Influential Event

NUSSU Rag & Flag is a campus-wise charity project that aims to bring together students from various faculties in NUS. This fund-raising event ends off with a grand display of floats and dance performances put up by each faculty. When I first entered college, I joined this freshmen orientation project as a dancer. While it burnt my holidays away, I had no regrets sacrificing my last few weeks of "freedom" in this new school to train hard for the performance. When it ended, I knew that I would return to give back to the NUS Arts RAG family.

In the following year, I signed up as a choreographer for the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. It was definitely not a smooth-sailing journey and I witnessed an entirely different sight. There were many ups and down, frustrations, moments of joy, stresses and extremely messy disorganization but through it all, we managed to pull through the ordeal. As mentioned, I initially started off the RAG process as a choreographer. Hence, it came as a surprise when I was given the job as performance I/C along the way. My job scope widened up and it encompassed over-seeing the other aspects of the performance as well - administrative duties, music and costumes.

I had to deal with the welfare of the 50 dancers, organization of the performance and ensuring smooth progress of costume-making, music edits and props movement, it was no easy task. It was a challenge I knew I had to conquer, somehow. I am so grateful of the the wonderful team I was tagged with. Though we had a rough start, our common goal brought us together to battle the endless, tiring nights of building, sewing and dancing.

Alongside the hectic RAG preparations, I was juggling rehearsals for a dance concert as well as an external dance competition. It was a feat I thought was way beyond the bounds of my capabilities but, I survived through it and I came out as a stronger individual. Even though I was stretched from all angles - physically, mentally and emotionally, I appreciated the "test" to my limits. My friends told me I was crazy to sign up for all those commitments within a single summer holiday period, but I did enjoy myself because I was doing something that I love - dance.

Indeed, the quote "nothing is impossible" was transformed into reality and made me realized any human being is capable of achieving what is beyond imaginable because it is the state of mind that sets the limits. If I tell myself I can do it, it means I can.

Reader Response Draft #3

Reader Response Draft #3: 

In the article "The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Network, Emm (2014) states that over-reliance on the internet makes us susceptible to unwarranted threats to personal and organizational security. Many people post online to notify their social circles about their whereabouts, which also increases the accessibility to one's private information. The growing trend poses a risk to not only oneself, but also to their company's image should one divulge his / her organization's information. The author suggests users to enhance their device and internet security and to be wary of what one shares on social media. 

As part of Generation Y, I have views that are parallel to the author's as I personally experience the growing dependency on my phone and the internet to get many daily life tasks done. The brag culture pervades the era we are in now, living with the phenomenon of "pictures or it didn't happen". Golinkoff (2015) mentions that popular social media apps like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have made us obsessed about how we appear to everyone else, busying ourselves by narrating to our online audience instead of living in the moment. Such "normal" and seemingly harmless behavior are, in fact, inviting danger upon ourselves as it results in easy access to our private information and allow others to sneak into our lives. However, Emm's view draws attention to a very narrow aspect of online threats, exaggerating its negative consequences, while invalidating the possible offline dangers.

The author addresses the issue of privacy invasion due to the government's omnipresence online and I agree that this may result in disagreements among a large number citizens. This hot debate and never-ending struggle to find the delicate balance between privacy and personal security will continue to exist as long as there is dependability on the internet. As people exchange emails and surf the internet, they are being tracked of their activities. The term "Big Brother is watching you" has then been formulated, encapsulating the idea of the government snooping behind the screens of the citizens. While such actions are taken to ensure the safety of the people, the issue of individual rights to privacy still persists. 

Even though the government gets a hold of our personal information under surveillance, they are not the most threatening parties online. Schlesinger (2014) affirms that cyber-criminals are the ill-intended users that internet surfers have to be truly wary of. These tech-related criminals are seeking loopholes and vulnerabilities that are shared online by careless and unaware users. They would jump at the opportunity to hack into accounts and gain important information like PIN numbers and other financial data.

However, the threats lurking on the internet are, in fact, a reflection of reality. While many have said that internet is a dangerous platform that allows anyone and everyone to view your profiles, it could happen off the internet too. Crimes such as bank robbery and burglary still happens, out of the cyberspace context. Such dangers are comparable and the threats and risks that are posed by such corruptions - online or offline - are legitimate concerns to everyone. Hence, the article written by Emm accentuates the perils of the internet, while overlooking the crimes that could occur even without the use of the internet. 

To sum up, while Emm gives a very elaborate picture of the negative consequences of the internet, he seems to exaggerate the extent to which dependency on the internet jeopardizes our personal lives, negating other possible crimes that could happen offline too. He also brings up the citizens' uneasiness with the government's prying involvement in our online activities but fails to address the importance of such actions in guarding the security of citizens. 

(614 words)

References:

Emm, D. (2014, August 21). The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Networks. Retrieved from The Guardian http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-emm/the-perils-of-over-sharing-in-social-networks_b_5005276.html

Golinkoff, R. (2015, February 2). A Conversation About Conversations. Retrieved from The Huffingtonpost http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roberta-michnick-golinkoff/a-conversation-about-conv_b_6590206.html

Schlesinger, J. (2014, June 3). Is Big Brother really watching you?. Retrieved from CNBC http://www.cnbc.com/id/101719082#

Reader Response Draft #2

Reader Response Draft #2:

In the article "The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Network, Emm (2014) states that over-reliance on the internet makes us susceptible to unwarranted threats to personal and organizational security. Many people post online to notify their social circles about their whereabouts, which also increases the accessibility to one's private information. The growing trend poses a risk to not only oneself, but also to their company's image, should they divulge their organization's information. The author suggests users to enhance their device and internet security and to be wary of what one shares on social media. 

Being part of the Generation Y population, my view parallels to the author's as I personally experience the growing dependency on my phone and the internet to get many daily life tasks such as banking and shopping done. The brag culture pervades the era we are in now, living with the phenomenon of "pictures or it didn't happen". Golinkoff (2014) mentions that popular social media apps like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have made us obsessed about how we appear to everyone else, busying ourselves by narrating to our online audience instead of living in the moment. Such "normal" and seemingly harmless behavior are, in fact, inviting danger upon ourselves as it results in easy access to our private information and allow others to sneak into our lives. 

However, the threats lurking on the internet is, in fact, a reflection of reality. While many have said that internet is a dangerous platform that allows anyone and everyone to view your profiles, it could happen off the internet too. Crimes such as bank robbery and burglary still happens, even not within the context of cyberspace. Such dangers are comparable and the threats and risks that are posed by such corruptions - online or offline - are legitimate concerns to everyone. Hence, the article written by Emm accentuates the perils of the internet, while disregarding the crimes that could occur even without the use of the internet. 

Likewise, Emm addresses the issue of privacy invasion due to the government's omnipresence online and I agree that this may result in disagreements among a large number citizens. This hot debate and never-ending struggle to find the delicate balance between privacy and personal security continues to exist as long as there is dependability on the internet. As people exchange emails and surf the internet, they are being tracked of their activities. The term "Big Brother is watching you" has then been formulated, encapsulating the idea of the government snooping behind the screens of the citizens. While such actions are taken to ensure the safety of the people, the issue of individual rights to privacy still persists. 

Even though the government gets hold of our personal information under surveillance, they are not the most threatening parties online. Schlesinger (2014) affirms that cyber-criminals are the ill-intended ones that internet users have to be truly wary of. These tech-related criminals are seeking out for loopholes and vulnerabilities that are shared online by careless and unaware users and they would jump at the opportunity to hack into accounts and important information like PIN number. They are the ones who are after financial data and money. 

To sum up, while Emm gives a very elaborate picture of the negative consequences of the internet, he seems to exaggerate upon how dependency on the internet jeopardizes our personal lives, negating other possible crimes that could happen offline too. He also brings up the citizens' uneasiness with government's prying involvement in our online activities but fails to address the importance of such action in order to guard citizen's security. 

(599 words) 

References: 

Emm, D. (2014). The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Networks. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-emm/the-perils-of-over-sharing-in-social-networks_b_5005276.html 

Golinkoff, R. (2014). A Conversation About Conversations. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roberta-michnick-golinkoff/a-conversation-about-conv_b_6590206.html 

Schlesinger, J. (2014). Is Big Brother really watching you?. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/101719082#

Outline for reader response

Outline:

Main idea / thesis statement: 
Reliance on social media makes us susceptible to unwarranted / unnecessary negative consequences - harm to personal and organizational security

1. First supporting idea: "Government snooping around"
• "Big brother is watching"
• Debate between personal privacy and social security
• Tracked - every detail, every webpage, every button click
• Should be more wary about cyber-criminals
2. Second supporting idea: Obsession with social media - and the "unaware" mentality that "it is safe
• "Picture or it didn't happen"
• Updates regularly to appear socially active
• Unaware of the dangers lurking around
• Never understood the extent of the negative consequences
3. Third supporting idea: Reflection of reality
• Just as corrupted online and offline
• Article is skewed to internet dangers
• Failed to address real-life crimes that occur not within cyberspace

Reader Response Draft #1

Reader Response Draft #1:

In the article "The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Network, Emm (2014) states that over-reliance on the internet makes us susceptible to unwarranted threats to personal and organizational security. Many people post online to notify their social circles about their whereabouts, which also increases the accessibility to one's private information. The growing trend poses a risk to not only oneself, but also to their company's image, should they divulge their organization's information. The author suggests users to enhance their device and internet security and to be wary of what one shares on social media.

Emm started off the article addressing the issue of privacy invasion due to the government's omnipresence online. As people exchange emails and surf the internet, they are being tracked of their activities. The term "Big Brother is watching you" has then been formulated, encapsulating the idea of the government snooping behind the screens of the citizens. While such actions are taken to ensure the safety of the people, the issue of individual rights to privacy still persists. This hot debate and never-ending struggle to find the delicate balance between privacy and personal security continues to exist as long as there is dependability on the internet.

Even though the government gets hold of our personal information under surveillance, they are not the most threatening parties online. Cyber-criminals are the ill-intended ones that internet users have to be truly wary of. These tech-related criminals are seeking out for loopholes and vulnerabilities that are shared online by careless and unaware users and they would jump at the opportunity to hack into accounts and important information like PIN number.

As the title of the article speaks, the brag culture pervades the era we are in now, living with the phenomenon of "pictures or it didn't happen". Popular social media apps like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have made us obsessed about how we appear to everyone else, busying ourselves by narrating to our online audience instead of living in the moment. Such "normal" and seemingly harmless behavior are, in fact, inviting danger upon ourselves as it results in easy access to our private information and allow others to sneak into our lives

Although I am aware of the existence of threats lurking on the internet, I have not completely understood the full extent of the risks involved in sharing online. Indulging in such instant gratification as I share a story or a photo with my friends online, I have never thought of the possibility of such mishaps striking on me. While it may be shallow of one to think it would be highly unlikely for such an unfortunate event to occur to oneself, it does not hurt to exercise precautionary steps to minimize the possibility of it happening. The extensive but non-exhaustive list of measures recommended by Emm could be use as guidelines to safeguard our online personal protection.

However, the threats lurking on the internet is, in fact, a reflection of reality. While many have said that internet is a dangerous platform that allows anyone and everyone to view your profiles, it can, in fact, happen off the internet too. Crimes such as bank robbery and burglary still happens, even not within the context of cyberspace. Such dangers are comparable and the threats and risks that are posed by such corruptions - online or offline - are legitimate concerns to everyone. Hence, the article written by Emm accentuates the perils of the internet, while disregarding the crimes that could occur without the use of the internet.

References:

Emm, D. (2014). The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Networks. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-emm/the-perils-of-over-sharing-in-social-networks_b_5005276.html

The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Network

Summary:

In the article "The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Network, Emm (2014) states that people are increasingly getting dependent on technology to accomplish daily tasks. They also post online to notify their social circles about their whereabouts. This brings in the issue of personal security and privacy invasion as the internet is transparent and the government has access to online data. The growing trend poses a risk to not only oneself, but also to their company's image, should they divulge organization's information. Emm suggests a few precautionary measures such as password protection and software installation to maximize online security.