In the past, when we had a question, we looked up the dictionary, read some books, or asked people who had authority. Now, we ask Google, Netizens, or power bloggers who seem to be experts in a certain area on the Internet. The power bloggers act as the online journalists (or one-person operating media) and they produce a lot of contents - both information and personal opinion. However, not all bloggers are real experts or true journalists.
We often encounter some fake news or wrong thoughts on the Internet but believe those without any doubt. Well, that is also the case in some major newspapers. We have four major newspapers in Korea, and some of them have been notorious for their political connection. They hide some important news or provide some biased opinion to support certain party or government. Anyway, many problems and issues have been happening related to some power bloggers who were intoxicated and began to sway their swords at their disposal. They might want to dominate people’s thinking. Or some are just greedy and want to make some money out of their power.
Currently, in Korea, an investigation about a power blogger is going on. The blogger posted much fake news and information regarding the presidential election and threatened the candidate with those fake information. Now people started to think that the fake news is not fake but is somehow related to the candidate. So, the investigation started to see if there’s a real connection between the news and the candidate. The victim became the suspect.
Therefore, I am really careful about my kids’ postings online and their information consumption through the Internet. My older one often delivers some news or opinions from social media, and I am really concerned about it. I keep telling my sons that they should look at them with a critical view and do not trust all information from the Internet. They are just one piece of information or perspective. I really think we should provide our children with some literacy education about the veracity of online information and knowledge. For an user-led education, they need to learn about this first.
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