DARK SIDE

OF THE
INTERNET
PART 4
LIVING IN THE IT ERA
 o Differentiate the utopian and dystopian
views of the internet.

LEARNING o Determine the rate of progress of

acceleration in media and information.

OBJECTIVE o Define the causes and effects of

internet addiction and isolation.
o Distinguish the impact of selective
exposure on political polarization.
 A. UTOPIAN AND DYSTOPIAN VIEWS OF THE INTERNET

Throughout the year, the internet

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provide great service and help to researchers,

professors, students and whoever needs any
help of anything. But it also has its fare share
of issues and controversies and because of
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this, people have different opinions or views

about the internet. People tend to think of the
negative effects that it may posses through
the dystopian mentality.

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WHAT IS UTOPIA?
According to the Cambridge
Dictionary, Utopia is the idea of having a
perfect society in which everyone works
well each other and is happy. An idea or
thinking as utopian means that is to
Optimistic, Unrealistic and sort of
impossible utopian thinking of an
imagination of a perfect society mostly
applicable in government, politics, and
economic
 IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A UTOPIAN VIEWS

Utopianism plays an important role in

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influencing change one question to ask to get

in the utopian thinking is What should the
future be like? What should we want in life
one day? What should be the future like?. A
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humans mind is more powerful for what we

credit it for, Having a Utopian idea may seem
naïve for some, because of it being far from
reality but aren’t the latest technologies used
to be just a silly concept in the past year.

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 NEGATIVE EFFECT OF HAVING A UTOPIAN VIEWS OF
TECHNOLOGY
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Utopianism may be important for the

improvement of our way. It may posses great effects but
if it is not used carefully, it may become dangerous. It
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can lead to people to do whatever it takes into attaining

an almost possible goal.

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 WHAT IS DYSTOPIA?

An imagined world or society in

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which people lead wretched, dehumanized,

fearful lives. Dystopia is an imperfect
world, where everything goes the wrong
way. It shows the nightmare imagined
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world of having a doomed future filled with

rebellion, wars, oppression, corruption
disasters-the exact opposite of Utopia.
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

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UTOPIAN AND DYSTOPIAN VIEWS OF THE INTERNET
AND TECHNOLOGY
“ Jobs that were performed by humans are now
done by machines. Job are vanishing, huge
amount of people being unemployed because of
this. ”
 UTOPIAN AND DYSTOPIAN VIEWS
OF THE INTERNET AND
TECHNOLOGY
As time goes by, these numbers
will undeniable increase, artificial
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intelligence, augmented reality, virtual

reality, universal basic income, and
blockchain, these are advances in our
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technology that developers promised to

mold the future and solve the problems
the world has as of the present.
However, through the development of
these , the world is at risk of possibly
removing the sole purpose of humans.

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 • The utopian goal was to have a perfect mode of
communication and it became triumphant.
• On the other hand, with these utopian goals comes with a
dystopian fear things going awry that it could lead to a huge
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destruction.
• One of the bad effects internet has caused today is the
rampant spreading of fake news, and the use of different
accounts to fool other people.
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 TODAY, THE UTOPIAN JUSTIFIES THE
DYSTOPIAN EFFECTS AND IF WE LEARN
TO CONTROL AND PROPERLY USE IT,
THEN WE COULD LIVE IN A WORLD
WITHOUT THE FEAR OF THE WORLD'S
DESTRUCTION.
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ACTIVITY

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B. MEDIA ACCELERATION AND INFORMATION

What is Data Smog? (Information Overload)

Data Smog points out the staggering amount of
information and data, these data are usually acquired through
internet searches. The term data smog is connected to the
smog we experience through nature. The mixing of fictitious and
factual information online is compared to the mixing of fog and
smoke pollution, both of which make it hard to distinguish one
from the other. Overwhelming amount of data on almost every
possible topic can be favorable, but this continuous
bombardment of data can have negative effects without us even
noticing it.
 Here are several tips on how to avoid the negative
effect of data smog:
1. Go on "data fast."
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2. Try spending some time away from

communication devices, television,
and the internet.
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3. Make use of print media every once in a while.

4. Avoid sending or forwarding chain messages,
or any other useless information online.
5. Filter unwanted messages and/or emails.
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Media Acceleration in Sports Culture
The use of blogging vlogging, and social
networking sites especially Twitter, by
professional athletes, sports leagues, sports
teams, and sports fans, has increased
quickly and has been rampant over the
past few years.
 TWITTER
Twitter has been one of the most used
social media platform by the sports
community. Twitter is an arena where
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athletes could make their fans' day by

replying to them from time to time.
Where leagues post updates about the
latest games for people who were not
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able to watch them. Through this, we

can see barriers being broken when
athletes of different teams or even of
different sports "tweet" each other
online.
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 TWITTER
This displays that the sports
community can be united.
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Twitter has been an avenue for

athletes to promote their
brands, announce their recent
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activities, and to update us of

their own feelings which cannot
be seen in ordinary news or in
print media.

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 INSTAGRAM
Before, through Instagram, we can
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see athletes posting photographs

of their travels, games, their
family. It was already great
because fans can see what they
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have been up to recently. But

ever since the introduction of
Instagram stories where users can
upload a series of 15 seconds
long videos that will expire and be
gone after 24 hours.
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 BLOG
Blogging was introduced in the Philippines early 1995 and started to grow during
2012 as a revolutionized medium of communication, and probably influence
Philippine society.
Ten steps to blog:
1. Find out your forte in writing.
2. Analyze your competition.
3. Create a plan.
4. Develop your blog.
5. Publish evergreen and engaging content.
6. Optimize your content for search engines.
7. Promote your blog and content in social media.
8. Monitor and analyze your blog's performance.
9. Apply and implement available monetization schemes.
10. Continue blogging and wait for your earnings.
 VLOGGING
Vlogging also known as video
blogging requires
commitment, consistency to
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build a habit from audience

and set a series of videos
that follow an individual's
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daily life. The vlog lasts for

about 5 minutes to 15
minutes and vlogger uses
YouTube to consume longer
form, highly produced video
content. 25
 VLOGGING
The most popular vlogs are
full of cinematic footage,
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impressive editing engaging

characters, all of which
combine to tell interesting,
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enjoyable, and addictive

stories. It is important to note
the difference between
vlogging and other social
platform video content such
as Instagram or Snapchat 26
Stories.
C. INTERNET ADDICTION AND ISOLATION

What is internet addiction?

Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD)

is identified as an impulse control
disorder but without the involvement
of illegal drugs or alcohol. It is slightly
identical with gambling. The users
enjoy different things online, like
playing games, social media, and
even binge watching series and
movies.
 Types of Online Addiction
1. Games - include excessive amount of time online playing online and
gambling (like online poker). This is the type of addiction that is very
rampant nowadays, especially with the younger generation.
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2. Cyber Sexual and Cyber Relationships - include obsession with online

dating, watching pornography, and cybersex.

3. Social Networking - include the over usage of social networking sites

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like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. The user also feels the need to
constantly update his/her social media and to monitor different posts.

4. Net Compulsions - include addiction in online shopping or stock

trading. • Information - includes obsession with searching and collecting
different information.

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 Signs of Internet Addiction
1. Gradual increase of time with the use of Internet just to feel satisfied.
2. The user uses Internet to cope with negative feelings and bad mood.
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3. The user feels anxious, restless, irritable, or moody when they are not
able to go online.
4. The user is unable to minimize the use of Internet after multiple
attempts.
5. The user loses track of time when online.
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6. The user chooses to spend most of his/her time using the Internet
over other significant things in life like work, school, travel, relationships,
and other more.
7. The user is willing to sacrifice or to lose job, relationship, opportunities
to be able to go online.

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CAUSE OF INTERNET ADDICTION
1. The user who might be shy in real life may feel secured with the
feeling of anonymity when using the Internet.
2. The user turns to Internet use to escape from problems.
3. The user uses the virtual world to connect with people to
compensate their lack of ability in real life communication.
4. The feeling of having a quick access to everything persuades to
use the Internet more often than intended.
CAUSE OF INTERNET ADDICTION
The causes of internet addiction are
genetics, structural brain changes,
environmental factors, and underlying
mental health conditions which all play a
role in the development of the condition.
There is increasing evidence of biological
and genetic predispositions to addictive
behaviors around computers.
EFFECTS OF INTERNET ADDICTION
1. Family problems-the user does not spend time with his/her family
which leads to disagreements.
2. Mental health problems-creating another persona online may soon
lead to depression and anxiety if it is not used moderately.
3. Academic difficulty-significant decrease in the user's academic
records.
4. Financial issues-internet addiction can be costly especially with
online.
 5. Medical problems-spending too much time using the computer can
be the cause to complications in our health like severe headaches,
body aches, carpal tunnel syndrome, dry eyes, and eating
irregularities.
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6. Work complications- this leads the user to neglect office works that
may lead to losing the user's job.
7. Unhealthy sleeping habits-internet addiction makes the user lose
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track of time due to long durations or over use of the internet.

8. Socially awkward-frequent use of the internet takes away the time
that can be used to socialize and explore the world.

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EFFECTS OF INTERNET ADDICTION

"The effects of internet addiction can manifest in both

physical and emotional ways, including bad posture,
carpal tunnel syndrome, vision problems, damaged
personal relationships, and mental health concerns
such as anxiety and depression. The lack of
interpersonal interactions can take a huge toll on an
internet addict’s offline personal relationships."
HOW TO TREAT INTERNET ADDICTION
When it comes to mental health problems or psychological
problems, like Internet addiction, the very first thing that a person has
to do is to determine il there is a problem or what is the problem.
Secondly, the person has to accept that he/she really has a problem.
There are two ways to treat Internet addiction. First is self-
help, which be used if the person thinks that the problem is not that
serious, yet. If the user thinks that he/she can still handle and correct
themselves on their own. The second is professional treatment, this
involves a licensed psychologist or a councilor, who can help the
user in controlling their use of the internet.
 For the self-help treatment, these are several steps to help in treating internet
addiction:
1. Keep track of your daily internet use.
2. Look for other easy activities that can be used to replace the time of
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using the internet.

3. Think of reasons why you always end up using the internet too much.
4. If you feel restless when not using the internet, try different relaxation
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methods to center yourself.

5. Keep yourself busy doing other things.
6. If there is still no progress, start to consider asking for professional
help.

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PROFESSIONAL TREATMENT

One of the most common therapies is the Cognitive

Behavioral Therapy Treatment which includes the explanation the
explanation of the person's usage pattern. Then after analyzing the
usage pattern, they can give a strict schedule of the time limitation in
using the Internet. This can help in force altering the usage pattern
of the user. Support groups are also encouraged to help the user in
feeling motivated to improve. Residential Inpatient Internet Addiction
Treatment Centers also available. Having a healthy environment can
often help in speeding up progress and there are nurses or helpers
that can help supervising and guiding the user.
WHAT IS SOCIAL ISOLATION?

Social Isolation is the state

in which a person feels the lack of
ability in socializing. The person
also feels like he/she does not
belong. He/she also usually fails in
creating relationships with others
People who feel socially isolated
involuntarily prevent contact and
socialization between individuals
and the society.
 A person experiences social isolation if
he/she suffers from:

1. Shame and depression.

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2. Solitude
3. Social anxiety and fears of
abandonment.
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4. Lack in social contact

5. Relationship on social and
professional are limited.
6. Loneliness and distress.

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 Emotional Isolation
It is a state of unable and unwilling to share emotions
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with anyone.It occurs due to social isolation and isolated

emotionally because of social network.
Solitude, Isolation,and loneliness
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•Solitude means being alone

•Isolation means lack of support in social relationships
and emotion.
•Loneliness means longing for social contact.
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 Does Social
Media Cause
Isolation?
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Social media feel connected that replaces in-person in

fleeting online interactions substitute for more substantive
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conversation that increases access to meaningful relationships and

reduce isolation.
From 19 up to 32 years old found frequent social media
users and got the higher levels of perceived social isolation with
three times as likely to feel isolated as the least frequent users. The
use of social media as a result may be harmful or feel isolated.
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HOW SOCIAL MEDIA
CAUSE ISOLATION?
D. SELECTIVE EXPOSURE AND POLITICAL
POLARIZATION

In psychology and political

science, the terms "selective
exposure" and "political exposure"
refer to how people tend to seek out
and consume information and media
that supports their preexisting ideas
and attitudes.
 WHAT IS SELECTIVE
EXPOSURE?
Selective exposure is the psychological
phenomena where people prefer to
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intentionally avoid or ignore information that

conflicts with their preexisting ideas while
actively seeking out and paying attention to
information that does. It is a cognitive bias
that can result in confirmation bias, when
people tend to support their preexisting
opinions rather than contemplate alternate
viewpoints. Selective exposure has the
power to significantly influence how people
process information and make decisions.
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SELECTIVE EXPOSURE IN THE INTERNET AGE
With the rise of the internet, we tend to rely
deeply on it in everything that we do. Although
there are certain we have to follow to fully utilize
its use. It may not be noticeable but selective
parameters exposure takes place in our daily use
of the internet, especially on social media. With
500,000 new users a day in Facebook alone,
users go through thousands to millions of posts
each day. This is where we can positively use
the concept of selective exposure theory.
 There are negative and positive sides in
using selective exposure in the internet age. For
the negative side, readers should not avoid
information contradicting their current view.
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Instead, the reader should learn to read

information to educate themselves without the
need to change their opinions because
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selectively reading information that only coincides

with a reader's belief can cause for the reader
to miss out on important facts. For the positive
side, readers should learn what to believe or
what not to believe when reading information 46
 What is Political Polarization?
According to DiMaggio, Evans, Bryson (1996),
"Polarization is both a state and a process. Polarization as
a state refers to the extent to which opinions on an issue
are opposed in relation to some theoretical maximum.
Polarization as a process refers to the increase in such
opposition over time.”
So basically in politics, polarization refers to the
divided political outlook in ideological extremes. Middle
ground usually cannot be found in these cases but two
extremely contradicting opinions. There are two types of
political polarization: elite polarization and popular
polarization.
 Elite Polarization is the polarization within a
party. This happens when the party's views are
homogeneous. Political parties with elite polarization
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have a distinct or a particular point of view and are

more unified internally, and are habitually seen in a
parliamentary system of democratic governance.
Popular Polarization or sometimes called mass
polarization happens when majority of the people in a
party have a more heterogeneous view, principle. and
policies. Members are divided and usually become
less moderate in cases of political polarization.
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The Impact of Selective Exposure to Political
Polarization
According to Yonghwan (2013), citizen's selective exposure
to ideologically-slanted media outlets will lead to polarized attitudes
toward political candidates. Conservative Republicans consuming
more conservative media outlets were more likely to have
polarized attitudes toward presidential candidates.
The internet has become a significant aspect when it comes
to voting and other political issues. But do the readers really seek
for the better option or are they just selectively looking for
information that can strengthen their faith in these choices? This is
how selective exposure affects political polarization. People try to
prove the views as blinded they can be, which creates two very
contradicting oppositions that strongly reinforce political polarization.
THANK YOU!!!