User:Emilymorse22/sandbox

Article Critique (Yik Yak)

Some of the information in this article does not have proper citation. For example, the introduction section contains a statement that says "(Yik Yak is) similar to other anonymous sharing apps such as Nearby, but differs from others such as Whisper in that it is intended for sharing primarily with those in proximity to the use" (Article: Yik Yak- Introduction). This information is not contained in the source that it is credited to in the citation. Additionally, multiple of the facts in the History and Financing section are lacking citations.

The article includes both information about how the app can be used for cyberbullying and its downsides as well as information about how the app can be used in beneficial ways. However, there are some statements that made me think the article might be biased, such as one in the Controversies section that states: "The frequency of bullying and harassment that happens on Yik Yak might be exaggerated by media stories citing specific incidents. Researchers have identified how Yik Yak is mostly used as a positive way to explore racial, ethnic, and sexual identities and to build a sense of community on campus" (Article: Yik Yak- Controversies). Furthermore, the article contains biased statements against the creators of Yik Yik for purposely deleting users' posts when they mention the name of their competitors, and making it look as though the users themselves were down voting those posts. The rest of the article seems to portray the application and its developers in a positive light, focusing on how the app can help bring bring students together and its beneficial aspects, as well as its financial success.

Everything in the article is relevant to the topic, and nothing distracted me from the main points. I found all the information provided useful and helpful in my understanding of Yik Yak.

I do not think that there are any viewpoints that are completely left out. However, I think that there may be an underrepresentation of how Yik Yak can be a tool used for cyberbullying and in what ways. While the article does mention that cyberbullying is a problem that comes along with the app, and that there has been backlash from schools for this reason who often ban the app from their campuses, there are no specific examples of bullying on this application. I think that there is a lot more information about the specifics of the application itself than there is about the ethical problems associated with the app, particularly concerning its anonymity.

In the "Talk" page of the article, I found comments about the article made by users and by the creator of the page. One Wikipedia user said drew attention to the fact that the majority of the article was created by an account possibly belonging to the developers of the app, which is an incredibly important note that changes the reliability of the entire article. If a developer, or a biased source, created the article, then it is reasonable to assume that they will include information that praises the application and leave out negative information.

On the Wikipedia quality scale, the article received a Start Class rating. I think that this is an appropriate rating for the article after reading it and evaluating the information given entirely. I definitely agree that the article is in the developing stages, and, although it includes extensive background and statistical information on the subject, it could use a more comprehensive section about the negative implications of the app and specific events that have occurred related to cyberbullying on the application.

Article Critique (Fake news websites in the United States)

This article is a very well written and comprehensive article explaining the definition of "fake news" as well as how it has impacted our society today. The facts included in the article are all references with appropriate, reliable references. There are no facts that lack citations.

I do think that everything included in the article is relevant to the topic. The article touches on different aspects of fake news, such as what the definition of the term is, multiple specific instances where fake news has impacted society, and even its political implications. However, I think the article should include some more information about how fake news impacts aspects of society other than politics. Although there was nothing included that distracted me or felt irrelevant, I think the article would benefit from a more inclusive perspective of the impact fake news can have.

In the "talk" page of the article, I found different Wikipedia users discussing the information in the article and how this information is included. One thing that stood out to be in the "talk" page is that a user drew attention to the fact that the article is quite similar to another Wikipedia article titled "Fake News Websites." This user goes on to suggest that it may be beneficial to merge the websites into one, which other users then suggest otherwise, claiming that the articles should be kept separate. Another user also mentions another example of fake news that occurred before the election, a relevant addition to the topic at hand.

In regards to the Wikipedia quality scale, this article is not yet rated. In my opinion, I would give this article a Start Class rating. The article is substantial, but it does not begin to touch on all of the information out there related to fake news. Perhaps if the title of the article were more specific, the article would be more comprehensive- however, the title is quite vague and although there is a lot of good information about the topic included in the article it is definitely lacking some other information.

When I checked a few citations, the links worked well and directed me to the source that the information came from. Two of the sources that came up when I checked on the citations were The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter. Both of these sources are credible, and there was no plagiarism included in the article from the sources that I looked at. Overall, the information included in the article appears to be credible and properly cited.

Article Project (Time Well Spent)

I chose this article because after looking into the topic, I decided that the Wikipedia page is lacking a lot of information. Essentially all that is included on the page at the moment is the definition of the organization and it's goal. I plan to add information that helps people understand more about the organization itself, its foundations, and quality of life in regard to social media addiction and why this has become a problem. I also want to add information about how the organization plans on improving the problem.

Things to Improve on Time Well Spent

Lead Section

- There is a lot missing in this section. The article at the moment includes one sentence about the organization's main goal, another about who founded the organization, and a sentence that is slightly repetitive of the first. There is nothing else included in the lead section of the article, so I think there is a lot to add here specifically. I will add more about how and why the organization was founded, more about the founder (Tristan Harris), and more about why it is important.

Body of the Article

- In the body of the article I want to discuss mainly more about HOW and WHY the organization was founded. I think it would be helpful for readers to understand more about the issue at hand (technology companies attempting to increase "addiction" to their devices without considering what the consequences of this type of addiction are for society).

- I will also discuss the consequences of technological addiction (such as to quality of life and happiness) so that people have a better understand of why this is an issue.

- I will include information about what the organization has done so far (meetings, events, fundraisers, etc.)

Images

- I will add images that make the page more captivating and easier to follow.

References

- I will include the references that I use, and proper citations, in the article under the references section.

Time Well Spent (Article Edit - DRAFT)

Time Well Spent

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Underlined: text already there)

INTRO

Time Well Spent is an organization which advocates that people be aware of how commercial interests design mobile devices to capture as much attention as possible without regard to how using these devices in this way may reduce the quality of life for individuals and society. With today's society becoming more and more dependent on technology for day to day activities, such as communication, issues have risen regarding what ethical codes should be followed in this new technological sphere. Many individuals utilize technology as a way to make their life easier. However, the commercial companies that design these devices often have a different goal: to increase the use of their devices, regardless of the consequences, even if the consequences include damaging the quality of life of members of society.

FOUNDERS

Former Google employee Tristan Harris founded the project to raise awareness about the intentional design to make consumer technology addictive. James Williams co-founded the movement, and also dedicates his time to focusing on the ethics of technology design. The two men founded the organization to spread awareness and talk about the aspects of technology that are often ignored, such as attention and distraction and their effects on the user. After beginning to spread his ideas about the ethics of technological design through the community at Google, Harris adopted the title "product philosopher," where he researched how the company could incorporate ethical design. Harris left his position at Google in December of 2015 to focus on his mission to raise awareness and foster change. Time Well Spent has been supported by influential names in the field, such as Sherry Turkle, Scott Heiferman, and Justin Rosenstein. Through Time Well Spent, Harris hopes to mobilize widespread support of software that incorporates core values, including that of helping us spend our time well, as an attempt to combat technology addiction and increase quality of life.

BACKGROUND

The average person checks their phone approximately 150 times a day. Over the past few decades, society has becomes more deeply rooted in technology, leading to an understandable increase in our time spent using it. Harris has said that his goal in founding Time Well Spent is to convince the technology industry to bring "ethical design" to its products. He says that often people are unaware of it, but that persuasive psychology principles are used in developing and designing technology in order to control how people use the product. The goal of these companies is to keep the public on their devices for as long as they can, because these companies "make more money the more time people spend [on the product].

WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO?

The organization encourages designers and companies to respect users time and to create products which have as an end goal something other than maximizing use of products to sell advertising. There are multiple ways that technology companies try to maximize the use of their products: by using an intermittent variable reward system, causing people to fear missing something important, increasing the desire for social approval, strengthening the need to reciprocate others' gestures, and interrupting individuals' daily activities to alert them of a notification. Harris claims that technology parallels slot machines, in that both use intermittent variable rewards to increase addiction. According to Harris, companies have a responsibility to reduce this effect, through techniques such as increasing the predictability of their designs and eliminating the intermittent variable reward system all together. Harris believes that these companies should be considering how their devices may reduce the quality of life for individuals, rather that just how to profit from making their products more addictive. While the tactics of these technological companies do successfully accomplish their goal, Harris explains that the process through which these goals are accomplished is unethical.

References

1. O'Brien, Miles (2017-01-30). "Your phone is trying to control your life". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
2. Harris, Tristan (2016-05-27). "How Technology Hijacks People's Minds". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
3. Harper, Paul (2016-11-29). "Ex-Google boss says you're ADDICTED to your smartphone and it's time to kick the habit". The Sun. 2016-11-29. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
4. Bosker, Bianca. "What Will Break People's Addictions to Their Phones?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
5. Ampofo, Lawrence (2016-12-30). "#62 Time Well Spent with James Williams - Digital Mindfulness". Digital Mindfulness. 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2017-03-20.