## Reading Response Set 1
### Jan 10 Tue - Are you Tech-Savy?

In the article, "Millennials as Digital Natives: Myths and Realities”, the author introduces society’s perception and assumptions on the Millennial generation. The Millennials, also known as “digital natives,” are assumed to constantly avoid human interaction, have exceptional multitasking skills, and possess the ability to instinctively fix digital products. The author Kate Moran believes that these assumptions sculpted by society allow the Millennials to be overly confident in their technological and individual skills. She argues that these assumptions are false and that millennials are less efficient due to their inability to multitask and solve problems. I agree with Moran’s argument to a certain extent. Every individual has a different methodology with how they use their technology, which means that her argument is not 100% true for the entire millennial population. However, I do believe that most millennials follow under this category that Moran describes.

To prove that millennials are not truly able to effectively multi-task and solve technological problems on their own, she mentions two definitions; multitasking proficiency and choosing to multitask. Millennials are more likely to choose to multitask, which is choosing to engage in a certain number of activities at a certain time. To multitask proficiently is to be able to process distinct types of information at the same time effectively. A psychology professor tested the time differentiation between individuals who were more likely to multitask versus individuals who only occasionally multitask and found that heavy multitaskers took half a second longer than light multitaskers to re concrete between two different tasks. Over multitasking can seriously affect an individual’s cognitive performance, causing them to be less efficient.


Millennials are being encouraged to over multitask, rather than being taught how to effectively multitask. Millennials are also being taught to go to the internet if there is ever a problem instead of using their own resources to figure out the problem themselves. Millennials are the rising generation, and they are being taught and encouraged to be reliant on the internet and are slowly becoming less conatively aware. Although not every Millennial individual is reliant on the internet, the majority is. Society needs to become more aware of the impact that technology has and needs to learn how to use it effectively.

### Feb 3 Fri - Cooperation

Gossip is “central to understanding humanity” (Reagle, 2015), as claimed by Joseph Reagle. Humans are programmed to create connections with other humans, in search of human connections. We as humans are naturally drawn to large groups of people. According to Dunbar, humans are “socially groomed” to form groups to create alliances, and with that comes the “gossip” within social networks. Discussing information about other individuals creates connections and competition that humans crave.

In 1928, a model was created by Karl Sigmund, a mathematician, visually explaining the psychology behind the selfish desires of humans in a communicative setting, while also addressing the importance of working together with one another (Super Cooperators). This model is called the Prisoner's Dilemma; a scenario created to represent the basic tensions that we face every day. The Prisoner's Dilemma is represented by the payoff matrix, a table that shows each of the four possible outcomes within this Dilemma. The best outcome is when each of the individuals cooperate and choose the option that will equally benefit each of them, even if it is not the best option for them. If the individual chooses not to cooperate, selecting the more self-benefiting option, they will be worse off in the end. In the prisoner's dilemma, if each person chooses the best option for themselves, they will face a longer jail time than if they were to cooperate and choose the second-best option that will be equal between them. The prisoner's Dilemma shows the importance of cooperation between individuals by explaining. As humans, we are faced with ethical decisions that question morality. It is common to choose the decision that will benefit us without considering if there is a way to work around it. When we cooperate, there is usually some type of benefit or incentive to work with another individual. When there is competition between individuals, humans are more likely to work on their own than cooperate and help their rivals. Humans are selfish individuals who crave competition and gossip within their close social groups.

### Feb 07 Tue - Social Networks

“Networks have structures, and structure influences the way individuals and networks behave” (pg. 191). Rheingold delves into the psychology behind the importance of understanding our own social networks and the origin of networking. According to Rheingold our society has always been run by networks, but only recently have we started to recognize the impact that networking has on our human nature. In 1967, Milgram, a social psychologist, tested the six degrees of separation theory that explores the concept that every individual is interconnected through six random individuals. Through his research he discovered that the average path connection length between sixty-four out of three hundred was 5.5, meaning for that group of sixty-four people, they were able to find a common connection between 5 to 6 people (pg. 192). This experiment proves how relevant and concrete social networking is in our society. I find this experiment to be terrifying. The possibility that through six random people, a random stranger could know everything about me just through my close social group is very unsettling to me.

The concept introduced by Rheingold that an individual's happiness level is not just influenced by the people they surround themselves with, but their happiness is also influenced by the people that they have never met really shocked me. A study run by a USD political scientist and a Harvard sociologist found that “friends of friends have about one third as much influence as people you know directly” (pg. 198). These research findings highlight how important network awareness is when it comes to an individual's happiness and mental health. The nature of networks is so complex and is so interconnected with how we feel and interact with other individuals.

### Feb 14th Tue- Dark Net

Tor browser acts as a privacy tool as it is free software that hides your location and activity. The dark net functions through tor browser and allows any user to interact anonymously. David Kushner, the author of The Darknet: Is the Government Destroying “the Wild West of the Internet” delves into the positive and negative effects of the dark net. While the dark net creates a platform for individuals to speak about important matters and spread news about online stalkers, it also creates a platform for hackers. Kushner further discusses the future of the darknet by bringing matters of the law into the playing field, questioning the morality of the darknet. Within the darknet, individuals have the option to make transactions without any ties to the government. This type of transaction is called cryptocurrency. The most popular cryptocurrency on the darknet is bitcoin as it allows criminals such as drug dealers to run their business online without anyone being able to track them. However, bitcoin is not as widely accepted because the government is unable to track transactions.


How do Onions have anything to do with Tor? Well, our information is kept safe through guard relay, middle relay, and exist ray encryption. Meaning that the customer encrypts their data in a way that only the exist, middle, and guard relay can decrypt it. In How Tor Works: Part One they describe this encryption process as an onion because an onion has many layers to it, as does encryption. Tor functions by bouncing connections from computers to a certain destination such as google through relays. Relays are found all over the world and they work through individuals who volunteer their bandwidth. The more relays there are the more difficult it is to track a specific user. Through encryption, tor can hide our data and who we are connecting with.

### Feb 17th Fri - Exam Review
**Multiple Choice Questions:**

1.According to the text **Pareto Principle** is:

a. the value of telecommunications network is proportional to the number of potential transactions
b.the value of (broadcast) network is proportional to the number of viewers
c.the value of social networks leads to groups
d. when a few super nodes carry have most of the connections, in small world networks; 80/20

Answer: when a few super nodes carry have most of the connections, in small world networks; 80/20

1.According to the text **Disinformation** is:

a.a few super nodes carry have most of the connections, in small world networks
b.false information with the intent of harm
c.false information with the intent of harm
d.false or true information with the intent of harm

Answer: False information with the intent of harm

#### Short Answer Questions:

1.Explain the dark net and tor and they work together.

Answer: The dark net occurs through the tor browser. The tor browser is a free software that hides your location and your activity. The darkest uses tors privacy tool to make transactions and information privately. Within the darknet, individuals have the option to make transactions without any ties to the government. Our information is kept safe through guard relay, middle relay, and exist ray encryption. Meaning that the customer encrypts their data in a way that only the exist, middle, and guard relay can decrypt it.

2.What is ethical communication?

Answer: Ethical Communication is a way of communicating in which we are judging what we view as right or wrong. We use our own personal experiences, our socioeconomic status, and in some cases our religion to form what we view as ethical. Ethics correlates to how we communicate as it acts as a deciding factor to how we communicate with other individuals. We consider our own ethical beliefs in every communicative interaction.