Networks and Communication

When it comes to emailing, texting, IM'ing, and Skype there are always differing opinions on what makes this relatively new technology good, and what makes it bad. The advantages are obvious. One obvious huge advantage is a wonderful four letter "F" word..Free. You don't have to buy stamps if you don't want too. You don't have to get a long distance phone plan if you don't want too. You have basically every means of communication at your finger tips (minus the old fashion face to face). The article that explains how Facetime is making a big impact in the medical world made me think of situations in my life that would have been previously impossible without the use of video chat. My grandpa, even though sick in the hospital, was able to watch me get married because of a tablet and Facetime. However, some people would probably argue that this new technology is making people more recluse, and possibly less social. I personally prefer sending a letter rather than writing an email when i'm trying to communicate stronger feelings about my message. "Happy birthday!" doesn't sound the same in an email/facebook comment, as it does in a card, that came in an envelope, with a stamp. 

In regards to overcoming common internet concerns like spam, phishing, and scams the best advice I can think of is if you don't know the sender, don't read the email. There will always be spam and various types of scams that will fill an inbox. There are even integrated spam filters in almost all email programs that help with these kinds of situations. Whenever I get an email that says "you've won 1,000,000 dollars!" in the subject line I immediately delete it and would recommend most do the same (unless you actually won a million dollars, i'm sure they will contact you by phone if email fails).

Texting and driving is a humungous problem in my opinion in todays world. 1 out of every 3 cars I look at usually has a person with their face buried in their phone. I will admit that I have done this before and imagine most people have. But there are solutions. Phones are coming out with new ways to solve this problem like "talk to text". Now I am not saying that talk to text is a solution by any means, but its a start (it might have saved that woman from falling in the fountain..). With phones becoming more and more integrated into vehicle technology I imagine a bluetooth talk to text via your car that will read the message back to your for any corrections (they probably already have this) and hopefully lead to a safer roadway,