Wikipedia articles are subjected to vandals on a regular basis. Some people don’t understand the very nature of Wikipedia, (the fact that it’s editable by it’s users isn’t clearly understood by some) invites this behavior, and it’s to be expected.
Students of all ages are using Wikipedia as a resource. How many of them do you think are actually checking the validity of the source information listed at the bottom of each Wikipedia page?
If today’s main stream media is any indication as to the (lack of) enthusiasm focused on verifying sources, I worry about the education our children are receiving since the availability of, and reliance on the Internet. As for the media, I wonder how many parents concern themselves with the bias of the outlets their children are exposed to. It seems to me that most MSM outlets today have their own agenda that they propagate at any opportunity.
The fact that so many MSM outlets consider the “blogosphere” a valid source of information and/or tips for news… well… that’s scary. Investigative reporting used to mean actually going out and finding real news stories. How complacent have we become, to accept the type of reporting gathered simply by surfing around on today’s popular blogs?
*sigh* Society has become easy to manipulate due to things available on the Internet, such as YouTube, MySpace, Wikipedia, forums, and blogs. When my kids come home with an assignment that requires the use of the Internet to complete, I make sure to help them navigate the waters of the almighty “Google”. I can only hope that other parents are doing the same thing, and teaching their kids about “valid sources”, and biased reporting.
Well, I can hope anyway.
[...] 10, 2008 by Ginger As if in response to my post earlier today regarding the Internet effectively “dumbing down” our kids, this post about the abuse of blog power really made me feel relieved that I wasn’t the only [...]