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Justin Richardson

ENG 112-08

Instructor Connie Douglas

Round Table Essay

31, March 2017

Three Voices Cry Out

Do you know that the definition for discussion is talk or write about (a topic) in detail,

taking into account different ideas and opinions. An analogy for a discussion can be a barber

shop while you are sitting and getting your hair cut. The customers come and go for a cut at their

leisure spending a flexible amount of time on their cut. To pass the time they have heated

passionate discussions about anything they share an interest in. These heated discussion can also

go on for a flexible amount of time. But they usually never reach a proper conclusion that

satisfies the different voices or opinion in the Barber shop. An individual voice is their viewpoint

on the subject and their stance on how they feel on the topic. Because everyone believes that

their voice/opinion is the correct one or the most right. One question that comes up in this time in

age is what are the advantages and disadvantages to living in this digital age of wonder?

The digital age means the period in human history which is characterized from the shift

of the Industrial Revolution to an economy based on information computerization. Another term

associated with digital age is the Digital Revolution. It mean digital information that continues to

change over time as new technologies, user devices, computers, methods of interacting with
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devices, and further research and development. People use technology for multiple reasons and

those reasons are forever increasing as long as technology keep progressing. In this age of

technology people are now more than ever are able to connect online with a simple click of the

button. But it also means that people are more vulnerable than ever with this new level of access

information. Three important voices come to the topic of advantages and disadvantages to living

in the digital age of history. There is the voice of the people who are victims to cyber crime, the

voice that belong to the parents of teenagers who are most vulnerable putting their information

online for anyone to see, and the voice of the people who are able to make a successful business

by preparing students to succeed in the job market. Each voice holds a different belief and

opinion on the advantages and disadvantages to living in this digital age of information.

One of the most notable voice in the advantages and disadvantages to living in this digital

age of information are those who have been victims of having their personal information stolen

from them by hackers. (When your Kids starts Getting Hacked)Hackers are people who use

computers to gain access to unauthorized data that they should not be looking at such as bank

statements, social security, and stored passwords and usernames on your computer. And this

happens because these victims are either not aware of their cybersecurity or their cybersecurity is

not strong enough. According to whatis.techtarget.com the definition of cybersecurity is the body

of technologies, process and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs and

data from attack, damage or unauthorized access. To ensure that cybersecurity are properly

coordinating its efforts throughout an information system it is made up of several elements such

as Application security,
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Information security, Network security, Disaster recovery/ business continuity planning,

Operational security, and End-user education.

Being knowledgeable of the tools online can help everyone that uses the internet. The

viewpoint shared by these individuals are ones that have suffered from some sort of loss. Of

people that have had their lively hoods threatened because of people that took advantage of the

tools they can better utilize today and take what does not belong to them. These individuals hold

to their belief that cybercrime is a huge problem brought on by the disadvantage of living in the

digital age.

The second voice on this topic are from the parents with kids that spend a lot of their free

time on social media. These individuals are concerned over how social media can influence their

children's choices and they are extremely vulnerable online because they dont have that much

experience with protecting themselves online. Some things that teenagers get a taste of are for

example Cyber Bullying, Identity Theft, and Cyberstalking (Twitter's Trust and Safety Council

Won't Halt Cyberbullying). Cyber Bullying is an issue that affects not only teens but even young

children; some cases even go to the very extremity of the people getting bullied taking there own

lives as the only means of escape they can think of as the only way out. Identity theft is a serious

crime that can affect everyone that dont properly protect themselves when they go online. They

become vulnerable for people to steal their identity online and use it to commitment countless

acts of theft and fraud in their name and that can stick with them for a long time. And one of the

last and very important dangers online that parents should be informed
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of is Cyberstalking. This last hazard talks about an ex romantic partner can use social media to

track their former partner and relationships created online can be dangerous when the stalker get

to attached and might use the information shared to do harm. These are all ways people can use

social media as a means to harm vulnerable people like teenagers who tend to not always think to

what the consequences are to their choices. So these are some potential ways people may take

advantage of teenagers that are active online not practicing safe habits may fall prey. This

viewpoint is important for parents and their kids so they can aware of what they put out their and

just how much they are vulnerable to being taken advantage of. The result of parents taking

action and informing their kids of the dangers online can only serve to help them better protect

themselves and benefit them throughout their lives. There are various stories of people not just

teenagers and kids that have been hurt by what is done behind a computer. These individuals

belief is that social media is a virus that uses users and is a critical disadvantage to living in the

digital age.

The third and final voice on the this topic of the digital age belongs to the Entrepreneurs.

This includes the people who are creating something in this digital age of information. One of

the main advantages of pointed out by this voice is their main focuses are fields in applied

sciences, business, design, engineering, humanities and social sciences, and informatics and IT.

To Simplify this Temasek Polytechnic which was established in April 1990. (Higher Education)

Is taking advantages to the fact that times are changing and are better preparing themselves on

the future demands of the world and being prepared to handle them.
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They are taking the initiative by recruiting young adults, teenagers, and kids to succeed

in the fields that are needed in our digital age of information. This institute develope the students

that are into profession that require a computer degree such as the fields of business can help

with people trying to project their data in business meetings or such as the development of a

product. Another example of a potential field is one in software development and analysis.

Where they maintain the infrastructure of the websites so they can handle the amount of traffic

users have when they access the site. But to sum it up this school in singapore is changing the

education is being taught and securing their careers. They are taking advantage of the fact this is

the digital age and preparing to succeed in the business world.

But in the end, the voice belongs to the whos lives that can be greatly changed by this

digital age of information, These are the voices of the victims who were wronged and suffered,

these are the voices of the parents that worry about their children every time they are vulnerable

to be hurt, these are the voices of the Entrepreneurs that are able to make something of

themselves in this age of possibility. As you leave the barber shop with your fresh cut and an ear

fill of knowledge from your barber and fellow customers think about this. Will there be a time

when hackers are not able to get past your security and not break the law or steal with your

name? Even if parents teach their children of all the dangers of putting themselves online those

that mean they will never get hurt? And finally with education system changing to better ready

the next generation in this new age where new professions pop up will they succeed. These

questions will have an indefinite numbers of answers that will give way to an even more

indefinite number of questions. But these different voices have voiced their opinions on the
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manner on what they believe. Now it is time for the reader or readers to decide with all the risk

and advantages and disadvantages to living in this digital age of information.

Works Cited
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E, Kruck S. "Computer Security Practices and Perceptions of the Next Generation of

Corporate Computer Users." Proquest. International Journal of Information Security and

Privacy, Jan.-Feb. 2008. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

"Higher Education; 21st-Century Education in Singapore: Temasek Polytechnic and

Cisco Transform Learning in the Digital Age." Proquest. Proquest, 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 19

Mar. 2017

Wadhwa, Vivek. "When Kids Start Getting Hacked, it's Time to Wake Up about.." Washington

Post - Blogs, 11 Dec 2015, SIRS Issues Researcher, http://sks.sirs.com

Rouse, Margaret. "What Is Cybersecurity? - Definition from WhatIs.com." WhatIs.com.

Whatis.techtarget.com, Nov. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.