Analysis 5: Gaming and Hacking

Elizabeth Novotny

April 23, 2010

Media 280

Analysis 5:

Gaming and Hacking

In today’s world, we see different levels of access and understanding playing a large role in how technology is shaped and used.  Our relationship with gaming and hacking, for instance, says a lot about our modern-day connection with technology.  The relationship a user has with a technical functionality can result in many problems; however, in other cases, it can also be beneficial to society at large.

In the gaming culture, users are always finding ways to hack into systems and cheat.  I don’t believe this to be a big deal, but then again I don’t consider myself to be a gamer.  If I were a gamer then perhaps I would think differently.  Nonetheless, when I used to play video games I would often come across levels that I would find particularly difficult to beat.  When this would happen, I would look up cheats online in order to beat it.  I never thought it was a big deal because, after all, I knew I was only cheating myself.

I think it would be ridiculous if certain game services would go as far as banning players like me in order to eliminate this type of cheating.  Even with online games I still don’t think it’s that big a deal.  I think a lot of times (at least in my case) hacking into games is appealing to users because it is something that is against the rules of the game.  It’s like when someone tells you not to do something you always want to do it anyway.  Hacking into games also gives a person a feeling of empowerment and fulfils the concept of “beating the system.”  No one really benefits from cheating, and as long as no one is suffering either, I don’t think hacking into games is a big deal.  But again, I am not a gamer.

When users have little understanding of a technical functionality many problems can arise.  If a person does not know much about the technology he/she is using, than a person who does know about it can take advantage of the system.  This is where the idea of hacking into computer systems becomes an issue.  In the movie War Games, for instance, a teenager is able to change his grades after hacking into the school database.  Also, in the movie The Net, a computer hacker is able to erase a person’s entire identify.  Nonetheless, hacking into computer systems has also proved to be beneficial in some cases.  There have been times, for instance, where the government has used computer hacking as a means of finding out information in order to prevent events that could have perhaps been disastrous for the nation.

I think it is safe to say that the relationship people have with gaming and hacking says a lot about our cultural connection to technology.  In general, people are interested in technology and we aim to learn more about the technology we use.  That is why there are different levels of access and understanding that play a large role in how technology is shaped and used today.

Analysis 4

Elizabeth Novotny

March 9, 2010

Media 280

Analysis 4 

The relationship that exists between digital media and the society that operates within it is apparent in internet trolling.  An internet troll is defined as someone who posts anonymous messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the intent of provoking other users to enter an emotional state.  Basically, an internet troll tries to get other internet users angry because he/she will ultimately remain anonymous.  A website in particular that appears to have internet trolling is Formspring (http://www.formspring.com/).

Formspring is something I came across on Facebook.  I made reference to the website on my blog a few days after we spoke about internet trolling in class.  Just to reiterate, Formspring is a social media site that enables users to ask each other anonymous questions.  It was launched on November 25, 2009 and has become an early 2010 craze, simply because the site links to the ever popular Facebook and Twitter (which, again, is how I stumbled upon it).

In reference to Langdon Winner’s Do Artifacts Have Politics?, “[w]hat matters is not technology itself, but the social and economic system in which it is embedded.”  When talking about the politics of internet trolling, it is important to take into account not the actual form of harassment, but the way in which internet trolls anonymously harass people, and how those people react to such harassment.  Since trolling allows people to anonymously harass one another, an internet troll can literally say whatever he/she wants to without any repercussions.  The question is whether the person being harassed takes what is said to him/her seriously.  It has become evident that some people do take the harassment seriously while others do not.  To use a tragic example, on March 22, 2010, 17-year-old Alexis Pilkington from West Islip, NY committed suicide after dozens of insulting comments had been posted about her on Formspring in the days leading up to her suicide.

The only way in which internet trolling can be eliminated is if websites create user log-in accounts that are in some way connected to a person in “real-life.”  If this is done, then internet trolls would not be able to remain anonymous, and then perhaps people would watch what they say and to whom they say it.  However, there are many websites that advocate this idea of internet users being able to remain anonymous.  In the case of a website such as Formspring and other sites that do not have user log-in accounts that are connected to a person in “real-life”, it is inevitable that internet trolling will continue to exist.  On the other hand, websites such as Twitter and Facebook would be against this idea of internet users being able to remain anonymous because sites like these have user accounts that are connected to a person in “real-life.”  Websites such as these take into account the values that should be considered when creating internet policy.

Formspring and other websites that lack concrete log-in accounts allow people to remain anonymous, and that ultimately gives users a sense of freedom on the internet.  Like anything else, some people take this freedom too far and harass people to a point that is beyond what they can handle.  I have seen some of the questions that people ask their friends on Formspring and, to be honest, a lot of them are personal questions that are not appropriate to ask in “real-life.”  So, you have to ask yourself, is it appropriate then to ask such a question on the internet?  The answer is no.  That is why this idea of internet users being able to remain anonymous is dangerous.  People think it is okay to say whatever they want while hiding behind their computer screens and never actually facing the people they interact with via internet.