All the questions…

One of the things we did this week was come up with questions about the Internet. Below I’ve pulled together most, if not all, of them. If people tagged their posts correctly, finding their questions was fairly easy. That’s one of the powers of tagging posts.

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_(comics)

It’s quite a list. There are questions of control, dependence, privacy, the future, positive and negative aspects. There are questions that are introspective and those that are speculative. And there is so much we could do with them. That first question has all sorts of storytelling possibilities. Questions about the future are wide open. How much philosophical discourse could the question, “Are we really free on the internet?” generate? We can use this list for ideas and inspiration throughout the semester.  We can go in many different directions, and still find many intersections. I like the possibilities. I like that the class can take it in directions that I may not have considered.

The list starts with a question of history, and contains several about the future. These align with an idea I had to look the development and growth and think about where it will go. The reading I’ve put out there come from this. History, and by extension, the future, interest me, but not everyone cares about it, so I’m glad to have the class’s ideas in the mix. Those who want to steer in different directions can do so, and those who want to go along for ride can hop aboard any bus they choose.

The list:

• How would historical figures react to the Internet?
• Does the Internet change how we learn?
• What is the future of the Internet?
• Will the Internet ever become obsolete?
• How much of the internet do we have access to and how does this affect our sharing abilities?
• How has the internet come to consume our daily lives?
• Do you think people are too dependent on the internet?
• In what ways would removing the internet harm our economy?
• Has the internet taken a negative spin in the past few decades?
• Will the future of the internet include more restrictions due to the negative connotations it has?
• When it comes to Google and search in general, how much are we really losing by their control over results? What do we gain?
• As the web continues to expand over the world, a question comes to mind. If someone has never used the internet before (for example, most of sub-Saharan Africa), what is the best way to introduce them? How do we take someone who has never used this thing we’ve grown so accustomed to and give them an introduction?
• Is the fact that we can share our thoughts and feeling online a good or bad thing? Has social media ingrain itself into people’s everyday life and is that a good or a bad thing?
• Question 1: In what ways do you think people are too dependent on the Internet, if at all?
• Question 2: How has the world changed since all of the upgrades in technology over the past century?
• Question 1: What are some negative impacts, if any, the internet has had on society?
• Question 2: What is in store for the future of the web?
• 1. What is the future of the internet?
• 2. How do people own parts of the internet?
• What are the full capabilities of the internet?
• Why is the world wide web not world wide?
• As more and more personal data can be found on the internet, how will this affect social interaction (personal and professional) off the web?
• Will groups with extremist views and positions become more prominent due to how easy the internet makes it for like-minded people to find each other?
• But what is the next step for the internet? What will be the next “big thing”? Are there any limits on what is possible?
• How do you think the internet will change in the future? How will it continue to impact society? Do you think the internet will ever become obsolete, or will it evolve and expand into a new form? Some people hypothesize that we will eventually become one with the internet, leaving our physical bodies by uploading our consciousness to web servers. Do you think this is likely or even possible? How do you think the internet has already changed society? Are we better off?
• 1.Are we really free on the internet?
• 2.Why do you think people are okay with paying for things on the internet but not really owning it? is it because they are not educated about them not really owning what they think they really own, or do you think they just ignore it because there is nothing that can be done about it?
• Should there be an organization or body that overlooks and censors the Internet?
• What can you imagine the Internet will be like in the future?
• What will we do if the world did not have any Internet? Do you think it would be harder to communicate or not? Why?
• Is it even possible to de-centralize the Internet?
• How can the Internet be run in a way that is fair?
• Has the Internet become so intertwined with our daily lives that without it, we would be lost?