The article Cyber Predator is based on the dangers kids face everyday when surfing the internet. It makes a study of "cyber-predators" attempting to have sexual meetings with innocent minors. The author, Bryan Hensen, successfully convinces the audience that this is a very important issue that should be taken care of. He uses many tools such as examples, statistics and citations to build ethos, logos and even some pathos.
Examples are used throughout the whole article. Stories of young internet users being sexually harassed help the author establish some background that supports this issue and appeals to pathos by getting to the reader's feelings successfully. These kinds of examples are found very often, from the beginning until the end of the article. They also help specify the ways these predators work.
Statistics are used a few times. At first, a graphic of incident reports helps the reader to understand how big this problem is. The number of minors using the internet is also a way to convince the public of the magnitude of this issue. Then statistics about the average age of the victims (which is 13) also gets to the feelings of people because of the low age of these youngsters. Finally, statistics showing the measures people take against online pornography are presented. All of these help establish logos and credibility. They make clear the importance and magnitude of this issue, making a call for action.
Citations by experts are wisely used to build ethos, as this helps the author gain credibility and makes the argument more convincing. Experts of the area in the US are cited, explaining some of the ways this issue is being taken care of, but also giving reasons to understand why it is so hard to control this problem. Without these quotes, the article would lose a lot of credibility.
We can conclude this article is effectively addressing a real issue, with a big range of possible victims that has to be taken care of. The suggestions at the end of the text are useful, and the tools successfully appeal to logic, credibility and feelings to create a supporting response by the readers.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Summary of "Cyber-Predators"
The article “Cyber-Predators”, by Brian Hansen, centers its attention on online safety. More specifically, it talks about sexual child harassment on the Internet.
The author starts off by defining the problem and then he gives examples and cites some experts about it. After that he talks about the government measures against this and continues to explain how the dangers of online surfing have multiplied over the last 10 years. One example of measures taken by the government is the undercover agents who go online and get in chat rooms pretending to be kids to catch the “online predators”. He gives some statistics on number of children in the US using internet (by the date the article was posted) and also shows some statistics about kids who have been at least attempted to contact by these “predators”.
Examples and names of predators captured by the law are used very often throughout the text to show examples of how they work and are caught. Experts on the topic’s opinions are also cited, like US Custom Services spokesmen.
The article states how predators always cover by saying they’ve been entrapped, which is when they say undercover policemen made them do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, and it explains other ways they try to avoid the law.
The author continues to talk about predator attacks and people taking care of this and trying to entrap them, concluding with some suggestions to parents and kids who can be target of such attacks to end his article.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Comment on "Online Privacy"
The article "Online Privacy" is primarily based on the ways that modern-day websites and advertisers track our online activities to improve their advertising and knowledge of our information to better sell products. After reviewing the antecedents and many examples and opinions about it, the article focuses on the present measures being taken to aid this problem in the Congress.
The thesis successfully convinces the online users to believe their privacy is at risk and should be taken care of through the law. Throughout the article there are plenty of examples, statistics and credible sources and antecedents that explain how this privacy can affect us, the internet users. Opinions of privacy experts are found constantly, giving the article a lot of credibility. Ethos, Pathos and Logos are appeals found in the article, making it a very strong argument.
Statistics show opinions of internet users and how comfortable they feel about their privacy when websites adopt privacy policies or not, proving that older people cares the most about their online privacy. This appeals to logic. Examples appeal to credibility when citing experts from companies such as American Civil Liberties Union.
The article also takes care of counter arguments when citing social networking advocates and their pros of social networks. The author explains how while it is true that social networkers are aware that their information is being posted, they're not aware that this information is being used by advertisers and other websites under the table, which supports the thesis.
Suggestions are also useful in this article, like the tips to make your Facebook account safer, which comes in handy for the reader but also puts him on the same page as the author, identifying him with the issue.
Overall, this article gets to the point, states the issues and gives good suggestions to help to prevent this issue. I think the author did a really good job by doing all the research and writing this article. The author seems very reliable and it looks like he did a good research. Tools are well used, and the thesis is well supported throughout the article.
The thesis successfully convinces the online users to believe their privacy is at risk and should be taken care of through the law. Throughout the article there are plenty of examples, statistics and credible sources and antecedents that explain how this privacy can affect us, the internet users. Opinions of privacy experts are found constantly, giving the article a lot of credibility. Ethos, Pathos and Logos are appeals found in the article, making it a very strong argument.
Statistics show opinions of internet users and how comfortable they feel about their privacy when websites adopt privacy policies or not, proving that older people cares the most about their online privacy. This appeals to logic. Examples appeal to credibility when citing experts from companies such as American Civil Liberties Union.
The article also takes care of counter arguments when citing social networking advocates and their pros of social networks. The author explains how while it is true that social networkers are aware that their information is being posted, they're not aware that this information is being used by advertisers and other websites under the table, which supports the thesis.
Suggestions are also useful in this article, like the tips to make your Facebook account safer, which comes in handy for the reader but also puts him on the same page as the author, identifying him with the issue.
Overall, this article gets to the point, states the issues and gives good suggestions to help to prevent this issue. I think the author did a really good job by doing all the research and writing this article. The author seems very reliable and it looks like he did a good research. Tools are well used, and the thesis is well supported throughout the article.
10 Topos
1) Young Users of Online Social Networks usually don't understand the range of danger that giving personal information on these sites represents.
2) Some users of Online Social Networks develop addiction to these sites, wasting valuable time and even changing their personalities.
3) Antecedent and consequence: Kidnappings and sexual harassment have happened in these sites as a consequence of the amount of personal easy-to-access information found in them.
4) Division of whole into parts: Online social networks affect users in several ways: Addiction, Privacy issues, Safety and Cyberbullying.
5) Precedents: Online Social Network Facebook had to change privacy settings and make them stronger due to privacy charges put by users and companies.
6) Precedents: In suburban Dardenne Prairie, Mo., near St. Louis, 13-year-old Megan Meier hangs herself after receiving cruel messages on the social-networking site MySpace.
7) Authority: Experts say cyberbullying has become a scourge of the adolescent world, inflicting painful scars on youngsters and vexing adults unable to stop the abuse.
8) Statistics: About 9 percent of respondents ages 10 through 17 said they were victims of threats or other offensive behavior, not counting sexual solicitation, that was sent online to them or about them for others to see, according to a 2005 University of New Hampshire survey.
9) Antecedents and Consequence: Bachelorette party pictures on Facebook cost Spanish teacher Ginger D'Amico a 30-day suspension. This is a clear example of privacy loss.
10) Comparison by difference/Statistics: Older online social network users are least likely to take steps to limit information availability than young users according to previous research.
2) Some users of Online Social Networks develop addiction to these sites, wasting valuable time and even changing their personalities.
3) Antecedent and consequence: Kidnappings and sexual harassment have happened in these sites as a consequence of the amount of personal easy-to-access information found in them.
4) Division of whole into parts: Online social networks affect users in several ways: Addiction, Privacy issues, Safety and Cyberbullying.
5) Precedents: Online Social Network Facebook had to change privacy settings and make them stronger due to privacy charges put by users and companies.
6) Precedents: In suburban Dardenne Prairie, Mo., near St. Louis, 13-year-old Megan Meier hangs herself after receiving cruel messages on the social-networking site MySpace.
7) Authority: Experts say cyberbullying has become a scourge of the adolescent world, inflicting painful scars on youngsters and vexing adults unable to stop the abuse.
8) Statistics: About 9 percent of respondents ages 10 through 17 said they were victims of threats or other offensive behavior, not counting sexual solicitation, that was sent online to them or about them for others to see, according to a 2005 University of New Hampshire survey.
9) Antecedents and Consequence: Bachelorette party pictures on Facebook cost Spanish teacher Ginger D'Amico a 30-day suspension. This is a clear example of privacy loss.
10) Comparison by difference/Statistics: Older online social network users are least likely to take steps to limit information availability than young users according to previous research.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)