private.
   
     The author then goes on to speak about the idea of "reality". While I am aware that everything I read on the Internet cannot possibly be true and that people often make false identities, I never thought of that fake life transcending into the real world. The author explains the idea of "absent present" and how technology alienates people from the world around them. While they are immersed in the digital world, they are excluded from the real world. In the book the author says "Where is 'he'"? Which also helps relate back to the first point of luring the lines to two things that we think to be true.

     After reading this chapter, it makes me look at my digital life a little more closely. It makes me look into my relationships and how I communicate with people. I will be the first to admit that I am addicted to technology, I use it almost every waking moment of everyday. I will also be the first to admit that I know it is bad but I do see both the positives and negatives. Unfortunately today, we live in a world where everyone wants immediate gratification. We live in the now and we expect the answers to all of our problems to appear right when we need them. I really does make me look at what I think to be reality. When the author asked the question of "what is real" I thought I knew the answer. Looking back now, I am not as sure.