Why Web 2.0 is hurting its users

Jack Chamberlin

Web 2.0 has given people the opportunity all over the world to view the latest news and information before it is even printed or shown on television. There are many beneficial aspects to this and people now have the ability to post their comments and opinions online for other people to add to. One aspect of Web 2.0 that is widely overlooked is that while it can give its users fast, up to date information, it can also prevent them from viewing other opinions on the matter. An example of this is political blog sites. Americans are very proud of their right to express themselves freely, as they should be, and this is evident on the many political blogs. Brian Williams says in his essay Enough About You that people “can choose what (they) view and listen to” on blog sites. The problem with this is that a person with Republican ideals would naturally only visit sites that agree with their own opinions and likewise for a person with Democratic ideals, and they might not never see the other side of the argument. Although up to date political information can be acquired quickly on Web 2.0, many times people only visit political forums dedicated to either Republican or Democratic views because they want to pay attention to “things…that agree with (their) viewpoints” (Williams).